A Simple Exercise for Song (Relax and Loosen)

Song (松) means to loosen and relax. It means to open up your joints so the energy can flow. What does that really mean, though? It means to stretch the ligaments that hold our joints together. How do we do that? Here is a simple exercise to help you learn about song.

Look at your hands at the inside of your wrists. At the base of your palm, right where it joins with the wrist, there is a line, or fold, in the skin. You can usually see this line on both hands. Bring your hands together so that your hands are in a prayer position. Hold your hands together, palms facing each other, and align the two lines. Look at your finger tips. For many people, the fingertips will not be even. One hand is larger than the other. Note which hand is smaller. If they seem to be the same size, note which hand is your non-dominant hand.

Now, look at your smaller or non-dominant hand. Start with your little finger. Look at the first knuckle, the one closest to your palm. Visualize that joint is expanding and stretching. Keep your attention there for about 3 to 5 seconds. Move to the next joint on the little finger. Visualize that joint is expanding and stretching. Focus for about 3 to 5 seconds again. Move your attention to the last joint in the finger and repeat.

Move your attention to the next finger, the ring finger. Look at the first knuckle and do the same visualization. Follow this with the rest of the knuckles. Move to the middle finger, then the pointing finger, and then the thumb. Do the same visualization for each knuckle. Now, visualize your entire hand. Imagine that the whole hand is expanding, that it is growing with each heartbeat.

Now, line up your hands again from the line at your wrist. Most people find that their hand has grown a little bit. You certainly didn't increase the size of your bones in that short time. The increase has to come from the space between the bones, the joints. This is song.

Now the tricky part begins. Use this same technique for the rest of your body. Don't worry about the measuring or comparing here. You know it works. Open up your shoulder joints during your tai chi warmups. Focus on your shoulders while you do your forms. You may need to pause once in a while to bring your attention back to the shoulders. Continue this practice for the elbows, spine, hips, etc. You can use this technique for your entire body. With lots of practice, you can start to develop the ability to continuously maintain song throughout your body.

What do you think? Leave a comment.

© 2012 Eric Borreson

Two Kinds of Movement in Tai Chi

There are two kinds of movement in tai chi. The first kind of movement is the external. Beginning students tend to move from their hands and feet. The students watch the teacher and try to mimic the movement. Their minds are engaged in the external movements happening at the edge of their space. The students lack an awareness of center, so the movements are all external and full of effort. The students think that this is tai chi.

The second kind of movement is from the center. If the students work hard, practice, study, and listen to their teacher, they may some day become experts. Experts move from the center. Force comes from the ground and spirals up the legs and is manifested as the body moves from the dan tien. The hands no longer lead the movement. They express, or amplify, the movement that began at the center.

It is not easy to do, but it is important to make the transition from externally generated movements to movements generated at the center. When we move from the center, we use much less energy to deliver more power, or force. It almost feels like there is a release of power instead of the use of energy. There is less tension and more song, or relax and loosen.

With more and more practice, we can start to develop the ability where the movement can be generated from anywhere, freely and instinctively. The responsiveness to external forces becomes almost unbelievable to beginners. When I get close to this feeling, I'll let you know.

What do you think? Where are you in your development? Leave a comment.

© 2012 Eric Borreson

Sinking the Qi Part 2 – Focus on Breathing

I have written about the word sink in the context of sinking the qi. In this sense of the word sink, it means to relax the hips and waist, lower the pelvis bones, and allow your body to settle. Let your shoulders relax away from your neck. Allow your skeleton to support your body. Use your intention to lower your elbows.

A big part of sinking is developing song (relax/loosen) and jing (mental quietness) in your practice.  Following the principle of song means to relax your body, without going limp, and loosening up the muscles, tendons, and joints. Jing means to focus your mind on your forms and avoid distractions. Proper breathing helps with both of these principles.

Last week I wrote about when to inhale and when to exhale and how that relates to storing and delivering energy. This week, I am going to focus on breathing techniques that help you focus your mind and improve your flow of qi.

Abdominal Breathing

Abdominal breathing, or diaphragmatic breathing, helps you to sense qi. As you exhale, you should try to sense a warm, tingly, or heavy feeling in your dan tien. Don’t worry if you don’t feel this at first. That’s normal. Continue practicing to develop your ability to sense your qi.

For abdominal breathing, take several long slow deep breaths. Allow your mind to relax so you can begin to focus on your mind-body connection. Concentrate on the abdomen area below the diaphragm. When you exhale, gently contract the muscles in your pelvis and lower abdomen. Keep the chest relatively still. When you inhale, expand your abdomen. Again, keep your chest relatively still. In other words, exhale by contracting your abdomen. Inhale by expanding your abdomen.

This type of breathing uses your diaphragm to expand your lungs. As we get older, we tend to breathe shallower. This change is primarily due to sitting and hunching over. This exercise greatly expands your lung capacity and counteracts the bad influence of hunching over. This is very relaxing and improves your qi.

Continue to practice abdominal breathing during meditation or while practicing tai chi. Keep your attention on your lower abdomen in the area around your dan tien. With enough practice, it will become natural and comfortable.

Dan Tien Breathing

To learn how to breathe with this method, place one hand over your upper abdomen, above your belly button. Place your other hand over your lower abdomen, below your belly button. During both inhales and exhales, try to keep your top hand from moving.

When you exhale, gently contract your lower abdomen as if the air is leaving the balloon. Gently contract the pelvic floor muscles at the bai hui point along your perineum.

When you inhale, imagine that the air fills your lungs, bypasses your upper abdomen, and fills your lower abdomen and gently expands it like a balloon. Gently relax the pelvic floor muscles at the yin hui point in the perineum. You probably will not be able to breathe as deeply as you could during regular abdominal breathing.

This technique adds an additional focus on your perineum, the area between your anus and your genitals. Use your yi, or focused attention, to gently contract the muscles of the pelvic floor located at the midpoint of the perineum. Visualize that you are contracting those muscles toward your belly button as you inhale. Allow those muscles to relax as you exhale. If you get tired, just relax and go back to breathing naturally.

When you are comfortable with dan tien breathing, remove your hands and stand in dan tien. In addition, the Dan Tien Breathing method can be practiced while doing the Open and Close Hands form of Sun style tai chi. Dr. Paul Lam describes it like this (dan tien breathing):

“The dan tien breathing method is especially effective for relaxation and for healing. Whenever you feel stressed or nervous, take a gentle breath. Start doing open and close. Breathe in and out and you most likely will find your mind clears up and the stress eases off.”

Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming talked about this in his book TheRoot of Chinese Qigong: Secrets of Health, Longevity, & Enlightenment. He described it like this:

“... abdominal breathing is an important part of Buddhist Qigong training and so it is often called "Buddhist Breathing". To practice it, you must first use your Yi to control the muscles in your abdomen. When you inhale, intentionally expand your abdomen, and when you exhale, let it contract. In addition, when you inhale, you should gently push out your Huiyin (Co-1) cavity or anus, and when you exhale, hold it up. “

This type of breathing helps clear your mind (develop jing) and helps loosen and relax your body (song). It takes lots of practice. There are also other benefits to this type of breathing. According to Dr. Lam, the muscles closest to the spine work different than other muscles in terms of function and neuromuscular properties. Their function is to protect and strengthen the spine. In Western medicine and anatomy, these muscles are called the deep stabilizers. A way to strengthen these muscles is to use this type of breathing, as well as proper posture and alignment.

Traditional writings in tai chi refer to “pulling up the anus” or “contracting the anus”. I have never understood that idea very well. I think that this means the same as what I have been calling Buddhist Breathing. However, note that this does not mean contract the buttocks. These muscles need to be relaxed when not needed, just like all other muscles.

© 2011 Eric Borreson

Leg Strength and Balance in Tai Chi (Taiji)

Strong legs and good balance are what keep you mobile as you get older. Balance improves as you strengthen the muscles in your legs. Tai chi is great practice to help with both strength and balance.

For many people first learning tai chi, leg strength and balance can be problems. When you first learn tai chi, you are probably taught a simplified set that is easy to learn and doable by most people. These simplified sets often omit the single-leg stances and kicks. When students finally advance to a set that requires a single-leg form, they often find it difficult to balance on one leg.

The following are examples of exercises that can be used to strengthen your legs, starting with exercises for people who have the most difficulty and need the most improvement. Pick the ones that seem most appropriate for your health. In all of these exercises, work within your comfort zone. With tai chi, slow and steady is the best.

For these exercises, or any other exercise that requires you to balance on one leg, it helps to focus your eyes on a fixed point on the wall or floor in front of you. In addition, you can turn the foot of your supporting foot outward at an angle to get a better base. It also helps to extend out your counterbalance arm before you extend your kick.

Supported Leg Lifts
For learners that have difficulty standing on one leg at all, the first step is to begin with full support. To do this, stand beside a table, counter top, or sturdy chair. Place your hand flat on the table or hold on to the back of the chair. Gently hold on and carefully lift one leg just off the floor. Hold as long as it is comfortable and lower your leg back down to the floor. Repeat with the other leg. Alternate legs and repeat several times. Practice a few minutes every day.

It may take a few days, weeks, or even a few months, but you will gradually get stronger and more confident in your ability to stand on one leg. As you get stronger, repeat the exercise and raise your leg higher or repeat with only four fingers on the edge of the table or chair. Continue as long as needed. Gradually increase the height you raise your foot, increase the time you stand on one leg, or reduce the number of fingers on the support until you feel confident enough to do this without any support.

Tai Chi Stepping
If you can stand on one leg in a fairly stable posture and hold it for a few seconds, it is time to add some dynamic action to the posture to improve your strength and stability. A good example of dynamic action is tai chi stepping. Stepping in tai chi is different than the stepping we do when walking.

Start with your feet about the width of your waist or shoulders and your weight placed evenly on both of your feet. Begin by bending your knees slightly. Then slowly shift your weight to your right leg until all your weight is there and the left leg is “empty”. Slowly lift your left foot and move it directly forward. Touch your heel down, then the rest of your foot. Slowly shift your weight forward until your left knee is bent and most of your weight is on your left leg. Pause, then shift your weight back to your right leg, slowly pick up your left foot, and bring it back to its original position. Shift your weight back to center. Repeat with your other foot. Optionally, add a very slow punch with the opposite hand, where you punch forward as you shift your weight forward and pull your hand back as you shift your weight back.

There are a couple of things to be aware of when doing this exercise. First, be careful to move your empty foot directly forward. Do not place in front of your other foot. I call that “walking a tightrope” and it is very unstable. Second, when shifting your weight forward, do not allow your knee to bend forward beyond the tips of your toes. Third, when you are shifting your weight forward, be sure to keep your heel of your back foot on the ground. If you lift your heel, you can become overbalanced very quickly.

There are a couple of visualizations that can help with this. First, visualize walking like a cat when it is stalking. It picks up one foot and carefully and quietly places it down. Try to do the same kind of step. Alternatively, visualize wearing tap-dancing shoes on a marble floor. Imagine touching your foot down without making a sound.

Loosening Your Hips
 Dr. Paul Lam teaches an exercise in his Tai Chi for Arthritis program to loosen (song) your hip. For this exercise, you need to be able to stand and be stable on one foot for a few seconds. Start with your feet about shoulder width apart. Slowly raise your hands in front of you, palms down, to about shoulder height. Slowly bring your hands back down and move them slightly past your hips for balance. Bend your knees slightly as your hands come down. At the same time, shift your weight onto your right leg. Pick up your left foot, bring your left foot forward, and touch your heel down.

Raise your hands to the front again. At the same time, bring your foot back behind you and touch down with the ball of your foot. Bring your hands down again and bring your foot forward again. Repeat for a total of three times and then switch to the other side. It’s perfectly OK to touch your foot down in the center for balance as you move from front to back. If you feel fairly strong while perform this exercise, try to bend the knee of your weighted leg a little bit and work from a lower stance.

Marching While Bouncing a Ball
This exercise is from shibashi tai chi/qigong 18 set. For this exercise, you need to be able to do the Loosening Your Hips exercise described above. Stand naturally and relax. In this movement, you slowly raise one knee. At the same time, raise the hand on the same side, palm down, to about shoulder height. Lower your leg and arm at the same time. Repeat to the other side. If you can, raise your knee to about waist height.

At any time, change the combination, e.g. right hand and left leg, or two steps on the right and one on the left, etc. The change should be smooth and relaxed. If you prefer, you can slowly punch forward instead of raising and lowering your hands while marching. You can also walk instead of marching in place. This can be in any direction. Walk forward, backward, in circles, or figure eights. When you walk, it is called "Cloud Walking."

Heel Kick While Squatting
An exercise that takes quite a bit more strength than any of the previous exercises is a heel kick done while squatting on one leg.

Stand naturally and relax. Empty your left leg and bring your left foot in to touch your right foot at the instep. Bend your knees a little and lean forward very slightly. Hold your right hand at your side with your fingertips touching the outside of your thigh. Bring your left hand forward to touch your leg at or slightly above your left kneecap.

Bring your left leg up so you can keep touching your left knee. Slowly extend your left leg toward the front, leading with the heel, in a slow-motion heel kick, keeping your fingertips on your knee. Kick three times and return to the beginning posture. Repeat on the other side. As you get stronger, use deeper knee bends and work lower and lower.

© 2011 Eric Borreson

Using Tai Chi (Taiji) to Integrate Mind, Body, and Spirit (Part 1 of 2)

Tai chi can be used to develop clarity of mind, awareness of body and qi, and strength of spirit. A key component of tai chi practice is focus. The shorter forms develop our understanding of the movements and develop our understanding of qi. The longer forms develop our focus by requiring us to concentrate for several minutes at a time in order to do the form correctly. The longer concentration develops our ability to use the universal qi.

A basic principle of tai chi is that the mind (yi) directs the qi and the qi drives the jing (internal power.) This makes it sound like yi, qi, and jin are separable and can be developed independently. However, in practice they are inseparable.

It takes a lot of practice to develop your internal power. You need to rewire your nervous system so that your mind can properly understand your body. With extensive practice, you can begin to understand that connection. There is a saying, “The first 10,000 times don’t count”, referring to the amount of practice to understand tai chi.

The tai chi classics often make statements that yi is more important than the body. I don’t think that this means to separate yi and body. They are also inseparable. They must be properly integrated. The goal is to achieve clarity of mind, awareness of the environment, and the ability to direct your qi and your force. There are three steps, or parts, of the process of integrating mind and body. They are not independent of each other. The three steps are 1) clarity of mind, 2) awareness of body and qi, and 3) strengthening your spirit (unconscious mind).

1. Clarity of MindClarity of mind comes from focusing your mind on your tai chi form. Be aware of each of the movements. Know where your muscles and joints are moving. Be aware of the intention. Dr. Paul Lam wrote an article, “Yi (the mind) and Quan (the fist or martial art).” In this article, he lays out steps to develop mental focus.

Part 1 – Jing – Mental Quietness. The first step is to quiet your monkey mind. This happens as you breathe deeply and rhythmically during performance of the forms. During the close part of a form, you exhale and sink your qi, which also helps to calm your mind. It also can help to imagine that you are practicing in a peaceful, tranquil place.

Part 2 – Song – Relax and Loosen. Song means to loosen your muscles and joints. Your qi flows freely when your body is stretched out. Imagine your qi sinking to your dan tien. Thinking of your dan tien helps you focus and pay attention to your body.

Part 3 – Mental Focus. There are 3 parts to this. Focus on the body, the martial meaning, and your internal balance.

First, focus on the body. Be aware of what is happening and where your Qi is moving. Try to get to know a little bit about the acupuncture meridians because that’s where your Qi moves. Focus on your muscles and joints.

Second, focus on the martial meaning of each form. It is important to understand the open and close of each form. Know how and where power is developed and delivered. This helps you to understand the correct posture and movement and your mind directs your body into the right movements. Focus on the movements and their intention.

Third is cultivation of your internal balance. This gives you a controlled and relaxed personality to match the controlled, slow, and relaxed tai chi form.

Dr. Lam concludes by saying, “One way to test your improvement is to be aware of your eyes or visual fields.” He goes on to say, “If your mind is focused and integrated, your eyes will be looking in the right direction and have the right energy within them.”

It is not possible to learn all of these things at once. During your daily practice, pick one thing to work on for that day. Work on that topic for several days or weeks and then move on to something new. Eventually, come back to the first topic and work on that one again. You can continue to learn something new about yourself as you continue to work.

(Part 2 will be published next week)
© 2011 Eric Borreson

Jing – Mental Quietness and Serenity in Tai Chi

Jing is a mental phase where your mind quiets down and ignores the mental chatter that we are normally bombarded with. Jing means to be focused and aware of your self and your surroundings. It has been said that Sun Lu-Tang, creator of Sun style tai chi, claimed that the highest level of tai chi is when it merges with the Dao and one is in harmony with nature.

There are two other words in Chinese that are pronounced as “jing” (homonyms). One of the words means force, as in jing energy (fa jing). The second word refers to sexual energy, or essence (jing, qi, and shen). The third word refers to mental quietness and serenity. This article is about the third word.

A way to improve your Jing is to practice tai chi. Move slowly with even speed. Push gently through the air as if it is thick like honey. Keep your focus on your body. Be aware of substantial and insubstantial. Keep your body aligned and your joints loose (song).

Seek serenity in activity. When practicing the forms, it is generally better to move very slowly. Slow movements help you breathe deeply and help to sink the qi to the dan tien. Sinking your qi also prevents top heaviness caused by rising qi.

Tai chi practice can develop your ability to move from your learning mind to your performance mind. Learning mind (conscious mind) – the learning mind is engaged when learning the form. We practice each part and put them together into the form, linking each part together. We then begin integrating the essential principles into the whole.

Performance mind (subconscious mind) – With practice, the form becomes second nature. The learning mind begins to give way to the performance mind. As the performance mind takes over, the mind begins to lead the body and mental quietness develops.

It can take time to develop a quiet mind. It improves with practice. With each successive practice, it takes less time to return to a quiet mind. Gradually, you will be able to move to a higher level with better focus. Mental quietness calms the monkey mind that bombards us with random, jumpy thoughts. It helps us cope with stress and crisis.

Another way to develop your Jing is similar to meditation. Imagine that you are outdoors in a safe and comfortable place. Sit still and imagine that you can feel light breezes and that you can hear the birds and other animals. Allow yourself to relax and become quiet.

Maintain an upright posture, song your joints. Gently tuck in your chin and your pelvis to straighten your spine. Focus on slow and gentle breathing. Concentrate on your dan tien. When you exhale, gently contract the muscles in the lower abdomen and pelvis while keeping the muscles still above your belly button. Imagine that you are bringing your pelvic floor just a little closer to your belly button. When you inhale, allow the muscles to relax while maintaining a little bit of the muscle contraction.

When you use your mind actively to focus on and enhance your body movements, you build a strong mind/body connection. Your energy follows your intention. This is tai chi.

Jing and Song work together to promote calmness and serenity. In addition, jing activates our parasympathetic nervous system. This calms our body and reverses the effect of stress. Therefore, people often find that jing improves their ability to handle stress.

© 2011 Eric Borreson

Song (Sung) – Relax and Loosen

The most common translation is relax, but this is not sufficient to adequately describe the term. It can also be translated as loose, open, yielding, free, and responsive. It can refer to releasing all unnecessary muscular tension while maintaining structural alignment. This means loosening and stretching your muscles, releasing your tensions throughout your body, and opening your joints from within. This does not mean that you turn limp and soft. It means loose and prepared with no unnecessary tension.

Work on developing your Song by visualizing your joints loosening up as you move. When you stretch your joints, you are achieving Song and you are not tense. Your qi improves and you improve flexibility.

Wuji. Wuji is the posture of neutral. An important purpose of wuji is for posture awareness, where we allow ourselves to mentally scan our body, discovering our physical and mental needs and wants.

To learn how to stand with wuji posture, stand with your feet directly below the hip sockets so that your legs are vertical, your feet are parallel and with a very slight knee bend, and keep your body's weight evenly on your feet. Start from a military attention posture; chest out, shoulders back, stomach in, and lower back arched. Relax into wuji; let your shoulders relax down and slightly forward to allow chest to relax down; let your abdomen relax out; slightly tuck in your pelvis (imagine sitting down, but stopping after about 1”); and slightly push in your chin to avoid the tendency to let your head lean forward. This allows your body structure to support you instead of using your muscles.

Keep your body symmetrical with shoulders level and arms even. Let all your muscles release any unnecessary tension. Consciously open up all your joints. Being symmetrical (in alignment) means that your internal organs are in the proper place and your skeleton can do its job of supporting the body. This allows your body to function normally.

Find Your Qi. First, stand in wuji. Raise your hands in front of you. Hold the inside of your wrists near each other, about an inch or two apart but not touching. Slowly move your wrists past each other in a small circle without touching. Repeat about 10 or 15 times.

Second, hold your hands several inches apart with the palms facing each other. Slowly move your hands past each other in a small circle without touching. Repeat about 10 or 15 times. Many people start to feel a warmth or tingling while this is happening. This is your qi. Hold your hands near each other and slowly move them apart (open) and move them back towards each other (close). Inhale as you open and exhale as you close. Learn to manipulate the qi that you feel between your hands.

© 2010 Eric Borreson