Tai Chi Article 1 - Before You Learn Tai Chi, Learn How to Stand


#1 — Before You Learn Tai Chi, Learn How to Stand


If you are looking for techniques, forms, or explanations, this is not the right place to begin.
This blog is written in sequence. Each article depends on the one before it. Reading ahead will not help, and may slow you down.
If you are willing to move slowly, continue.

The First Instruction

Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart.

Do not assume a posture.

Do not try to correct anything.

Unlock your knees slightly.

Let your arms hang at your sides.

Now do something simple:

Let your weight settle downward.

Not by bending.

Not by collapsing.

Just allow the body to feel heavier.

About Posture (Read This Carefully)

You may have been taught that the first step in training is to hold a precise posture for a very long time.

There are traditions where this is intentional.

Sometimes it builds discipline.

Sometimes it filters commitment.

Sometimes it prepares the body in a specific way.

That is not the purpose here.

For now, comfort matters more than correctness.

If you are slightly crooked, stiff, or uneven, that is fine.

If your posture would not pass inspection, that is fine.

Think of the body like a hose:
• A kink restricts flow
• But some water still moves

As sensation and awareness increase, your body will naturally begin to reorganize itself toward positions where movement feels easier and more continuous.

That process happens from the inside outward, not by force.

Do not judge yourself.

Do not fix yourself.

Do not berate your alignment.

Just stand.

What Not to Do

Do not “relax” on purpose.

Do not adjust your shoulders.

Do not lift your chest.

Do not look for energy.

If nothing seems to happen, that is correct.

Stay Here

Remain standing for two or three minutes.

Notice:
• Where you hold unnecessary effort
• Where you feel pressure in the feet
• Whether the breath changes on its own

Do not name what you feel.

Do not improve it.

Just notice.

Stop Here

Do not read the next article yet.

Stand like this once or twice a day for the next few days.

When standing feels simpler than when you began, return and continue.

Continue When Ready

The next article is #2.

If this felt pointless or boring, that is information.

If it felt unfamiliar or quietly unsettling, that is also information.

Both are fine.

Return 

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