RE-VITALISE

T’AI CHI
Holidays, Retreats and Training

Traditional Cheng Man-Ch’ing Style

www.re-vitalise.co.uk

info@re-vitalise.co.uk
Contents
About Re-Vitalise. ..................................................................................................... 3
Tai Chi, the History. .................................................................................................. 4
Fundermentals of Tai Chi. ..................................................................................... 4
Listening with our Mind, Body and Soul. .............................................................. 6
Yielding ................................................................................................................ 7
Earth...................................................................................................................... 8
The Yielding Mind ................................................................................................ 9
Qi .......................................................................................................................... 9
Tao Gong. ................................................................................................................11
The Short Sequence ..................................................................................................14
The Sequence Continued (From Push, Step 10) ....................................................17
Meditation on formless mind ....................................................................................20

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About Re-Vitalise.
Re-Vitalise, the company, is owned and run by Andy Spragg. Andy has been training
in the Chinese Martial Arts for 20 years, concentrating on Wing Chun initially. Since
1991, Andy has been training in T’ai Chi with UK instructor Christian Birch. Andy is
a Buddhist and is particularly interested in the study of the synergy between Tai Chi
and Buddhist meditation. Andy uses his Tai Chi as a central part of his Buddhist
practice

Re-Vitalise has been set up to offer out retreats to people interested in holistic
disciplines. The main aim of our retreats is to relax, have fun and take something of
the essence of the art away with you.

Andy says :-
“The art of Tai Chi I find fascinating because it has such depth. It truly
takes a lifetime to learn and this is what draws me in deeper, the more
I study. Even now, I continue to study the form that I learnt on the first
day of training, and yet I continue to uncover new things within it. Tai
Chi gives me balance in my life. No matter where I am, when I practice
my Tai Chi it centres me and relaxes me. I am convinced of the health
benefits of Tai Chi and I have a passion for passing this onto others.”

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 Tai Chi, the History.
Under the bonnet Tai Chi is actually a martial art. Originating in Northern China, it
was based on a fight between a snake and a crane. A study of the way the snake coiled
and yielded to the straight blows made by the crane, influenced the development of
this fascinating art. Formed by Taoists (pronounced Dow-ists) (A Chinese Philosophy
and religion based on study of the natural world) . Essentially the Taoists were
pacifists hence the development of a non-aggressive art.

The recorded, modern history goes back to the 12th century with the first of 5 families
appearing and teaching. The Chen family. All Tai Chi styles are named after families
with the main styles being Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun.

Cheng man-Ch’ing is our style. Dr Cheng was a Yang practitioner, and a physician.
He altered the style slightly but maintained most of yang style.

Fundermentals of Tai Chi.

Tai Chi is Yielding and accepting. Soft and flowing yet spirited.
Concentrated and alive yet gentle.

But what do we mean by yielding? Not a push over, yielding is about accepting and
inviting energy in but in such a way to allow communication and intention.

The movements in tai-chi are never fully committed. So when we step, we taste the
ground with our feet first before we move our weight across. We never ‘drop’ in to a
foot. Our arms never act independently. They never lead the movement. Movement in
Tai Chi is always driven by the waist and legs. We never do something extra and
deliberate with our arms.
The mind is fundamental to tai chi. Tai chi is 50% body and 50% mind. The mind
pulls the body along gently and continuously, like drawing a silken thread from the
cocoon. If it races to fast, the thread will snap. Too slow and the thread will twist and
knot.

Visualisation is incredibly important in Tai Chi. Much of the energy comes from our
connection with the ground. So much of the visualisation is concerned with this aspect
of tai chi. For example. We may choose to envisage ourselves as a water droplet. We
see half of the bulbous part of the droplet below ground and when we perform our
form we move this great volume of water below the surface. This helps us to connect
with the ground.

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Where does the energy come from? First and foremost from the ground. This is not
some esoteric force that emanates from the ground here. Simply the experience of this
great ball of rock beneath us. As an experiment, next time you find yourself on a large
rocky area, say by the sea. Stand in a relaxed posture and ‘feel’ the sheer scale of the
planet beneath you pushing upwards. There is a great deal of inherent energy in this
huge ball of rock beneath our feet. Learn to feel it. Tai Chi is about becoming intimate
with the earth, connecting with it, communicating with it, using it.
Secondly energy comes from another person. Through yielding, we learn to accept
energy in and transform it. So even when practising solo we ‘visualise’ the other
person in our form and understand where the energy comes from.
Then there is Qi. The inherent life energy in the body. Yes, we do feel and the
movement in tai chi help to improve the flow of Qi. But in our tai chi, we don’t over-
emphasize it! The tai chi classics say that we shouldn’t concentrate on Qi, just have an
awareness of it. But it exists and flows through us. It is Qi that acupuncture
practitioners use to cure us. It is the energy present and used to heal in Reiki and it is
present as Prajna in Yoga, driving through the Chakras, energy points in the body.

And what about breathing? Don’t try to time your breathing with tai chi. Tai chi has
its own natural rhythm. Over time your breathing will naturally start to follow it.
Don’t force it, don’t concentrate on it. Just let it happen naturally

The form, what is the form?

The form appears on the surface like a dance. A set of choreographed movements that
we repeatedly practice. It is the key exercise practice in Tai Chi. A set of postures that
flow into each other. Why do we practice the form slowly? To truly understand and
feel the different energies. To truly learn to yield, to connect with the ground, to flow
and transform these energies. If we were to practice fast initially we would just end up
externalising the form and adding our own aggressive energy and intent in.

Later, we learn to perform the form faster and also we learn weapons and two person
forms. But initially we must become intimate with the forces we are using, with our
own ability to transform them.
The form flows. It never stops from beginning to end so it is difficult to count the
postures within it. Actually, the postures themselves, although they have names
individually (e.g. White crane spreads wings, single whip, repulse monkey etc) are
less important than how we move between them.

We are always single weighted except for at the start and at the end. What does this
mean? We always have more weight in the one leg than the other. Here the concept of
yin and yang enters in. We constantly move our energy around the body during the

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form. Our energy is driven by our mind, our intention and the whole body is involved
in the movement.

Tai chi can be seen as a meditation. In meditation, we seek to develop mindfulness,

the ultimate awareness of the present moment. Focussing on what is happening in the
here-and-now, Not drifting off, worrying about other things.

Tai Chi has great synergy with Buddhist meditation (which is why I practice). The
flow and acceptance inherent in tai chi and mindfulness are found in Buddhist
meditation. Over time with practice, Tai Chi can have the effect of quietening the
mind.

Listening with our Mind, Body and Soul.

In Tai Chi we are learning to communicate through energy. To communicate requires
the ability to listen as well as speak. In Tai Chi, we listen to energy, we invite it in,
understand its essence and then we send it back out. There is a key clue here to an
underlying principle in Tai Chi. To communicate involves more that one person. Tai
Chi is not an individual practice. Communication involves something else as well. It
involves a wider knowledge about the subject we are communicating with. When we
talk to a person, a knowledge of that person helps us to interpret the subtle nuances in
the conversation. This is no different in Tai Chi. Whether we are working with
another person or whether we are working solo, just working with the intrinsic energy
in ourselves and the world around us, we must listen and we must gain knowledge in
order to communicate properly. This is what Tai Chi is all about.
It is a very real experience.
So the first lesson in Tai Chi is to learn to listen. And this is another reason why we
practice Tai Chi slowly. When we practice the form we are learning how to listen with
every ounce of our being.
You can try this simple exercise. Stand for a short time. If you know Tai Chi, adopt a
posture. If not, simply stand in a comfortable manner with the weight more on one leg
than the other. Now, experience the world around you with all your senses. Start with
sight. Don’t try to label anything you see. Just see. Experience colours and shapes.
Notice the way your mind naturally starts labelling things but try to ignore this side of
the experience. Just notice the seeing.
Now move to smell. See if you can pick up any faint smell in your nose. Experience it
but again, don’t try to label.
Now listen. Let your ears soak up the sounds around you.
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Now taste, the toughest of all if you haven’t eaten for some time. But maybe there is a
metallic taste in your mouth. There is always some taste there. Experience it.
Now feel. Feel the ground pushing up through your feet, your legs and into your hips
and body. Feel your body relaxing down into that. Feel how warm or cool the room is.
Feel the clothes pressing against your skin. Feel any tension in the muscles. Muscular
aches are OK. Just experience them and try to relax through them.
Finally, come to your mind. In Buddhism the mind is the sixth sense. The thoughts
running through it are the triggers for that sense. So just stand and sample the
thoughts that are running through your mind. Don’t follow them. Just notice them and
let them run on.
Now stand and try to experience all 6 senses together. The whole picture of your
experience at this point in time. Difficult, but it is this experience and manner that we
practice Tai Chi. When we practice the form, this is the way we practice.
Experiencing everything. And this way we learn to listen.

Yielding
The best example of yielding is seen in Nature. The way a snake fights. It coils around
the attack, accepting it, but not allowing the strike to actually touch it. Constantly
flowing, constantly changing. And it maintains contact with the attack. Following it
and listening to the direction. This maintenance of contact is key. In all
communication we maintain contact. How would it work otherwise? This is no
different in Tai Chi. This carries some of the essence of yielding. Yielding follows,
accepts, welcomes. But why? Why accept. Surely from a martial aspect we would
simply be a push-over?
In its simplest form we can view our bodies as a horizontal bar, running through our
shoulders with a pivot in the centre. Push on the one side of the bar and the other side
will move in the opposite direction with equal force. The problem with this analogy is
that a bar is rigid and therefore is unable to listen. As soon as our bodies go rigid, we
can’t listen anymore. We must stay soft and yielding. So we have a rubber nature. Our
arms are soft but they have tone so that they can accept and then translate the energy.
Almost like elephants’ trunks. Our legs too, have this type of feeling in them. So that
they can absorb energy and take it down into the ground.
This is critical to yielding. The ability to accept the energy all the way through our
bodies and down into the ground. In this way we combine the listening associated

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with the previous exercise with the listening experienced in yielding. We experience
the energy coming in and take it down into the ground through our bodies. Only if we
have gained a direct understanding of our relationship with the ground can we truly
yield .
To yield, we must join with the energy. We gently reach out and make contact with it.
Welcoming it in. Life teaches us to fear energy, to block it or push it away. This isn’t
Tai Chi. However, it is a very ingrained habit to block or push away energy. It takes a
great deal of practice to unconsciously join with the energy and bring it in. And the
more we appreciate our relationship with the ground, the more we can break through
his habit.
It is difficult but not impossible to visualise the yielding nature of Tai Chi when we
practice the form. Every single posture, without exception, contains yielding and
acceptance. If you are new to Tai Chi this will be extremely difficult for you to do but
if you have studied before, run through the form slowly and examine each individual
posture and study the way it accepts energy in and translates the energy before
sending it out again.
In Tai Chi our arms are our primary, but not our only, listening devices. We listen
with the whole body. Taking energy in and translating it. But obviously our arms are
generally the points of contact. But we don’t yield with our arms. We yield with our
whole bodies into the ground.

Earth
So, how do we translate this energy? With our bodies and with the ground itself.
Stand again for a short while, in a posture if you know Tai Chi or just in a comfortable
stance, again with the weight mainly on one leg. Start at the ground where the feet
touch the floor and really experience that contact. Where the weight is concentrated.
In the feet, just as in the hands there is an area called the bubbling well point. It is just
between the ball of the foot and the heel. A kidney shaped energy point. It is here that
we aim to centre our weight. Move your body backwards, forwards, sideways until it
is firmly centred on this point and relax into it. Let the knees bend a little. Relax the
whole body down into this point and really study the contact with the ground there.
Feel the firmness of the ground. Be aware of the sheer scale of the earth underneath
you. Supporting you. That earth isn’t going anywhere. You are solid and safe in that
position. Now being to allow that felling of that solidity rise up through your legs.
Notice how when you relax your legs down into your feet the bones and muscles

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reach a natural settling point. Your hips carry the weight of your body through your
spine so ensure your spine is as straight as possible over your base. Pull your head in a
little at the chin, gaze should be level. The head should feel it is balancing on top of
the spine. In this way the whole body is falling down into that bubbling well point.
The earth is rising up through the structure of the body. Meditate in this position and
you can come to feel the solidity of the earth translated up all the way through your
body to the top of your head.
This way we become familiar with the intrinsic energy of the earth.
This is a meditation you can do any time, whether you are practising Tai Chi or not. It
is excellent for your posture and of course for your concentration. If you keep your
mind concentrated completely on your body’s alignment and the feel of the ground
coming up through you, you feel truly in touch with the earth.

The Yielding Mind

Physically, we understand yielding but of course the mind is playing in here too. If we
have a mind that is rigid, un-accepting and aggressive you will never learn to yield
and therefore never learn the strength in softness. Cheng man-Ch’ing, one of the
fathers of Tai Chi today, said ‘invest in loss’. Learn to accept energy in. Don’t block it
and most importantly don’t try to ‘win’ As soon as your goal is to win, you cannot
yield.
The good news here is through repeated practice of tai chi you will relax, you will
calm. Meditation helps you to achieve this too. This is why Tai Chi and meditation go
hand in hand I believe.

Qi
And so to the body and Qi. Interestingly, the Chinese classics say that we shouldn’t
concentrate on Qi. That practising Tai Chi will exercise Qi and allow it to flow more
freely anyway. To experience Qi we need to meditate on it. We need to practice
mindfulness of breathing and centre our minds in an area called the Tan Tien
(pronounced Dan Teeyen). This is a point about an inch below our navel and a couple
of inches inside our bodies. This we can do, but it isn’t necessary. The Practice of Tai
Chi will encourage our Qi to naturally flow anyway. Just like our breath, it will flow.
There are many stories of feats of amazing power where martial artists have mastered

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their Qi. I have never seen anything like this and I don’t believe it is necessary
anyway. Actually, I believe it may be detrimental.
With meditation you can learn to experience and then encourage Qi in your body.
Buddhist meditation pays great attention to the body. You become extremely attuned
to the most subtle sensations going on in the mind/body. You feel Qi flowing through
you. The Chinese classics say that our bones, sinews and muscles are our rigging, our
skin (or at least the Fascia, the sheet of muscle just under the skin) is the sails and Qi
is the wind. It does begin to feel a little like this. Qi adds energy to your movements
certainly but you must not externalise this. Otherwise, you will be concentrating on Qi
to the exclusion of your ability to listen. Then you will no longer be doing Tai Chi.
So what about breath? Well, we should not force a particular breathing pattern. Tai
Chi has a rhythm all of its own. Through the repetitive practice of the moves you will
discover that your breath will find its own course. So don’t focus on the Qi and don’t
focus on the breath. They will move naturally with the rhythm of Tai Chi.

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Tao Gong.
The Tao Gong are a simple set of exercises which can promote energy and also gently
introduce to the way we move in Tai Chi.
They take us through the shifting of the weight, stepping, gaining balance and the
overall connectedness of the arms. They should be practiced daily.

1. Wu Ji (Pron. Wu Chi). The Void. A very important position. It appears at the

start and end of the form. It signifies yin and yang in harmony. Don’t rush it.
Enjoy it. Working from head to toe. First, have a little awareness in the top of
your head. It should feel as if you are suspended from the head. Gaze level,
eyes, open. Chin pulled in slightly in to ensure the spine is straight. Shoulders
relaxed, hands relaxed and hanging down by your side. Heels gently touching,
knees relaxed, toes slightly pointing out. Become aware of the ground pressing
up against your feet. Weight, evenly spread throughout the feet.

2. To explore driving with our belly and waist. Feet, shoulder width apart. (The
inside of the shoulders!). Shift your weight onto your right foot 70:30. Belly
pointing to the right. Let your arms hang loosely, relax the shoulders. Now
move your belly and waist round to the left as you move your weight to the
left foot. Slowly build up your momentum, as you turn your belly and waist to
the left and right and move your wait between your feet. Allow your arms to
swing naturally. Don’t be tempted to go too fast. Keep a nice steady rhythm.

3. To explore single weighted-ness. Start with the feet shoulder width apart.
Raise the arms up to the sides shoulder width height, palms facing forwards.
Relax down, turn your belly to the left and shift all your weight into the right
foot. Bend the right leg and relax into it. Left foot turns out following the belly
to the left and the ball of the left foot turns out to the left. As you are turning,
your arms relax down. The right arm swings forward and to the left in front of
the body. Then, let the body rise up again returning to the centre with the arms
rising up again out to the side at shoulder height. Now repeat to the other side.
Keep repeating. Turning and relaxing into the legs, arms swinging with a nice
steady rhythm.

4. Moving. Feet, shoulder width apart. Turn the one foot out and step forward
with the other. Bend both legs but the weight starts mainly in the back leg.
Belly and waist facing forwards. Now gently move the weight forwards and

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 backwards. Ensure your feet stay firmly on the ground. Legs stay bent. Arms
hang and swing loosely. Again, build up a nice steady rhythm. Change legs
and repeat.

5. Stepping. Moving. Feet, shoulder width apart. Turn the one foot out and step
forward with the other. Now, Move your weight into your front foot fully, lift
your back foot and step forward and out, let your weight now move forward
and through onto this new front foot. Now sink back into the back foot and lift
your front foot off the floor, step back and out. Sink your weight back onto the
new back leg. Keep repeating in a relaxed rhythmic manner stepping forwards
and backwards with the same foot. Always maintain control of the step, don’t
lurch into the foot. After a while, swap feet so that you are stepping forward
and backward with the other foot. The whole time the arms just hang loosely.

6. Introducing the arms and the way they move. Feet, forward with the left. The
right hand rests palm up by the right hip. The belly turns off to the right a
little. The left arm cures up in front with the palm turned to the right. The
weight is in the back, right leg. As we shift our weight forward into our left
leg, the belly turns to face forward, the right hand rises up to curve in front
with the palm facing left. The left hand travels down and rests palm up by the
left hip. Now, as we move our weight back and our belly turns to the right
again our hands move back to their starting position. Right hand palm up by
the right hip. The left hand curving in front. All this should be down as one
unified movement. Shoulders should be kept relaxed. The waist and belly
turning and moving should drive the arms movement. Try not to let your arms
take control.

7. Waving hands in the clouds. Again this move emphasises the way the legs and
waist drive the arms in T’ai Chi. Feet shoulder width apart. Right hand curves
in front and low down by the lower belly. The left hand is held higher, the
palm facing in at throat height. Both arms are curved as if they are holding a
large ball. Now, as we move our weight across to the left, our belly turns to the
left and our arms naturally follow, almost as if they are carrying the large ball
with them. As we move round to the left the top hand turns so that the palm is
face down. Then, we keep our weight in our left leg, we turn our belly to the
front as we swap our arms. Our right arm is now throat high and curved, the
left is palm up, by our lower belly. It is the turn to the front that drives the
swapping of the arms. Now carry the ball over to the right, turning the belly as
you do. Again, as you reach the right side, your top hand (the right one) turns
so that the palm is facing down. Again, as you now turn your belly to the front,
your hands swap again. Carry the ball over to the left again and repeat. This
exercise is a very nice co-ordination movement and should be repeated for at
least 12-24 times.

8. Face the front. Feet shoulder width apart. With hands palm down in front start
to make a very small circle with both hands going anticlockwise. Slowly make
the circle bigger until you are reaching back over your head and brushing your
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 fingertips on the floor. Keep your knees straight, but don’t overstretch. Go
round the circle 4-5 times then reverse the direction. Again 4-5 times and
slowly reduce the size of the circle until your hands are circling in front of
your waist.

9. Step forward with your left foot. Put your weight forward into your left foot.
Place your left hand on your left hip. Make a loose fist with the right hand an
circle it 3 times clockwise and anticlockwise by your right side. Do not take it
any higher than your shoulder. Keep your shoulder relaxed and your elbow
low. After 4-5 repetitions swap hands and feet.

10. Using a chair if you wish, lift first your left foot off the floor. Circle it forward
4 times and backward 4 times. Then swap feet and do the same.

11. Using a chair if you wish, lift first your left foot off the floor. Relax the left
foot and gently shake it at the ankle in front of you. Repeat with the other foot.

12. Step out with your feet so that you have a nice wide stance. Hold your hands
out and up and shake them. Smile!!

13. Stand in wu ji. Turn your palms forward. Bend at the elbow and let your palms
rise up. Now let them lower again. Keep repeating and pay attention to any
sensation in the hands.

14. Stand in Wu ji. Place the hands on the belly and make a nice big vigorous
circle with the hands. First one way then the other.

15. Stand in Wu ji. Make loose fists and press the knuckles gently into the kidney
area. Make small circles, massaging the area with the knuckles.

16. Stand in Wu Ji. Tap on the base of the skull with the first two fingers of both
hands. 24 times.

17. Stand in Wu Ji. Make cups with your hands and place them with gentle
pressure over your ears. Release them quickly so you get a slight pressure pop
in your ears. Do this with EXTREME CARE!!! 24 times

18. Relax in Wu Ji. Enjoy it. Contemplate the moment.

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The Short Sequence
The Short sequence is the set of opening postures from the main Tai Chi form. It is
essentional a short form in its own right and it contains all the main movements in Tai
Chi. This is the sequence taught on the Re-Vitalise weekends. Here we have the first
part and the second part of the sequence. These would be taught across 2 weekend
retreats.

1. The Void. Don't rush through this posture. Enjoy it, meditate in it even! Heels
together, toes pointing out. Relaxing downward. Slight attention in the top of the
head. Imagine warm water flowing down the front of the body. Start to move your
mind into your right foot.

2. Slowly sink into your right leg. Don't force it. Just gently sink. Eventually you
reach a point where the left foot pops off the floor. When it does, move the left foot
out, shoulder-width apart and with the toes pointing forward.

3. Preparation. Move your weight, 70:30 into your left leg. Sink into it and shift your
hips and belly so that they are pointing off to the right. A little intention in your right
hand now but still the focus is in hips and legs. Straighten up a little and allow your
hands to rise up over two imaginary balls as you bring your waist and belly to the
front again. Finish the posture, settling in to your feet with both hands resting
on cushions of air, hip height. Your weight should still be largely in your left leg.

3. Relax at the wrists and allow your arms to float up no higher than your shoulders.
Elbows become heavy, hands float in a little and then start to travel down. When they
are level with your waist sink in to both legs, still mainly on the left and settle in.

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4. Sink more in the left leg. (Yes, even more!!). As you do, let your waist and belly
turn off to the right. The right arm, with a rounded feeling, drifts up to shoulder level,
the left curves and the hand sits by the lower belly, palm up. In this position you
should be in a rough hold-ball shape. (Quite a large ball).

5. Shift your weight fully into your right leg until the left foot can pop off the floor.
Now place the left foot forward and out (Remember the rectangle. Place it on the far
corner).

6. Ward Off Left. Start to shift your weight into your left foot as your belly and waist
come round to the front. At the same time, the left arms moves up into the ward off
position, palm of the left hand facing you, shoulder height, wrist in from the throat.
Right hand moves down to rest on a cushion of air hip height. Remember, as you shift
your weight; allow your right foot to drift round more to the front so it is pointing at
about a 45 degree angle to the front.

7. Shift your weight down further into your left leg (Yes! Sink more!!!!) as you turn
your belly to the right. Your arms round out into a hold ball shape with the left hand
high and the right hand low by the belly. Pick your right foot off the floor and step
forward and out. In fact you are almost putting it back where it was! Move your
weight forward into the right foot. Allow the left foot to drift round as you move your
weight forward. Your left hand stays high, fingers have tone but aren't tense and are
pointing forward. Right hand moves up into Ward Off right, shoulder height. Wrist in
front of the throat. Fingers of the left hand end up pointing at the palm of the right.

8. Grasp the sparrows tail. Alias Roll-back. A Key posture and tricky to describe in
words. Sink (here we go again)just a little into the right leg and allow the right arm to

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rise up with palm facing out. Left arm rounds in front of the body with palm facing in,
making ward-off. Shift the weight back, move the belly round to the left. Arms move
down and round to the left. But they hold the same shape, They simply move with the
belly and the waist. You should now have your weight back on your left leg and your
belly turned off to the left, about 45 degrees.

9. Press. Allow the left arm to relax down, as you move your belly to the front, this
picks the left arm up to form the press on the wrist of the right arm. Move your weight
forward into your right leg. Again, as with all these moves, the energy is coming from
the legs and waist so don't be tempted to push forward with the arms. Simply have
intention in them.

10. Push. Allow your hands to flatten out, palms down as you shift your weight back a
little. Allow your elbows to go heavy and drop a little, then shift your weight forward.
Again, energy comes from legs and waist. Don't push with your arms! (push with your
elbows if you feel the need to push with anything)

11. Crossing hands. Gather in the hands a little towards your chest. Sink into your
right leg, turn your belly to the left and allow your hands to drift in. The first fingers
and thumbs of your two hands almost make a triangle shape between them. Turn fully
to the left as you shift your weight fully into your left leg. Your right foot twists round
to face left. Send your hands forward and out, roll them over two imaginary arms.
Cross your arms in front of you as you step back parallel with your left foot.

12. Cut down with your palms as your rise up. Turn the left foot out, shift your weight
onto it and step up with the right, relax the hands and settle. Again, relax in the void
and enjoy the ending.

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The Sequence Continued (From Push, Step 10)

11. Single Whip. A gorgeous posture. Shift your weight back on to your left leg
allowing your arms to stay where they are. The arms don’t lock out but they are
(roughly) held out straight. Turn at the waist to the left. Keep the arms out and let
them come around to the left with the waist. The right foot turns to the left with the
waist.

12. Keep the weight on the left leg. Turn the belly a little to the right. The right hand
forms the hook and bends in at the elbow with the fingers touching. The left hand
curves down by the belly.

13. Turn the belly round to the left. Keep turning and send the right and hook out to
the corner. Pick the left foot up and step around behind you. As you come around,
bring the left hand up in front of your chest, palm facing you. At this time the weight
is still in the right leg.

14. Turn the left hand over, shift your weight into your left leg. Finish, 70%, 30%
weight in the front left leg. Right foot pivots round so it is comfortably at 45 degrees
and the hook is held up and out to the rear right corner.

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15. Lifting hands. Sinking into your left leg further, turn your belly to the right. The
hands round out to your right as if you are embracing a large ball. Now pick your
right leg up and place it down comfortably in front, on the heel. Don’t put any weight
in the right leg. All the weight is still in the left. (Agony!!). Sink a little more into the
left and slowly bring the arms together a little. Right arm forward, left hand near the
right elbow.

16. Shoulder Stroke. Pick up that right leg, step forward a little and let the arms relax
down by the belly to the left. Sinking forward into the right leg, round the right arm
forward and the left hand comes up by the right elbow to ‘protect’ it. The feeling is
barging with the right shoulder while sinking into the right leg.

17. White Crane spreads wings. Sink into the right leg and turn the belly to the left as
the left arm drops down to your left and the right arm raises up in ward off over your
right knee. Sink fully into your right leg, lift the left leg off the floor and places in
front resting lightly on the ball of the foot. The left hand finishes resting on a cushion
of air by the left thigh. The right arm rises up as you sink and turns over, ending up
above the head with the palm facing up. You are fully sunk in the right leg with no
weight in the left.

18. Brush knee and push. Allow the arms to relax down as you settle and sink to the
right a little. Right arm comes up and out by your right hand side, left hand forms
ward off in front of your chest. Turn the belly a little back to the left, left hand turns to
face palm down close in to the chest with the thumb almost touching the chest, the
right hand folds in with the palm by your right ear. Step forward and out with your
left leg and shift your weight into it. As you shift your weight let your right hand palm
travel forward with the weight and the left palm comes down to rest on a cushion of

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air by your left knee (in a brushing arc across the left knee). Come to rest with 70% of
your weight in your left leg. Allow that right foot to turn on the heel to a 45 degree
angle to the font.

19. Crossing hands. Gather in. Sink into your left leg, turn your belly to the right and
allow your hands to drift in. The first fingers and thumbs of your two hands almost
make a triangle shape between them. Turn fully to the right as you shift your weight
fully into your right leg. Your left foot twists round to face right. Send your hands
forward and out, roll them over two imaginary arms (remember the defence against an
attack to the throat?) then cross your arms right in front of left as you step back
parallel with your right foot.

20. Cut down with your palms as your rise up. Turn the right foot out, shift your
weight onto it and step up with the left, relax the hands and settle. Again, relax in the
void and enjoy the ending.

The form continues, repeating many of these postures and moves.

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Meditation on formless mind

(1) Find somewhere quiet and peaceful where you won't be disturbed. If at home take
the phone off the hook.

(2) If you can't manage a classical meditation posture just sit upright in a chair. Try to
keep your back reasonably straight. Avoid the two extremes of slouching and getting
excessively rigid.

(3) Observe your breathing. Don't try to control it, just observe the natural rhythm of
inhaling and exhaling.

(4) Once you've settled into this observational state, but before you've got bored,
introduce a small amount of breath control - just pause for a second between the in
and the out.

(5) Now drop into a simple mental count. On the out breath, count. Slowly, with your
breath count from 1 to 10 on the outbreath.

(6) Keep on breathing and mentally counting. Don't force the breath. Breathe
naturally. Insert a slight pause just long enough to notice but don’t ‘hold’ the breath.
You can then extend this pause if it helps you to feel calmer, and you can do so
without discomfort. Concentrate on the breathing only. Don't let your mind wander.

(7) After a while the novelty will wear off and your mind will appear to become
extremely busy, with all sorts of thoughts competing for your attention. Your mind
will have much more immediate concerns than breathing. - 'It's a week since I last
phoned my mother - that reminds me, can I afford to pay my phone bill? - I haven't
checked my bank balance lately - I guess its bad because I haven't had a pay rise
since my boss put me on a wage freeze ....It's because I'm 39 and not likely to find
another job - Why do I have to work for that idiot? - Surely I could branch out on my
own - the whole company's become a pile of poo - Oh look there's a crack in the
plaster - Is it superficial or something structural? Structural..structure... Oh no I
haven’t done my tax return..... etc,etc...

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Welcome to your superficial mind! Why does meditation make the mind busier? You
thought it was supposed to calm you down. Yes ultimately it does, but in the early
stages all that happens is that your mind becomes aware of the incessant junk-
thoughts circulating in your brain (the first inkling that mind and brain are different!).
There's no more going on in your head than usual, it's just that you've become aware
of it. So is this incessant parade of trivialities all that there is to your mind? Who's
controlling it - obviously not you! Continue with the counting for a little while
longer, gently returning your mind to the breath every time it wanders away.

(8) Now cease the counting and take a look at the constant stream of linked thoughts
that your brain is presenting to your mind. But try to distance yourself from these
thoughts. This IS difficult. Observe them but with a certain amount of disinterest.
Pretend you're observing someone else's stream of consciousness rather than stuff
which is obviously aimed at you. Don't get involved in this thought stream. Don’t
‘follow’ the thoughts.

(9) You'll become aware of the patterns in your thoughts - the associations which link
all mental objects together.

(10) Slowly come out of meditation. Never rush to get up afterwards. Sit and relax
and think about what you have learned. If you found it difficult to stay focussed this
time. Don’t worry. Every time your bring your mind back to the breath, you are
learning.

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