Practitioner, Bastyr Center for Natural Health, Seattle, WA
Adjunct Faculty/Lecturer, Northwestern Health Sciences University,
Arizona School of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine,
Eastern School of Acupuncture and Traditional Medicine,
Clinic Supervisor, Bastyr University
Graduate student, Asian Languages and Literature, Univ of WA
The following is a limited set of guidelines from the Tàijí classics. They do not cover all of the fundamentals, but they, themselves, set the foundation of physical and mental activity of Tàijí.
1. Every part of your body is connected; when one part moves, the whole body moves. You must move as one.
2. Qì 氣/气 roots at the feet, transfers through the legs, is controlled through the waist, moves through the back to the arms and fingertips.
3. You must emphasize the use of the mind - pay attention and directly guide what your body does mentally. Tàijí is not passively moving your body through the form.
4. Understand - experience - the cycling of emptiness and fullness, expansion and contraction while performing Tàijí.
5. Never over extend any movement or body part.
6. Relaxed and alert: the body and mind calm, sensitive, able to respond to even the slightest touch, such as a feather landing on your arm.
7. During practice, always be centered, balanced, and stable. You should be able to stopped at any random point in the form and be balanced and stable.
8. Pay attention at all times.
Copyright John Aguilar, Jr., DAOM, EAMP. All rights reserved.
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