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Core stability
People talk a lot about core strength
but not much about core stability. The two concerns are not the same.
Core strength is about the muscles of the abdomen
whereas core stability is about keeping the pelvis favourably
aligned.
Posture
The pelvis is pretty large. If you turn it to the right or to the left,
the entire upper body is affected.
Turn it too far and the knees bear the brunt of the turn.
If you tilt it forwards or backwards, the entire balance of the body
changes. Pretty soon you are leaning.
Although the pelvis itself has limited scope for movement, inclining or rotating
the pelvis has a major impact on posture.
Stable
For optimal body use we need the pelvis to
naturally sit beneath the abdomen.
The physical centre of the body contains a lot of water, our
intestines etc and needs to be pretty
stable.
Stability is accomplished by encouraging the pelvis to operate naturally and
without interference. This may involve stopping existing
bad habits in favour of letting the body
re-align itself.
Don't tuck or tilt
A lot of people think to tuck the pelvis under. This is not encouraged.
Deliberate tilting or tucking-under is exaggerated and affects the knees
adversely because you are now leaning back slightly.
If the pelvis is moved too much during tai chi practice, you will lose your
centre and this will affect the knees.
You need to open and close the hip kwa and
sacroiliac joint instead.
Posterior pelvic tilt
One common back problem many students exhibit is called a 'posterior pelvic
tilt'. It is caused by standing badly and sitting badly.
As such it's a 'lifestyle problem' and not
something we can address in class. We're not
therapists.
Students are responsible for remedying the
problem themselves.
Psoas exercises
Psoas exercises and the core strength exercises focus on keeping the
pelvis neutral throughout every movement, whilst strengthening the
muscles.
This encourages a more balanced relationship with the pelvis.
Standing qigong
One feature of standing qigong is that it encourages the leg muscles to
relax. This in turn enables the pelvis to return to the neutral position.
Relax the knees. Relax the lower back. Leave the pelvis alone.
Peg leg?
Tai chi stepping exercises are a real test of balance. The pelvis must be
appropriately aligned relative to the supporting leg in order to maintain
stability.
For many people, their leg tension is so
severe that their entire body is thrown off
balance every time they take a step.
Floating cloud
The aim is to 'float'...
The pelvis remains neutral and the legs feel to be doing the work without
effort. Walking seems to do itself. Balance is
maintained without volition.
Form
Form is an ideal opportunity to explore the position of the pelvis
relative to the feet.
A neutral pelvis responds to the demands of the
movements, providing a stable platform for activity. This sounds
simple but requires
awareness and patience.
Squaring the pelvis
Tai chi practitioners may seek to square their pelvis to the front during
a bow stance. If the stance is too long, too narrow or the individual lacks
the requisite flexibility, this could be a problem.
Often, exponents seek to overcome the obstacle by buckling the rear knee (or
straightening it) rather than the more obvious solution which is to
square-up only to the degree that is comfortable...
Kung fu styles like taijiquan have become widespread and popular. It is
important for all practitioners to understand a major weakness in the
transmission of all Chinese arts; a lack of basic training. In fact, a
step-by-step training program, standardized terminology, clear explanations
and correct interpretations are either entirely missing or woefully scarce.
(Adam Hsu)
Arms back problems feet hands hip & Groin joint health Knees legs pelvis shoulders
Page created
18 April 2005
Last updated
11 January 2019
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