Sinking, Connecting and Drawing the Bow: Deepening Tai Chi Fundamentals

Welcome back to our ongoing journey through the subtle and profound world of Tai Chi. In each class and blog post, we take time to quietly investigate aspects of the art that often pass unnoticed. These subtle refinements, though easy to overlook, offer the key to developing true connection and natural movement. Tai Chi is not about collecting techniques, but about deepening presence and understanding in every gesture and transition.

In our most recent session, we began by immersing ourselves once again in the foundational Up-Down (Open-Close) exercise. This exercise, though simple on the surface, contains essential lessons about how the body aligns and releases. Our focus this time was on the relationship between the ankle, knee, and hip joints, and how harmonising them opens a clear pathway through the body’s central axis. As we carefully adjusted and tuned each joint, we allowed energy to move smoothly along this line — from the crown of the head down to the perineum. When these areas are balanced and released, the result is not effort but clarity. The energy no longer deviates or becomes stuck, but travels naturally through the body.

We continued with Loosening Exercise 1, this time emphasising how to connect sequentially from the shoulder blades through the elbows, wrists, palms, and fingertips. Each segment is important. When the body becomes segmented and stiff, movement stops at each joint. But when we allow each area to release and remain connected, the body becomes one continuous whole. The sinking process was particularly important here — not as collapsing, but as a way to settle downward and open the joints, giving each part room to connect and support the flow of movement.

This naturally led us into the preparation for the form itself. As we moved towards the first posture, we explored how softening the feet and ankles draws us effortlessly into position. Rather than forcing or placing ourselves there, we allow the ground and gravity to guide us. This approach helps avoid the tension that comes when we try to “make” shapes, and instead helps us arrive in them naturally and with stability.

Another important aspect we explored was the relationship between energy and the gaze. Closing the eyes can often cause the spirit to sink too far and the energy to become heavy or stagnant. By maintaining a soft, open gaze — neither staring nor glazed — we keep ourselves connected to the space around us. This subtle awareness keeps our energy light and our mind present.

As we continued, we explored the metaphor of drawing and releasing a bow. In each sinking movement, the body gathers potential, just as a bow flexes when drawn. On releasing, the body expands, like the arrow leaving the string. This image helps us experience sinking and rising not as separate actions, but as a natural wave.

Form practice concluded with attention to transitions, especially from Ward Off Right to Ward Off Left, and the beginning of Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain. These postures serve as keys — they reveal whether our foundations are sound. We found that through softness, clarity, and connection, even challenging transitions can feel effortless and integrated.

Join us again next week as we continue unfolding the layers of Tai Chi, and bring fresh insight into this quiet and transformative art.