Kelsey Healing Arts

The practice of qigong/taiji involves three principles. Everything else about it is an outward flowing of the three. There is no hierarchy among them, they simply must be practiced together in order for each to function correctly. The principles are abstract ideals evoked by the body, therefore it is simply impossible to do them perfectly. The ideals are always things towards which we strive, and in doing so we come to understand them better, as though they were revealing themselves to us. Every person is different, so the course of ones personal experience with taiji is entirely unique. I seek only to give a functional idea of the principals through this manual, understanding them comes only through regular, patient practice.

Breathing

The breath is a wave of inhale and exhale. Do not hold your breath between inhalation and exhalation, or between exhalation and inhalation. As the inhalation reaches its peak, it will crest and fall like an ocean wave into the exhalation. When the exhalation reaches its lowest point, it will reverse its flow into inhalation, like a wave retreating from the beach before another breaks and flows up the sand. The yin yang symbol (taijitu – grand ultimate map) looks like two waves stuck together, think of it as a model for your breath. The little white circle is what connects the black wave (inhalation) to the white wave (exhalation), and vice versa. There is no stopping point between yin and yang, they simply flow into one another. The little circles inside the waves indicate that yin and yang are the basis for one another. When one reaches its zenith, the apex of its powers, it can instantly become the other. When one reaches its nadir, and seems to have completely vanished, it can likewise instantly become the other.

Use Daoist Breathing, or reverse breathing, while practicing. Contract the muscles of your lower torso (below the diaphragm) while your chest expands on inhalation. Expand the muscles of the lower torso while your chest contracts on exhalation.

Connection

Keep all parts of your body connected to one another at all times. This is accomplished through what can be termed muscle activation. Activated muscles are neither in full contraction nor full relaxation. They balance between the two depending on what position the body is in. As such the muscles always feel different when connected, but they always feel connected. Certain places in the body, such as the low back, pelvis, hips, and groin, are often too tight; they are too much in contraction. Other places, such as those weakened by injury or inactivity, will be too relaxed.

Muscles that work with each other (i.e. pull against each other) need to be balanced, so that the one contracting doesn’t over-pull on the one relaxing. Neither should a muscle become so relaxed that the one contracting falls into full contraction, like letting go of a rope upon which someone else is pulling mightily.

The shoulders need to activate all of their muscles, they do not just hang, or stay tightened up in a posture. Pull them together with the rhomboids; down with the lats; forward with the serratus; and up with the traps. No muscle should be all contracted, nor all relaxed, and they will change their ratios of contraction and relaxation depending on the body’s positioning.

The hips should be focused around the tailbone. As the tailbone moves, the spine elongates so as not to pinch any vertebrae. This elongation is very small in terms of actual distance, it should just feel like your back has plenty of space to move around. This ensures that the muscles of the hips are not too contracted nor too relaxed. Point your tailbone in the direction your hips are moving, very subtly, keeping the low back extending as much as possible. Never thrust your hips. The adductor muscles, which run from your groin down to the inside of your knees, should pull on the pelvis to rotate the tailbone in that direction. The pointing is very subtle, like a rudder turning a boat. No muscle is ever committed fully to contraction or relaxation, and is always changing the ratios based upon what the body is doing.

Rotate

Just rotate. How do I move my arms? Just rotate. How do I move my legs? Just rotate. How do I move my spine? Just rotate. The joints of the shoulders and hips are balls inside of sockets. Their optimal movement is one of rotation; it is what helps them heal and keeps them healthy. The more your shoulders and hips are connected, the more easily you will be able to rotate the joints. The vertebrae of the spine are connected by facet joints, which are like tiny balls and sockets that have a very limited range of movement. Activating the muscles keeps them from over-rotating the joints, as they are balancing their contraction and relaxation. The joints of the shoulders, hips, and each individual vertebrae (except for those that collectively comprise the sacrum, which are fused) are the primary joints.

To step, rotate from within the hip joint, and allow the connection of the body to translate that rotation into a step. Rotate your shoulders and let the rotation flow out through the body connection into an arm movement. Rotate your spine, which is done in very small degrees, to turn your hips or shoulders for directional changes.

The muscles of respiration (i.e. those above and below the diaphragm) should connect to the muscles of the shoulders and hips so that they may initiate rotation of the primary joints. It does not matter if they are on inhalation or exhalation, only that they are moving. As they never stop moving, no matter their speed, they are always the movement of the body in which the rotation of the primary joints is rooted. The muscles of the spine are similarly always engaged in the movement of breath, so it too always has the breath as the root of its movement.