"The relationship between sōng (松, release/relaxation) and qì (氣, vital energy) is one of the most fundamental principles in Taijiquan. They aren’t separate—sōng is the condition that allows qì to manifest, circulate, and be directed." (Courtesy of AI). To put it into more tangible terms, if you are tense either physically, mentally, or emotionally, or all three, your tissues contract. When you've been outside in very cold weather and you come indoors. Your body shivers...

In Tai Chi & in Qigong, we are always moving forward, backward, left and right. If you can understand the differences and similarities between 'ordinary' walking, and Tai Chi & Qigong walking, it makes learning those arts easier. How you step one pace forward when walking. You place (e.g.) the right heel and move the weight forward towards the ball of the right big toe. As the weight transfers forwards on to the ball of the right foot, the body elongates on a vertical axis. This frees up ...

Whether you are standing upright without moving, or when you put your foot ahead of you on the ground whilst walking, gravity settles or compresses you into the ground. As it does so, a balancing act automatically takes place in the body. In order to achieve perfect balance, whether you are standing either on both feet or on one foot, or even when you are in the process of walking, the body has to align itself vertically with the point of pressure on the feet/foot.