The Spinal Line.
Crown of head (not to be confused with the hair whorl)
Perineum (muscle between genitals & anus)
Point directly on the line between your 2 feet (variable if moving your weight back/forward between the feet).
The Spinal Line (when pushing an object/person).
When working with someone else, or even a static object, the correctly connected line of the spine becomes even more important. In effect, a force against the body needs to be evenly distributed throughout it, so as to lessen the chance of damage to one part, and the spine is the main method of distribution (like the mains water pipe into the house before distribution to other outlets).
To continue the water analogy, it’s the pressure of the water behind your tap that causes the flow, not the water itself. So, for example, when shifting a piece of heavy furniture, if you overuse the arms, you can strain them (or the shoulder joints); or if you don’t use the spine correctly, you can hurt your back. In this example, if you treat the body this way, you’re trying to push water out of the system without backup from the mains.
How do you ‘connect’ the spinal line? When a you push someone/thing, the force passes ⇒ down your arms, ⇒ through the shoulder joints, ⇒ connects across the bridge of the shoulder girdle to the spine, ⇒ runs down your spine to the pelvis, ⇒ passes sideways via the bridge of the pelvis to the thigh bones (mainly the rear leg thigh bone if you’re in a Bow Stance), and ⇒ travels down the leg(s) to the heel(s). (Depending on what you’re doing, it might then move to the toes, and possibly the tips of the fingers at the other end).
Or is it the other way around? It’s also arguable that instead of thinking the force starting at your hands, you think of it starting at your rear foot, but because it’s a push, most people don’t think it this way.
Pushing furniture.
You need to move a piece of furniture in the room, and you don’t want to lift it.
You put your hands against the side of it and shove. If you shove with only your arms they’ll get tired, and you might well hurt your neck and back (probably lower). To move it, (1) you need to connect yourself to the piece of furniture correctly, (2) you need to push correctly, (3) you need to relax whilst pushing (strangely), and (4) your intention needs to lead you in the right direction.
1) Connect yourself: You apply a gentle push, without intending to make it the object/person move, and you feel the connection between object and your rear foot. You are creating an energetic line from rear foot to hands, and the easiest places to ‘break’ that line are at the shoulders and/or lower (lumbar) spine. If the shoulders are raised, the energy from the push will run up the arms, reach the shoulders, and will then ‘leak’ or be ‘blocked’ at the shoulders; some of it might reach the rear foot, but most of it will be dissipated in the upper body. You are ‘leaking qi’, which, in effect, means that the pipeline from hands to foot has a hole in it. Similarly, if you haven’t relaxed your pelvis, allowing the lower spine to settle and release, the energy ‘leaks’ from the lumbar part of the spine, and you will possibly risk straining your lower back.
2) Expand/lengthen your line in an integrated way. In this instance, expanding means forwards and backwards (‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction’). Integrated means that you distribute the force equally through your spine, arms, and rear leg.
3) Relax. This might seem odd, bearing in mind that your pushing something, but sticking with the pipeline analogy, when you lay pipes, you need to ‘bed’ them correctly; in a long run of pipes, if you only support the two ends, the pipe will gradually start to bow over time, so the pipe needs to be able to rest. So when pushing your object, connect to the object and feel the floor with the pushing foot, but then try to ’empty’ the middle… rest it.
4) Your intent. Your intention simply focuses the energy, like shooting at a target. The more finely you focus, the easier the action is. Rather like a hosepipe, the finer the nozzle on the end, the further the water will travel.
And the point in relation to Tai Chi and Qigong is? When you have a force that is pushing you, or conversely you are pushing someone/thing, it’s comparatively easy to feel this. The challenge is to apply and feel this concept when doing solo tai chi or qigong. Hence the expression “shadow boxing”.
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James Drewe teaches Taijiquan and qigong in both London and in Kent. Details of weekly classes can be found on the website, and there are classes for 2-person Taijiquan on one Saturday a month.
CONTACTS: http://www.taiji.co.uk http://www.qigonghealth.co.uk Email: taijiandqigong@gmail.com Phone: 07836-710281 or 020-8883 3308
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