5 Principles In 3 Postures #5

Intention

Throw Down: you sit back turning your waist so the springy bouncy sensation transferes to the left foot. As you do this the right palm turns over to face the ground. The intention is to firmly press something to the ground. The left palm also rotates anticlockwise. The cross lateral intention transfers to the left foot and right hand. The overall intention is yin, contracting. The posture is associated with the element 'Earth', grounding, nurturing. Go into the garden and dig into the soil or to the beach and dig into the sand with your hands and notice how that feels. Try to recreat that feeling as you move into this posture.

……..This program of learning explores five key principles of Tai Chi in the sequence of postures 'grasp the sparrows tail', 'throw down' and 'double handed push'.

Copy the sequence of posture and movement using the Tai Chi video or images. Never do anything that is uncomfortable. After uncomfortable comes tension ruining your practice. After tension comes discomfort. After discomfort comes injury.