Dec 1, 20232 min read

Moving the Arms in Taiji, Qigong, and Yoga

Updated: 4 days ago

Many taiji forms begin with the arms rising ahead of you, something that also applies to many qigong and yoga exercises.

Raising the arms.

Use your back.

The arms need to connect to the body; the action is not one where only the shoulder muscles function.

It's therefore essential that you involve the 'S' bend of your spine (see the previous 2 Blogs). To do so, gently extend the lumbar spine backwards whilst the arms lift.

'Balancing' the body.

By doing this, what you are trying to do is to balance the front and back of the body; if something is going forward, something else needs to go backward. The sensation should be as if blowing up a balloon; the balloon doesn't only expand forwards, it expands in all directions simultaneously.

[In actual fact, you should feel an upward/downward and a left/right expansion also].

Testing it.

Have someone stand in front of you and loosely hold your wrists.

When you push your wrists away from you, have the intention of pushing your wrists straight ahead to the skirting board, rather than the intention of lifting them up.
Your partner should very gently try to stop you from moving your wrists forwards and away from you.
Get him to push with as much pressure as it takes for you to feel your back becoming involved as you push your arms ahead of you.

James Drewe teaches Tai Chi and Qigong in both London and in Kent and online.

Details of weekly classes both live and online can be found on the website, and there are classes for 2-person Tai Chi on one Saturday a month.