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the Do tai Chi Syllabus
ongoing project - online 'classes' for tai chi |
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Segment 1: (Sessions 1 -5)
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Attention to Preparation |
Essentially, especially for those that take up Tai Chi to improve
their health or well-being, Tai Chi is on offer as an ancient
form of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and as such, it is founded
upon the principles and theories of Yin and Yang.
'Yin' is 'down and in' and 'Yang' is 'up and out'. Yin =
defensive, Yang = offensive. Yin = soft, Yang = hard. An in
breath is a Yin breath and an out breath is a Yang breath.
Our
limbs are said (in TCM) to be Yang on the outside and Yin
on the inside.
pic 1: The unbroken lines represent Yang and the broken lines
indicate Yin.
pic 2: Attention. We stand with our feet together and
with palms flat against the thighs.
The longest finger on each hand points down the seams of your
trousers. For me, this posture personifies "stiff, straight
world".
pic 3: Preparation. Next, by assuming the posture of
Preparation, we step into the world of Tai Chi - which is
"smooth and curved".
We transfer our weight into/over our right leg and, in a smooth
and curved motion we lift our left leg, place it back down
about a shoulder width from the other and make sure that we
then transfer our weight to the centre point between our legs
and 'sink' by bending our knees a little. As we go from Attention
to Preparation we turn our palms to be facing backwards, ending
with our thumbs resting gently against our thighs.
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| Opening
the Grand Terminus |
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In the
process we 'unlock' our Chi and allow it to flow through our
limbs and torso, yin on the inside and yang on the outside
- and, with our palms and a greater proportion of our forearms
now facing behind us, and with the aid of Circular Breathing
techniques and visualisations [session 2], we engage in the
Opening of the Grand Terminus; picturing the Yin or
in breath behind us and the Yang or out breath in front (pic
4).
As we
go from the stiff, straight world of Attention to the smooth
curved world of Preparation and complete the "Opening
of the Grand Terminus"; and we imagine that we have just
stepped into water, causing ripples on the surface and disturbing
the sandy bed.
At this
point it is suggested that, to become in accord with Tao or
'the way of least resistance', we should remain stood there
until we can once again see our own reflection in the water
... and begin to feel your feet sinking into the settling
bed. The latter is a metaphor for the sinking of Chi into
our Belly, Hara or lower Dan Tien, and the former for
the exquisite self examination that Tai Chi promotes and encourages.
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Supplement
A. Further reading for in depth study
| Dan
Tien or "Hara" |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dantian
"The Dan Tien or Tan t'ien literally means "cinnabar
or red field" and is loosely translated as "elixir field".
It is described as an important focal point for internal meditative
techniques and refers specifically to the physical center
of gravity located in the abdomen (about three finger widths
below and two finger widths behind the navel). The dantian
is important in Neidan,
qigong,
neigong,
tao
yin and other breathing techniques, as well as in traditional
Chinese medicine. It is also widely used throughout East
Asian meditation and martial art theories, especially the
neijia
school of Chinese
martial arts and Tai
Chi Chuan. Taoist
and Buddhist
teachers often instruct their students to center their mind
in the dantian. This is believed to aid control of thoughts
and emotions. Acting from the dantian is considered to be
related to the state of samadhi." more
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| "Samadhi"
(composing the mind) |
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam%C4%81dhi_(Buddhism)
"In Buddhism, samadhi is mental concentration or composing
the mind. In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the
following contexts: In the
Noble Eightfold Path, "right concentration" (samma-samadhi)
is the eighth path factor. Similarly, samadhi is the second
part of the Buddha's threefold training: sila (morality or
virtue), samadhi or samatha (concentration), and pañña
(wisdom). In the development of the four jhanas, the second
jhana is "born" from samadhi (samadhija). According to the
Visuddhimagga,
samadhi is the "proximate cause" to the obtainment of wisdom."
more
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