Head Up, Butt Down

When practicing Tai Chi, you should hold your head like a dog begging for a treat.

Ok, that’s not exactly correct, but my pal Buddy in the accompanying photo is doing a better job than some students in keeping his head erect.

The slim collection of writings called the Tai Chi Classics says you should carry your head as if suspended from above, as if lifted by a string from the crown. That position should be achieved without muscular tension in the neck, which will impede the flow of blood and energy to the head.

Only when the head is erect can the spirit, or shen, rise to the crown, making the whole body feel light and agile. When the head is bowed, tilted backward or leaning to one side, your range of motion and the power of your movements are compromised. One trick to help keep your head erect is to focus your hearing on a point directly behind your head.

You want the feeling of a straight, vertical line from the crown of your head to the tip of your tailbone. That is the axis around which your body rotates. If you crimp that axis by tilting your head, you greatly limit your potential.

Another spot where that vertical axis often gets crimped is at the lower back. One consequence of wearing high heels that many people find appealing is that they make a woman’s butt look perky by increasing the curvature in the lower back. That may be effective to attract attention, but it’s not helpful in creating powerful and efficient movement.

When practicing Tai Chi, you want to tilt your pelvis so that the curvature of the lower back is reduced, making it feel flat to the touch. Some instructional manuals have referred to that process as “lifting the anus,” an unfortunate phrase that has resulted in some students walking around with their sphincter muscles clenched. That’s not the solution.

You want to relax all of the muscles in your body as much as possible. It’s ok to engage muscles to tilt the pelvis to the correct position, but then relax those muscles while leaving the lower back flattened. That better connects the lower body to the upper body and creates a long, straight axis from the top of the head to the end of the tailbone.