Tai Ch Essential: The Needle Wrapped in Cotton; Refine Your Center Line

Refine your Tai Chi center line to improve your posture and become the steel needle wrapped in cotton. Learn to create softness around a strong center line in this 16-minute tutorial.
Perfect for all levels, instructor Susan teaches her signature "curtain rod" method for establishing a rooted connection in Tai Chi. Use visualization to access the central energy channel by expanding spine length and alignment from feet to crown. Feel the gentle lift at your core just like a curtain rod extends with spring-loaded lightness.
Surround the lengthened central structure with mindful relaxation into looseness - this is how to achieve the Tai Chi ideal of "needle in cotton". By elongating the body’s vertical dimension, you also avoid compression into stiffness. Instead, maintain space and flexibility like an ever-extending telescopic rod.
Increase Tai Chi energy skill by gathering, rotating and spiraling Chi once centered. Susan's innovative and highly actionable lesson progresses sequentially from stance and footwork to torso rotation to energy collection.
Ideal for practitioners seeking new levels of comfort, connection and flow. Master classics like Wuji, Push Hands and intermediate concepts through Susan's step-by-step instruction grounded in tangible sensation.
For private lessons, retreats, workshops and live streaming lessons & classes, please visit me at: www.taichisusan.com
To connect on Social Media:
/ flowingmobilitytaich
Thanks for letting me part of your Tai Chi Journey!

[@suegagcoe]

Wonderful! I really like the way you teach one simple movement down to its essentials. I learned a few forms of Tai Chi years ago, but was taught the form only, not the essence behind the movements. This adds a whole new dimension to Tai Chi for me.

[@InternalTaiChi]

What a perfect comment! That is exactly my mission: to help people discover that Tai Chi is much more than just the forms. Thank you so much. You made my day!

[@suegagcoe]

❤@@InternalTaiChi

[@lorrainedaugherty3451]

Thank you! That was amazing. My posture has completely improved! OK, don't laugh, but this would be a great way to get into the proper mind as well as balanced position for playing the violin. Just move my left hand up a bit and it's perfect! I'm going to try this again tomorrow to see if it works when I'm trying to actually play my violin. 😉 I used to play in an orchestra. Honestly.

[@InternalTaiChi]

I certainly would not laugh at that idea! I too have a music degree and was a music performer. There is so much overlap of Tai Chi, posture, letting go of muscle tension and bringing that to playing an instrument. I have often wished that I could bring Tai Chi to all serious musicians. Please let me know how it goes. I am certain it will work for you as you play your violin! Thank you for sharing and commenting.

[@Shindai]

It's really something when I'm standing perfectly still but I hear my back cracking as tension is gradually released. It's like waiting for popcorn to cook and hearing the progress it's making lol

[@InternalTaiChi]

You have an automatic biofeedback system...your popping back! LOL. Glad my video helped open up your back and got that popcorn to cook. :-)

[@dbrinson1691]

I thought rooting well was supposed to give one a "floating" sensation. I can find that balance...sometimes. Still learning to stand correctly and haven't yet begun movement yet. But like the "floating" feeling. Like I can rock back and forth like those chairs that aren't rocking chairs, but rather sliding back and forth type chairs? Hope people can understand that analogy.

[@InternalTaiChi]

Yes, you are making excellent discoveries! Well done! 👍

[@dbrinson1691]

@Flowingmobility Thank you for the quick response. I am practicing on my own and haven't had anyone or way of confirming that. I do believe you mentioned a feeling of floating in one of your videos and I had already noticed it so I have kept my focus on that. What also helped was learning about the barstool and relaxing the muscles just a thumbs length into the upper inside corners of the pants pockets. Helps me find that spot where I am my head is like an anchored balloon. Maybe not the best way of stating it but it is difficult to explain. Like your curtain rod. My Yang Style DVD mentions hand position/ form and something about the arms hanging to the side where the fist fits between the arm and upper ribs/ torso? That's where I left off on the video several days ago...but with holidays and a cough for a few weeks I stopped all exercises except work. Will be starting back after New Years. Looking forward to more tips from your vids...you have a background that helps me, and others to grasp the principals of each technique in ways that others on KZbin can't. Oh...enjoyed your QiGong demonstration. I am getting ready to add some of Walu Chuan to my practice. A Taiwan Family Martial Art that has the same principals as Tai Chi Chuan. Relaxing. Anyway, carrying on now....thanks again.

[@InternalTaiChi]

@@dbrinson1691 You are very welcome. Sometimes practicing on your own allows for more discovery, especially with the sensitivity and awareness that you obviously have. Yes, I mentioned floating. We often feel and go way to heavy. I'm delighted you are feeling the floating! Thanks for the feedback on my other analogies, the barstool. I do understand what you are saying about the muscles near the corners of your pants pockets. You are keenly aware which is so important to tune into the 'sweet spot' of what we should feel. Just curious, is the Yang DVD my course? As far as your taking a break due to holidays and cough...sensible. However, you might try a few minutes of standing meditation. This will help you in all ways...getting rid of the cough and ramping up your awareness during Tai Chi and Qigong as well as the floating. I have a playlist on standing meditation if you haven't seen those video yet. kzbin.info/aero/PLH070fotpDAx68sO_BBG4N70_godlGwg7 Enjoy and carry on! You are doing great in your journey!

[@dbrinson1691]

@@InternalTaiChi i did not know you had DVDs...will look into them...i am using Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming DVDs. Are you familiar with him?

[@dbrinson1691]

Susan... are you just busy? Or did I mess up getting Dr. Yang, Wing Ming's DVDs? Also, I just found your website. Was completely unaware you were a full-fledged teacher (for some reason). Anyhow, just checking to make sure I'm not in "hot water".