YOGA TAICHI 91
Harmonious alliance of Yoga, Taichichuan, Qigong and Meditation
As soon as you move, the whole body must be light and agile
In particular, it must be connected.
Qi (life energy) must be exited towards activity,
While Shen (spirit) must be stored inside.
At no place should there be any insufficiency or deficiency,
In no place should there be holes or bumps,
No place should be shortened or overextended.
The root is in the feet;
The discharge is produced by the legs,
The controlling power is in the waist,
And the appearance is in the hand and fingers.
From the feet to the legs to the waist,
Everything must be completely uniform and accomplished in one breath (literally, one Qi),
Whether it is moving forward or backward.
This will result in good timing and correct movements.
If in some places synchronisation and correct movement is not achieved,
Body movements become arbitrary and disordered.
The disease must be looked for in the waist and legs.
Over and under, front and back, left and right are all like this.
In general this is controlled by Yi (intention) and not externally.
If there is the top, immediately there is the bottom;
If there is the front, immediately there is the back;
If there is left, immediately there is right.
If Yi is to go up,
Yi to go down is there at once.
Or, if you lift something,
Then there is Yi to smash it down with increased force.
In this way its roots will be severely tested
And the destruction will be swift and beyond doubt.
The empty and the substantial must be clearly distinguished.
Every place of course has its own balance of emptiness and substance,
Each place consists of that, an emptiness and a substantiality.
Each part of the body in turn is suspended together,
Without causing the slightest break.
This Chang Chuan (this long boxing),
It is like the great river, the Chang Jiang,
That surges and flows, without interruption.
Of the thirteen tactics,
Peng, Lu, Ji, An, Cai, Lie, Zhou and Kao;
They are the Eight Trigrams.
Advancing, Retreating, Turning Left, Looking Right and Stabilising in the Centre;
These are the five elements.
Peng, Lu, Ji and An,
Are the trigrams Chien, Kun, Kan, Li, the four cardinal points.
Cai, Lie, Zhou and Kao
Are the trigrams Sun, Chen, Tui, Ken, the four corners.
Advance, Retreat, Turn Left, Look Right and Stabilise in the Centre;
Are Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth.
This text is often attributed to the Taoist hermit Chang San-feng (14th century) but there is no evidence one way or the other.