Breakout Session: Energy

“Energy is rooted in the feet, transmitted through the legs, controlled by the waist and manifested in the hands.” – T’ai Chi Ch’uan Classics

I first heard this quotation in 2001 when I was a fairly new student attending monthly Saturday Prep Classes with Dan Pienciak at Antonia’s. I always took copious notes, so I wrote it down. The next month I heard the same phrase and wrote it down again. Mind you, I had no idea what it meant but figured it must be important because I kept hearing it over and over again. Because I was a quiet observer then with little confidence and barely a voice of my own, I never thought to ask. Years into my teaching I began to understand and apply these words to my own practice and eventually brought it into my teaching. I also had the opportunity at the 2017 conference to lead a breakout session and share with some of the teachers there.

When doing vertical (up and down) movements such as Rocking Motion; the beginning of Pulling Taffy, Variation #2, Wrist Circles; Light at the Top of the Head/Light at the Temple; and even Joyous Breath, I started to visualize the energy “rooted in the feet” travelling up the legs (helping them straighten) and then to the t’an tien and finally into my arms and hands. Eureka! I began to notice that the rise up onto the balls of the feet was actually coming from the tan t’ien. The arms began to move weightlessly with no effort. This one concept changes the way these “up and down” movements feel: less doing and less effort… more softness, continuity and balance.

I share this with students, and they are amazed at the physical balance it brings to a movement such as Rocking Motion. They begin to feel steadier in the movement while not rising high up onto the toes or shifting the weight so far back into the heel that they become wobbly. Because they are more grounded in their feet, and aware that the tan t’ien is guiding the body, the arms are not working so hard to keep steady.