Anatomy
Breathing into your stomach
Breath is life. We have a lungs to bring in oxygen and remove built up toxins and carbon dioxide from our body. It is said that the average person only uses about twenty percent of their lung capacity. With Tai Chi practice, you can learn to bring more oxygen into your body and improve your heath through deep breath into your stomach.
So what is "Breathe into your stomach"? If you are a singer, actor, or yogi, the answer may be obvious to your body, but for the rest of us, breathing deep into the stomach on regular basis can be a new territory in our body. (Otherwise why would so many people need to be reminded?)
Straighten your spine
Whenever I do Tai Chi, I am recalibrating my own senses and relieving any congestion in my body. This all starts from standing straight and straightening the spine.
When I say "straighten your spine" in class, everyone becomes taller and their energy becomes focused. This is a great start. Once you start to get present with yourself standing straight in silence, you will notice there are so many things going on in your body and your mind. There is so much to this simple expression "straighten your spine". Let's take a look at it so you can get the maximum benefit from just standing around!
Tuck the tailbone in
"Tuck the tailbone in" is a common expression heard in Tai Chi class. For beginners, this may give lots of "?" mark in their heads. Read on to clarify this mysterious expression...
"Tuck the tailbone in" our teacher would say in class, and I would just sort of wiggle my hips as if I know what I was doing. For the longest time, I was not quite sure what that really meant. I had not much clue how to feel my tailbone. So if you happen to be struggling with this concept, I feel your struggle. It sounds so easy- but not so easy to modern day people who sit all day long squishing the spine.
