Week 4 of lockdown and 5 weeks since our last real world training session.
While many of us will have time on our hands, having sufficient space to practice our forms properly can be an issue, so why not focus on Master Liming Yue's 8 form which can be comfortably performed within a single square metre.
It's a simple routine that's quick and easy to learn, but requires just as much focus on technique to perform well as any of our more advanced forms. You can repeat the routine a number of times, pausing each time in Zhàn Zhuāng (standing post) to check your stance, sink your weight, focus on your breath and still your mind. You can extend the pause and use the opportunity for a standing meditation before commencing the sequence again.
Allow your mind to lead your movements, initiating them from the Dantian. Try and feel your connection with the ground extending all the way through to your finger tips. Are you relaxed? Is your breathing comfortable? Does it feel natural as you move? The more you repeat the form while focusing on the subtlest of details, the better it will feel.
Of course, if you want a little real-time interaction, there's always our FREE online Saturday morning Qigong and meditation class. It's proving popular, but you can still reserve yourself a place by dropping a line to info@taichipreston.co.uk
Online examples of the 8 form are rarer than the proverbial rocking horse dung, but here's a version that we feature on our Youtube channel Tai Chi Forms playlist to serve as a reminder...
