Browsing Archive: September, 2013

Posture when you're moving around

Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Monday, September 30, 2013,

It's easy enough to get into investigating and improving your posture while you're static, but moving around is when it becomes critical. To address this, your instructor will show you "tai chi walking". This looks totally strange, but it really sorts out your posture, your balance, your awareness of where your weight is, your awareness of how you move and how to improve how you move.

You absolutely need an instructor for this. Most people are very unaware of how they move and how they walk -...
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practical posture tips

Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Friday, September 27, 2013,

Following on from the previous blog, how do you improve your posture?

Well try bending your knees and "sitting" with your back against a wall - you will immediately feel how curved your spine is.

A certain amount of curvature is normal - the spine is designed to have an S shape - but if your spine is curved too much, then feel your lower vertebrae and mentally and physically feel them pushed more towards that wall.

You will also notice if your shoulders touch the wall or not - they should touc...
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Posture corrections

Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Friday, September 27, 2013,

With tai chi, you should start learning posture corrections from day one. Posture is so important, not just to look good, but because it affects all your internal organs and your spinal health.

I see so many people walking around with terrible posture -
         shoulder slumped to one side, while the other is too high
         top half of body bent forward
         neck bent down, so the person is looking down
         butt stuck out
         high heels

All of these will cause problems sooner or l...
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Breathing and Tai Chi

Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Saturday, September 21, 2013,

When you start doing tai chi, you should breathe naturally, unless you are told otherwise by your instructor.

In tai chi form learning, your breathing will eventually settle down, as you keep practising the form. While some schools teach specific breathing for each sequence, if you just keep doing tai chi, then your breathing will come right of itself. Relax and breathe normally and you will be fine.

Being told otherwise by your instructor will happen, if you are learning chi kung (qigong), as...
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Frustration is a good sign!

Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Tuesday, September 10, 2013,

I have noticed (both in my students and in myself), that when the feeling of being frustrated strikes, it is usually the prelude to some kind of breakthrough! Just when you think you're getting nowhere seems to be the signal that you're about to proceed to a new understanding, or to being able to do something that has been difficult which now becomes easier.

So don't give up to feeling frustrated, but instead regard it as signalling that you're about to advance a step further in your own progr...
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Baffled by being told to feel my elbows :)

Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Sunday, September 8, 2013,

Ok, so there I was doing this exercise, where the hands are moving in big circles in time with the hips.... Afterwards a friend told me I'd improve if I could do it feeling like my elbows are hanging down off my hands.

To say this sounded weird is an understatement. Anyway, I tried it, and could feel ... nothing different! But it preyed on my mind a couple of days (still no difference though) and my subconscious must have been working on it, because by the third day I just found myself feeling...
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