13-Posture Tai Chi for Harmony, Strength & Balance 2023 – Helen Liang

The practice of Tai Chi is the physical interpretation of the Tao philosophy — a teaching built upon the belief in unity of all things found in the universe.

In this opening session, you’ll learn the pivotal, spiraling, coiling force of Tai Chi as it first emerges in form. You’ll learn how this opening Tai Chi movement activates the Yin and Yang energies of the body and moves Qi throughout your being… and dive deep to discover the role of the mind in harmonizing the Yin and Yang polarities.

Helen will teach the fundamental elements of Tai Chi Standing Posture (Zhan Zhuang ), which is essential for building proper body alignment and cultivating your reservoir of energy.

In this session, you’ll:

• Learn what the 13 Principles (Ba Men Wu Bu ) are… and the history behind the form
• Be introduced to Tai Chi fundamentals — Zhan Zhuang (Standing Posture) for building proper body alignment; releasing constriction in the shoulders and spine; strengthening muscles of the extremities, the core muscles of the abdomen, and the back; and activating important acupuncture points to allow smooth circulation of Qi in the major meridians and vessels
• Explore the role of the Dan Tian, the seat of life force in the body
• Learn the pose Mao Bu and how to step gently and gracefully to improve your leg strength, balance, and coordination
• Be introduced to the first posture, Tai Chi Bao Qiu (Embracing Tai Chi Ball), to activate the Yin and Yang energies of your body
• Learn the second posture, Wild Horse Parts Its Mane, and the important Tai Chi principle of Shang Xia Xiang Sui, coordinating the upper and lower parts of the body

You’ll review the Standing Posture, the first and second posture that you learned last week, and be introduced to the third posture — Ba He Liang Chi (White Crane Spreads Its Wings). As part of this posture, you’ll contemplate the image of the crane… in Taoism the red-crested white crane is a symbol of immortality and wisdom and is associated with heaven. The third posture helps bring clarity and calm to the mind and spirit. When you have a calm mind and you’re in a state of Yin, you generate fluid movements and power.

The third posture also contemplates the energetic skill of Peng — the first and foremost energy principle of the 13 postures, which allows the entire body to feel strong and solid, yet flexible and energized with springlike vitality.

In the fourth posture, Lou Xi Ao Bu (Brush Knee Push), you’ll explore the classic Tai Chi teaching of Wu Guo Bu Ji, meaning “not excessive” or “deficient,” and you’ll learn how balance and harmony can be maintained in your life when you don’t let things reach a critical point.

In this session, you’ll:

• Learn the Tai Chi principle of Xu Lin Ding Jin (Elevate the Crown and Lift the Spirit) — correctly applying this principle allows you to think clearly and move with ease as you learn to align the cervical vertebrae and spine, promoting blood flow to and from the brain
• Experience how meditative body movements together with foot stance — the Empty Stance, unique to Chinese martial arts — can empty the mind of chatter, clear the mind of worry, and strengthen the muscles of the legs
• Be introduced to the first of the 13 energy skills — Peng, the energy that provides the fundamental support to all the movements of Tai Chi
• Explore how the fourth posture builds strong Yang Qi by cultivating the Yang meridians, and learn how strength and power are best generated when the opposite arm and leg are both active
• Learn how to achieve balance when performing your movements

After reviewing the first four postures, you’ll move onto the fifth posture, Shou Hui Pi Pa (Playing Lute), and the sixth posture, Lu Ji Shi (Roll Back and Squeeze).

You’ll learn that when performing a form, your hands, legs, and feet are in constant transition between Yin and Yang in a continuous flow, mirroring the ongoing change in the universe that’s brought forth by the dance between the two opposites. You’ll also learn that inherent in every Tai Chi posture is an “opening and closing,” a powerful way to express the dance of Yin and Yang in your body.

The fifth posture is one movement that vividly demonstrates the notion of “opening and closing” and helps open up important energy gates in the body to promote smooth circulation of Qi in the spine, the Governing Vessel meridian, and out through the arms.

You’ll explore the mystic teaching of allowing and yielding through the energy of Lu. By contemplating on the energy of Lu, you’ll learn about realizing peace through non-resistance (acceptance) when you allow the events of life to unfold naturally. Once you’ve mastered the way of yielding, you’re empowered to resolve challenges by learning the technique of Ji (Squeeze).

In this session, you’ll:

• Learn how an important energy gate , Jia Ji, located behind the heart and between the shoulder blades, can be opened to achieve full Qi circulation in the spine and out through the arms
• Discover how the fifth posture cultivates the Yin energies of the arms and legs, and how energy is gathered to fill our Dan Tian area
• Explore how opening is a time for expressing energy and closing is a time for building energy as you journey through life’s ups and downs
• Discover Lu (Roll Back), a downward and sideways energy used to yield and redirect opposing energy
• Contemplate the principle of yielding as the way of the Tao — learning to use it when confronted with opposition or attack
• ExploreJi (Press), a penetrative, squeezing energy technique that empowers you to accomplish more in your daily lif

After a review of the last six postures, you’ll learn Shang Bu Ban Lan Cui (Step Forward to Deflect, Parry, and Punch) and the eighth posture, Peng Lu Ji An (Ward Off, Roll Back, Squeeze, and Push).

Lao Zi teaches in the Tao Te Ching that soft overcomes hard. He uses water as a metaphor for this assertion: water is soft and flexible, but also has the power to erode the hardest materials like rock and metal.

You’ll explore the teaching of living with softness and flexibility through the practice of the seventh posture. To be like water also means that you’re able to adapt to different circumstances. The technique An, taught in the eighth posture, cultivates your ability to survive many different circumstances by adapting.

In this session, you’ll:

• Learn 2 important footsteps, Zuo Gu (Looking to the Left ) and You Pan (Glance to the Right), which form 2 of the the 13 energies
• Experience how the seventh posture balances the left and right side of your body’s energies
• Discover how timing is the key to perfecting any posture or movement of Tai Chi, just as it’s the key to the smooth flow of circumstances we encounter in life
• Learn how Yin and Yang contain each other… the hard and powerful within the gentle and soft… or, as expressed in the Tai Chi classics, “the needle is concealed in the cotton”
• Cultivate your ability to adapt to different situations in life with the energy of An (Push), a downward, upward, and forward form of energy based on the Tai Chi principle of connecting and conforming to nature and taking advantage of any situation in the moment

In this powerful session, you’ll learn the ninth, tenth, and eleventh postures — Yun Shou (Cloud Hands), Dan Bian (Single Whip), and Xia Shi (Snake Creeping Down).

Lao Zi teaches in the Tao Te Ching that everything around us undergoes a constant flow of transformation and change. All things obey the law of rhythm — expansion and contraction, rising and falling. This is the constant of nature, the Tao.

The continuous flow of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh postures mirrors the cyclic nature of the Tao’s endless motion and constant change, inspiring you to gracefully embrace life’s ups and downs.

These postures and movements help build coordination, flexibility, strength, and balance.

In this session, you’ll:

• Discover how to relax deeply by “sinking” through your feet into the ground like a tree with deep, strong roots while waving your hands like clouds
• Learn the meaning of “pulling silk,” a phrase that describes Taiji’s slow, gentle, and continuous movements
• Discover how to use mental focus Yi — instead of physical force Li — to move your body with a continuous motion, so you never break the thread of Qi
• Learn how posture 10, Dan Bian (Single Whip), activates the heart and lung meridians, strengthens the arms, and increases circulation to the fingers
• Explore how the posture Xia Shi helps open the biggest joint in the body, the Kua , strengthens the other stances in Tai Chi through its maxim opening, increases circulation, builds the muscles of the legs, and strengthens the lower body

You’ll review the postures you learned in the past five weeks, then learn two more — Shi Zi Chui (Cross Punch) and Shang Bu Qi Xing (Step Up, Seven Stars). You’ll also learn the first two techniques of posture 13, Cai Lie Zhou Kao (Pluck, Split, Elbow, Strike)

A fundamental teaching in Tai Chi is internal three-unification and external three-unification. Internal three-unification refers to the heart unifying with the mind, the mind unifying with Qi, and Qi unifying with force.

External three-unification refers to the shoulders aligning with the hips, the elbows aligning with the knees, and the hands aligning with the feet. Through posture 12, you’ll learn how to harmonize, unify, and align the body.

In this session, you’ll:

• Discover how the posture Step up, Seven Stars is a metaphor for the seven parts of the body in the order of the body structure
• Learn about how Tai Chi’s external three-unification and internal three-unification is manifested through Shi Zi Chui
• Understand how to feel integrated as a whole, with every part of your body harmoniously connected to every other part
• Explore the technique ofCai, a downward energy that cultivates grounding and rooting
• Explore Lie, a split energy that contemplates the importance of the waist power that is essential to all Tai Chi movements
• Learn Hou Tui (Retreating), one of the five footwork movements that make up the 13 principles — and uncover the power of these movements when applying the techniques of Cai (Pluck) and Lie (Split)