taichi pains.....

[Pawa-eri-to]

I was just wondering if anyone could answer a few questions I have about these annoying things that happen when I am doing tai chi. First of all, when I am doing belly breathing with my tounge against the top of my mouth I get this unexplained yawning. It's not like a normal yawn where you pull in air it's like my mouth is just opening on it's own yet cant really pullin any air, and I find it VERY annoying. I suspect it has to do with my back being missaligned so my diaphram is not contracting and explanding properly so my body is trying to "gulp" for air. On a side note I was wondering if anyone knew the correct way to hold my back? Another thing that irks me is that in my right hand I can do a perfect single whip it's very relaxed and feels comfortable, but in the other hand it is hard for me to bring all of my fingers together and when I do I cannot relax my hand. And if someone could grant be some insight on correct spinal allignment I would greatly appreciate it. These are all the problems I will trouble you guys with tonight as I could probobly fill a 600 page book with all my questions and problems related to taichi. Goodnight.

[Cody]

I know what you mean about the yawning. I used to have that.

It stopped when I sank -- SAT into a moderate standing horse position, sank breath, sank my energy. I used to find that my breathing blocked around the sternum. The breaths weren't "complete," and I needed more oxygen. Everything seemed to block there. When I got past that, I was okay, and was able to pull air and energy more effectively. With a lot of practice, it happens automatically, the sitting and sinking.

I had studied T'ai Chi form, but wasn't able to make progress until I did a minimum of 2-3 hours of fixed horse stance work per week, with hand and arm movements of many kinds and speeds. With time, one finds the alignment, and part of the clue is the natural sitting/sinking, without strain. With strain (because of weak muscles, or mental imaging as to how "your" body should Look, rather than feeling one's way to that goal of comfortable alignment), the breath goes ptoie, etc. One of the keys is in the hip/leg/back relationship. With a straight back (very important), but other alignments out of whack, you're still going to have problems.

The single whip hand is quite foreign for you. I don't think I ever got so it felt right for me. Though I sure caught on to the top of wrist application. Maybe it would help if you thought of it as a rising/gathering movement, finalizing in the shape of a bird's beak.

Everyone has their own way of progressing. Good questions.

Cody

[looking_up]

Try holding single whip on both sides for a few minutes. Don't force your finger tips together, let them gently stretch - give it time. When I first started I could not open my hands wide so that they were rounded - it was very embarrassing. But remember what M. Wallace said in Pulp Fiction:

"F--- pride. It only hurts, it never helps."

or something like that - hope that helps.