SEQUENCE Brush Left and Right Knee and Press with Inverse Stance is repeated 1 time.

POSTURE: Traditionally first seen as posture number 8 in the Long Form.  Brush Left and Right Knee and Press with Inverse Stance is also translated as ‘Brush Knee and Push 搂膝拗步 Lōu xī ǎo bù’.  The posture is performed on both the left and right side of the body.  It has therefore been developed as a repeating movement as one of the Five Moving Qigong’s practice.  See video 008.  This posture is repeated on both sides of the body so it has been used as one of the 5 Moving Qigong’s.  This sequence is performed with 2 breaths;

IN BREATH 1:  Rock back pivoting on the left heel lifting the toes off the ground transferring your centre of gravity so the springy sensation moves to the right leg.  Turn the left foot out on the heel letting go of the spring in the right leg to sway forward transferring your weight firstly into the left heel as it turns and then as the left foot is rolled down transfer the springy bouncy sensation back to the left leg.   

The left thumb turns outward rotating the palm of the hand upward to support the bottom of an imaginary ball.  The right thump turns inward rotating the palm of the hand to face down so the hand spirals to rest on the top of an imaginary ball.  You should feel the shoulders being flexed forward by the rotating hands when they are the correct distance from your body.   

All your weight shifts to the left leg momentarily allowing a flexing or sinking down into its springy sensation as you let the right knee float upwards in ‘step up’.

INTENTION: The Embodied Tai Chi soft intention is to open the fingers to support a large beach ball rolling it between the palms of the hands.  The cross lateral action / intension is through the right hand and left leg.  ROOT: Ball to the side is related to the element EARTH and the trigram lui – Roll Back, Receiving calmly.

OUT BREATH 1: Let go of the in breath flexing posture.  The flexing sensation in the left leg is released propelling the body in a diagonal step forward.  As you step forward place the right heel down first then roll the rest of the foot to the floor transferring your centre of gravity so the bouncy springy sensation moves to the right leg.   The flex in the arms is released.  The ball unrolls clockwise allowing the right hand to roll off the top and sink diagonally downward across the front of the body.  The left hand rolls up and is propelled forward by the hips turning the shoulders.  The movement comes to a conclusion as the clockwise turning of the hips increases the flex in the right leg.  The right thump then turns inward as the hand lifts to rotate the right palm to press down and away from the body.  The left thumb also turns inward as the left hand lifts to face forward pressing to the front.  The correct position results in the shoulder blades being flexed back.  The leg and arms flex synchronising together and stopping before any flex becomes tension.

INTENTION: Embodied Tai Chi soft intention can be thought of as the upper hand on the ball crossing the front of the body sweeping a curtain to the side so the other hand can press through.  The martial application must also be applied with soft intention or compassion and would be applied to sweep across the front of the body deflecting a blow away from the advancing knee.  The force of the blow is transferred to the opposite hand.  The cross lateral action / intension is through the left hand and right leg.  ROOT: Brush Left and Right Knee and Press with Inverse Stance is associated with the element WATER and the trigram chai – Press - The sinister, unorthodox, hidden.

IN BREATH 2:  Rock back pivoting on the right heel lifting the toes off the ground transferring the springy sensation to the left leg.  Turn the right foot out on the heel letting go of the spring in the left leg to sway forward transferring your weight firstly into the right heel as it turns and then as the right foot is rolled down transfer the springy bouncy sensation back to the right leg.   

The right thumb turns outward rotating the palm of the hand upward to support the bottom of an imaginary ball.  The left thump turns inward rotating the palm of the hand to face down so the hand spirals to rest on the top of an imaginary ball.  You should feel the shoulders being flexed forward by the rotating hands when they are the correct distance from your body.   All your weight shifts to the right leg momentarily allowing a flexing or sinking down into its springy sensation as you let the left knee float upwards in ‘step up’. The cross lateral action / intension is through the left hand and right leg.

OUT BREATH 2: Let go of the in breath flexing posture.  The flexing sensation in the right leg is released propelling the body in a diagonal step forward.  As you step forward place the left heel down first then roll the rest of the foot to the floor transferring the bouncy springy sensation the left leg.   The flex in the arms is released.  The ball unrolls anticlockwise allowing the left hand to roll off the top and sink diagonally downward across the front of the body.  The right hand rolls up and is propelled forward by the hips turning the shoulders.  The movement comes to a conclusion as the anticlockwise turning of the hips increases the flex in the left leg.  The left thump then turns inward as the hand lifts to rotate the left palm to press down and away from the body.  The right thumb also turns inward as the right hand lifts to face forward pressing to the front.  The correct position results in the shoulder blades being flexed back.  The leg and arms flex synchronising together and stopping before any flex becomes tension.