My name is Master Gary Whitehead. I'm here today to demonstrate some of the Yang old style tai chi. Okay, the next set we are going to do is actual movements that are done in the tai chi form. They are called the basics, and we are going to do those. There are four of those basics. The first one is called pushing hand. Okay, you step out with the left foot about shoulder-width apart. Bring your hands up in front of your body, and let the wrists relax. Sit down slightly, bring the hands into the shoulders. Push down and back out. And as you draw your hands in, inhale through the nose as you push down and out. Exhale through the nose. Do about eight repetitions of each one of these. You push out, hold the wrists tight, and as you start to pull in, relax the wrists so that the hands just droop. Okay. The next one is called the horse stance. So, this is number two. Step out with the left foot just slightly over, shoulder-width apart. Bend the knees, keep the back straight. Bring the hands out in front of you and hold them there. You want to hold this for about 30 seconds and try to work up to about a minute. Okay, number three, it's called stretch for longevity. You are going to bring the left foot out, heel down, toe up. Put your right hand on your hip. Bring the left hand above your head. Bend over, reach down as far as you can, try to touch your toe. Back up and reach back as far as you can reach. Back down. Do about eight repetitions on each side. Do the same thing with the right foot. Heel down, toe up, right hand up. Then down as far as you can. Go down slowly. Back up. As the muscles relax, you'll be able to go down further each time. It's called the base stance, number four. Bring the left foot out, bring the left hand about shoulder high with the hands facing the body. The right hand about waist high. Lift the left foot up off the floor and hold it. And hold it for as long as you can. Start out slowly and work up to try to hold this for a minute. Now, the other side, do the same thing. Right toe out, right hand up, left hand at the waist. Bring the right foot up and hold it. Okay.
More Photos
