In Tai Chi you learn to change direction by pivoting on one foot and then the other.  It makes for a smooth graceful transition to a different location in space.  If the pivot is irregular or unsteady the following movement will lack cohesiveness leading to a fragmented series of movements.  It is the direct opposite of what you are trying to express with your movements; movements that are smooth, slow and continuous.  If on the other hand the pivot and corresponding change of direction is smooth and steady, then the following movements will also have those same characteristics.

There are many moments in Tai Chi that call for a change of direction.  Sometimes it is a full 90⁰ rotation, sometimes less and sometimes more.  To execute this change of direction you pivot on one foot and then the other in sequence, not at the same time.

In class we are learning the Yang 24 Competition Short Form. The very first move after the commencement is called “Part the Wild Horse’s Mane” and executing the form gracefully involves transitioning from the starting location to the left a full 90⁰.  Ask yourself how do you perform this move? What are the movements that the feet and hands have to execute to allow this movement to become smooth, soft, and continuous?

You practice Tai Chi to help yourself navigate through life.  You can practice many forms in succession but eventually you will need to make that change to another direction – the pivotal moment. These pivotal moments also happen in life. You may be moving along at a steady pace for months, years until one day there is a change – a pivot. How do you navigate these pivotal moments in life? Are you aware that they are occurring? Are you aware at the moment that they happen or not until many days, months or even years after they happen and then only in hindsight?  Is it possible to know on some level that a decisive moment is about to happen? Tai Chi gives us some possible clues.

I have counted 9 changes of direction in the Yang 24 form.   To move from one form to another in a slow, smooth, continuous fashion you must become aware of the movements before and after. For example, the “Commencement” sets you up for “Part the Wild Horse’s Mane” but once you make the transition and continue with the three repetitions you must look toward “White Crane Spreads Its Wings” and this can’t happen successfully if you haven’t executed the previous forms impeccably. This is life.  Can you execute one stage mindfully so that the next stage flows gracefully from the one before? Can you stay in the present moment and not look back and judge how well you did in the previous movement?

Can you move from the very beginning to the end of a sequence slowly, mindfully, and gracefully?  Can you allow the ending of each form to become the beginning of the next without interruption?  Can you end the entire practice with mindfulness and the feeling of accomplishment arising from the skillful performance of graceful movements and transitional pivots along the way? Only then will you see some of the power of Tai Chi. Only then can you see that Tai Chi offers you a way to make your journey along life’s path from start to your life’s finish.

May your journey be mindful and graceful as is the journey of Tai Chi.