T'ai Chi Foundation Exercises:

Practice these to foster relaxation, awareness and integration of body, mind and spirit.
Start by practicing each for 2 minutes. Extend the time when you feel comfortable.
I f you experience pain, discontinue and check in with your instructor.
As you do these, open your awareness to the inner principles of T'ai Chi:

relax
breathe
feel the earth

Horse Stance (standing meditation position):

A position with balanced exertion and rest. Fosters awareness of your relation to the earth and to heaven. It is the basis of all postures and movements in T'ai Chi.

Feet: parallel, shoulder width apart, toes pointing straight forward or slightly inward. Keep your feet soft and flat to the floor. Feel the earth. Imagine roots extending from your soles into the earth. Weight is centered between the feet.
Knees: slightly bent.
Hips: tucked, stretching spine downward.
Head: Crown is lifted, stretching spine upward. Chin is drawn in. Neck is relaxed.
Eyes: gaze as if into a great distance. Use peripheral vision to observe everything around you.
Hands: fingers gently touching each other and extended downward.
Torso: straight, upright. Chest lifted.
Other body parts: relaxed, melting, surrendering to the pull of gravity, especially the shoulders.
Visualize yourself as expanding beyond the limits of your skin, filling the room.
Observe body sensations and emotions. Let go of thoughts. Engage all your senses. Feel, rather than think.

Weight Shifts:

Practice maintaining the horse stance as you add movement. Improves balance.

In horse stance, shift your weight right, then left; repeat. If your balance is secure, briefly lift the unweighted foot about 1/2 inch from the floor.
Keep torso upright; don't lean.
Notice body sensations: bottoms of your feet pressing the floor, hips adjusting to the shifts.
Notice any emotions: joy, fear, frustration, satisfaction.
Root (sink into) the weighted leg for balance. Challenge and strengthen your balance.

Parallel Walking (Empty Walking):

Learn a new way to walk to reduce falls and improve balance.

In horse stance, walk with feet parallel as if walking along a set of narrow-gauge railroad tracks (shoulder width apart).
Take very short steps until your balance is secure.
When stepping forward, place the front foot without weight (empty); pause before shifting weight to it. Walk as if you were silently sneaking up on someone or were walking on very slippery ice.
Shift your weight slowly and mindfully to the front foot.
Root the weighted foot securely to the earth. Sink into it.
If your balance is secure and you want to challenge it, do high steps (raise thigh to horizontal as you step).
Find a balance between challenging yourself and taking it easy.
Hold hands palm down, at waist height, to aid balance.
Practice walking forward and backward.
Place heel first when going forward, ball first when going backward.

Crescent Walking (more Empty Walking):

Same as parallel walking except:

Feet are angled to the corners, not to the front.
As you step, your foot traces a half circle (crescent). in other words, don't move the foot straight forward, rather bring it in close to the standing foot, then out as you step.
Place your front foot so it lines up with the heel of the rear foot.

Straight Rowing:

Get acquainted with the bow stance. This will help to strengthen your thigh muscles (the quadriceps) and to add flexibility to your hip muscles. You'll learn to protect your knees.

Left Bow Stance: start with Horse Stance. Shift your weight left, then pivot on the right heel so that it is angled to the corner. Shift to the right, then advance the left foot straight forward so that the heel ends up where the toes were. If your belly button had a light, it would be shining straight ahead.
Hold hands palm down, at waist height, to aid balance.
Repeatedly shift your weight slowly and mindfully from one foot to the other.
Keep the belly button pointing straight ahead throughout.
Maintain an erect torso as in Horse Stance.
Be mindful of your knees. As the knees move, they should always be positioned directly over their supporting foot or directly behind it, but not to either side. Avoid extending the front knee beyond the toes. Avoid letting either knee be pulled to the left or right of its foot. For most people, it helps to remind yourself to spread the knees, which stretches the muscles of the pelvis and inner thigh.
Be mindful of your feet: keep them flat on the floor. If the edge of a foot lifts, it generally signals that your knee has wandered from its position over the foot. When you shift forward, remember to keep the rear heel on the ground.
Repeat using Right Bow Stance.

Swing Rowing:

Add some hip action to the straight rowing.

As with Straight Rowing, you will shift your weight forward and back, but now you will coordinate that movement with turning your hips left and right.
Start in Left Bow Stance, weight forward, hips (and belly button) straight ahead.
Next shift your weight back and, as you do so, turn your hips to the right. Coordinate the movement so that you shift and turn at the same time. When you have reached the limit of your backward movement you have reached the limit of your rightward turn.
Then shift forward as you turn leftward. When you have completed the shift forward, your hips face directly forward as in the starting position.
Shift your weight back and continue to turn left (yes, left!) When you have completed the shift back, your hips are fully turned left. Most people cannot turn as far to the left as they do to the right in Left Bow Stance. Don't force it.
Shift forward as you bring your hips to face directly forward.
Repeat several times. Switch to Right Bow Stance and repeat again.
Notice that whenever your weight is forward, your hips face forward. Whenever your weight is back, your hips are turned rightward or leftward.
Turning comes solely from the hips. Do not twist your torso.
Caution: pay very close attention to your knees so that they stay over your feet.

Last Updated: 05/22/2001