STANDING EXERCISES FOR TAU! By Dale Napior lcivation of qi for inceral power is among, che most imporcanc and pethaps least understood aspects of tajiquan raining. Like much of taijiquan the exercises ate so deceptively simple chat they are easy to ignore. When practiced faithfully they provide a powerful punch to ‘your taiji craining regimen. Chen Youze, 20% generation successor from Chenjiagou ~ the fabled Chen Village ~ has been touring America in the early pat ofthis year. In his workshops he offers a series of songfchutang standing exercises for 2 hi {evel of attainment 34 XB) for cultivating. zhong gil Ai) che vital gi of the body. What follows is a detailed deseription ofthe first four exercises in the series. Practice chem diligently and you can quickly add co-your internal power and effectiveness in tai, Exercise 1: Static Pose with Sounds “The first exercise is designed eo help you draw your gj,dawn into che lower dantien (32), just below the navel. “Cultivate internal gi,” Chen says, to “accumulate qi to the dancien. Only after there is giin che dlantiemis there elastic, or bouncing, force.” In Taoise thoughe che lower dneiznis ehe cauldron for cultivating and refining your qi into the purest, strongest essence. To practice this exercise you must maintain the designated pose in stillness for five ro ten minutes while repeacedly issuing a series of four “sounds” subvocally. The devil in che decals of cis exercise involves attaining the comet stance, and working correctly with the sounds, Stand with your heels shoulder-wideh apart, che feet curned outward. The ‘fon vow of oe 12: sie view, 70 KUNG FU © TAL CA OCTONER 2009, “UUTIVATION outward angle should be almost forty five degrees away from the forward direction, Extend your right band three fists! discance in fronc of your heart {photos rt, 2}. Poine che outer blade forward with che fingers pointing straight upward, and the thumb crooked. Hold your left hand behind your back at the position of che mingmem (G-4, che ‘Wife gate,” beeween che second and chird lumbar vertebrae ¢P4). Curl che left hand into a loose fist with che ring finger extended outward. ‘Think of nothing but che sounds, but do not literally make sounds that can be heard, Instead, “hear” the sounds incernally, with a subvocal expression that helps ‘move your qi. 1-3: back ew‘Saunt: 4 ough he mouth. The sound I tke nebacceee, sty. Sound 2: Af trough the ase. The sau she sheoaasee, ako softy. ‘Sound 2: through the mouth. The sounds the sohuus, got, ‘oun 4: Cog hugh he nase. The sound i ke see, sfly. Repeat each sound in turn —20 repetitions, where ane repetition involves doing each sound onct, in a cycle. As you “hear” the sounds through ‘your nose or mouth; feel the. line of gi as it drops into your dantien. Do these repetitions slowly and carefully, without rushing. If your goal is to finish as quickly as possible, you will not achieve the desired result. Exercise 2: Moving Qi In and Out Having drawn your qi into the lower ancien fom the first exercise, ‘you are now ready co begin working wich it. “The goal, Chen says, is “eo move gi to make it alive.” This exercise will seem familiar to many, although che details may be slightly differenc. Each of the final three exercises works to circle qi ina differenc dimension, This circle works on the plane parallel to the ground. ‘Scand in the same posture as before. Hold yourhands in front of the dantien, lightly cupped. Use reverse breathing, through the nose, to extend your qi outward, and draw ie back in again. As you inhale, fee! your qi push your hands outward away from your dantien (photos 2-1,2-3). Do not work to make. the hands move; [ec them move of their own accord as determined by the strengeh of your gi. The stronger your gi the more the hands will move outward, ‘The important thing is, you have nothing to prove. Lee your qi do the talking. As you exhale, fee the hands pulled back inward to the dancien, until they are resting as if glued co your belly iphoto). ‘There are two kéys to doing this exercise comectly: you must be ‘standing in perfece alignment, and your reverse breathing must not distarb thac alignment 24; stent of na, 22: endo nae, ards on canton, Perfect alignment refers ta the alignment of chtee important points: the baifulerown center, Cv-a0 @|, the Aaivin|perineumy Co-4 BE), and the point exactly beeween your two yongquan Ka, also called the bubble spring, in che middle near che ball of each foot 3). This midpoine is correct only if you are centered perfectly between your two bubble springs. Reverse breathing refers eo lightly moving your back — your mingmen [Du-g!—outward as you inhale. Your abdomen moves lightly inward in conjunction with your back. As you ‘exhale, your back and abdomen retam to their starting point. As you breathe, do not lose your three-point alignment. The biggest mistake you can make, Chen says, is to let your body curve. Often this, happens “when the butt sticks axe or is pulled in too much.” When that happens, he sayy cannot go down smoothly, which cam cause harm. Murky qi cannot go down, and clear gi cannot go up” This causes qi to accumulate in the chest, which will “cause chest tightening.” Ofeen, he says, this will be manifested by a “great need to sigh.” 2: side ew of na phase (OCTOBER 2000 KUNG FU © TALC 71Exercise 3: Circling the Qi Exercise 4: The third exercise is more complex. It focuses on moving the gi within Circling toward the dantien, in circles from left to right and right to left. These circles are perpendicular to the ground, parallel co the plane of ourbodies. Because the Front and titalingin the daneions 6 importanc to generating internal power in tai so mporcant to making your techniques work ~ this exercise is Back pariculaey eucial ‘The final exercise circles giin the remaining dimension, frone Assume the same stance as before. ‘This time you will exhale through the ta back to front, lke. a bal rolling 4 ‘mouth, alchough sill inhaling chrough the nose. forward or backward. This seems i slightly confusing at first because 3 it involves rising up and down as the arms and hands cirele up the riddle and dowm the sides, but Rest your right fist in your left palm, wich the lefe thumb on cop and knuckles resting inthe palm. Both thumbs are outward, away from the body (photo 5} the eruth becomes obvious with ‘ practice. : Start with your fist below the belly. As you inhale, slowly move it «up your Jefe, then across the top. As you move the fist down che right side and ‘Assume the same stance as before, 4 across the bottom, exhale only abic wider. Cross your hands acthe wrist and make them into fists, Place them above your navel 3 = [eft hand on top for men, right hand on cop for women (photo 4-1) ‘As you move your fist toward the right side shife your weight coward the right eg, as shown in photo 3-2. As you move your fist back toward the left, shife your weight as in photo 3-3. Thus you are continuously shifting back. and forth as you spiral with your fie. Your weighe should be in the ceneer ‘when your fist isin the center either above or below your dancien. Be sure to synchronize the breathing with the movements. Perform 30 repesitions in each direction, Inhale, rising: up with yourhands rising up yourmiddle. The bands should slowly uncrosg, fingers | extended and uniformly spaced, palms outward (photo 4-2). As According to Chen, this exercise is “moving ai in che dancien, che abdomen you inhale, pull up lightly on the and thoracic cavity. Qi leads blood in the body. According to Chinese perinewm, | ‘medicine, qi is the commander of blood.” Cireling qi around ehe dancien- he | says, involves “cultivating the root, and lubricating the waist.” The keyis When your hands reach the top, let 4 to "relax the Auza ithe fold where our upper thigh meets our abdomen 8§] and them float down the sides, palms loosen the waist.” down. Exhale and release the $4: begin, - £2nhaing tsi, bot fo move up. 5: exhaling don right ie, bout to more back 72 KING FU © TALCHI OCTORER 2009,‘ero 4 oxnnina it bands cos In to of wal perineum, As yourhands © reach chest level, slowly close chem into fists. As your hands approach the boccom, bend at che. knees and kag, lowering yourself so the fists can brush pase your knees (photos 4-4, 4-51. As they brush past, cross chem at the wrists and begin rising again uneil you reach che original posture Iphoto 4-6), For che first 20 repetitions, visualize wand try to feel ~ your dantien rolling over from back tofrone. As you rise and inbale, fet che circle within your dancien tall up and over toward the front. As you lower and exhale, Je the circle drop down the fronc and roll ender coward che Backs ikea whee rolfing forward. For the second 20 repetitions, have your ancien rall in che. opposite direction up che * front as you rise, down che back as you sink. (Chen says the primary concer with chis exercise is the need 10 “quiee the heart mind Lain ws). Uf not quies, the body cannot relax, Thinking about ocher things, the heart is not quiet. Remove all distractions.” He says ehac “if xin js not quiet, movement and qi cannot synchronize,” He says thar che inability eo do this is usually a sign that a person has problems in hissher life thac are causing the distractions. «Conclusion ‘ppepe, These sions exercises are unassumingly SSN straightforward. On the surface they seem so simple thac there must be liele eo chem, buc cher roots run deep. As Chen Youze says, “There is noend. The 2. Near top tnt, propa os ‘wie. 3. Bain down, about to as iss 4. With closed ft, wearing button, §, og ts about to rss ot 6. Crossed ists, now reat begin tose ‘ith new inkl 7. ving sted al epetons, eshning to cose 8, losing exer 9. Exris compl, methods muse be mastered by the practitioner” in order to gain the benefit sought. You must “practice very hard. ® Ieis not enough just co ‘know’ it, You must medicace ~ upon ie” © "Dale Napler teaches Tai Ch & Oigony in Houston, TX. Visit his ig ‘website at vow elementaltalchi.com 2 ocToaen 2008 KUNGFU &°TAI CHI 73 ee ee ¥ t |