To Sit or Not To Sit

Many years ago, my thinking about seated T’ai Chi Chih was, “Do it only if you can’t do it standing.” I recall Justin telling us about a woman he had given private lessons to. She was so weak that she had to do the movements seated to begin her lessons. By the end she was able to stand for the entire lesson. In fact, her health and strength improved to the point that she was able to go through the rigorous teacher accreditation course.

My first inkling that there was more to seated TCC than met my eye was when I taught TCC in a rehab facility in the late 1980s. I worked with two paraplegics and one quadriplegic in wheelchairs. What they couldn’t do physically they did mentally, and they still experienced the flow of the Chi.

As more and more teachers taught TCC to seniors, there was an emphasis on modifying TCC for those who couldn’t easily do the movements fully. Seated TCC became a popular modification. When I tried it with my class of seniors, I overdid the pelvic tilt in shifting my weight forward and back on my sit bones and hurt my lower back.

It was a great help when Sandy McAlister made a “Seated T’ai Chi Chih” DVD. That got me on the right track, and I gave teaching seated TCC another try with better results. At a teacher conference I overheard a teacher share that she had her beginning students practice the first few forward and back movements seated, before ever doing them standing.

That seemed worth exploring, so I employed it in my next beginning class. To my surprise, my students quickly understood the concept of moving from the center. Instead of taking months or years to connect with their tan t’ien, it happened quickly and naturally.

Over the years I’ve cultivated a healthy respect for seated TCC, and I have long since stopped thinking of it as inferior to standing TCC. It is a powerful practice in its own right and works equally well for TCC and Seijaku. Done properly it can raise the Chi very quickly and strongly, encourage flowing from the center, and provide direct experience of your tan t’ien. Have you tried it?