A Quiet Mind Opens the Pathway to Harmony Within and Without
Mental harmony and heightened body awareness can be felt quickly through our daily routine practice of rowing / rooting exercise. Harmony, while in movement and when not in movement, begins with calm, clear, concentrated awareness of your breathing. Your rowing movement patterns should be practiced in exacting, oval, elliptical, slow, relaxed, smooth advancing and retreating cycles, reaching the forward foot weighting of 60% and to the rear foot weighting of 40%. The inhalation becomes insubstantial and the exhalation becomes substantial as "yin" becomes "yang" and "yang" becomes "yin." With daily practice you will soon understand how the "chi" naturally makes the body alert and lively; otherwise, the substantial and insubstantial will always be discernible.
Your breathing is synchronized in unison with the elliptical oval movement of your forward and backward rowing motion. Inhale and exhale naturally. Never force your breathing! Inhale on the upward, forward rise of your oval movement cycle. Exhale on your backward, downward movement cycle. Both legs are interchangeable.
Our Center of Gravity and Breathing Should Be Balanced as Follows
1. Raise up the crown point of the head, lower the chin, tongue lies against the hard palate.
2. Relax the neck, lower the shoulders and elbows. Withdraw the chest as you tuck the pelvis.
3. Hold and stretch the arms to the level of the solarplex, maintain roundness in the arms as if you were holding a large beach ball.
4. Lightly stretch arms and fingers, maintaining roundness, shoulders and elbows low.
5. The sacrum is pulled upward and forward to level of the pelvis. Lower the weight to the abdomen, meditate on breathing, being naturally in unison with the body's movements.
6. The breathing is relaxed, naturally through the nose, using the diaphragm; chest is relaxed. All movement proceeds from the waist (sacrum circles inward and upward).
7. Stand firmly, legs bowed slightly, outside sole-edge, ball, heel and toes grip the floor.
8. Though relaxed, the whole body is like a coiled spring requiring minimum effort to move.
Harmonies of the Five Hearts of Movement Awareness
The five hearts are the centers of the two feet (the center point of the arch), the center of the two palms and the center of the top of the head. You must have the feeling of these five points working in unison with the body and joints. Then you will feel strong, balanced and confident in your new movement vocabulary. When you have the benefits of awareness of these five harmonies, then you will have a heightened ability of understanding the Six Combinations Eight Methods principles. You won't need to focus on technique or anything else, just react according to the specific situation. The real meaning of technique is to move without thinking.
"Those who set out to learn the exercise, do not misjudge the value of The Chinese Five Word Song."
Verses 133-134
"The Chinese Five Word Song" was written by Master Li Tung Fung during the early part of China's Sung Dynasty. Master Li learned Hwa-Yu T'ai Chi Ch'uan (Liu Ho Pa Fa Ch'uan Fa) from Master Chen Hsi-I, creator of the martial art and health exercise. Master Li Tung Fung took refuge in the mountain of Yun, southeast from the Lok district. While living on Yun, he authored the famous Chinese Five Word Song, which serves today as the only extant treatise explaining the principles of the original Liu Ho Pa Fa.
Hwa-Yu T'ai Chi Ch'uan was a closed-door martial art for almost 1,000 years. Master John Chung Li opened the door to hundreds of students in China, the United States and Europe. Master Li translated The Chinese Five Word Song and added his commentary to each of the 134 verses to help students understand the truth within Internal Martial Arts. We are privileged to now offer the insights to this phenomenal martial art and healthcare science through the publication of The Chinese Five Word Song.
We are extremely pleased to announce the publication of The Chinese Five Word Song. It's filled with tremendous insights into the philosophy and guiding principles of Internal Martial Arts from one of the true masters of the 20th Century.
You can purchase "The Chinese Five Word Song" from top online book sellers (Barnes and Noble, Borders Books, Amazon.com and Books A Million).
Contact Mark McGee by e-mail if you would like to receive a signed copy of the book.
For more information about Hwa-Yu T'ai Chi Ch'uan
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