The circle is such a dominant theme in t’ai chi. We see it in everything from the yin-yang symbol, to our orientation to points on an imaginary compass, to the shapes we make throughout the 108 sequences. Even the dan tien, the body’s energy center just below the navel, is represented as a wheel turning to generate power.
Think of that dan tien point, and then visualize the energy radiating out from that round, smoothly spinning wheel. It could travel all the way out to the edges of the world…except that there are no edges on a circle! Now, think of a traditional compass rose, pictured on a map. There are four cardinal points: north, south, east and west. Then there’s northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest. Often, when teaching beginning students, I ask them to think of these eight points as the places for the feet to land and rest. Getting to know what one’s own feet are doing is surprisingly challenging, so in the beginning it helps to have a visual support for that.
The diagonal points are sometimes hard to master. If, for example, one’s natural way of standing includes a little turnout of the feet, going to a diagonal might result in the foot over-turning. Then it might be more challenging to line up the knee, hip and torso. So it will help to take a quick look down at the feet in the very beginning position. Make sure they are in parallel, like a railroad track. Then shift the weight to one leg, and with the heel of the other foot still on the ground, turn the toe of the un-weighted leg to the diagonal. Check again: does it look like one-eighth of a turn, or is it more? Less than one-eighth is OK if it feels more stable. The goal is to get the foot to mimic that compass point on the imaginary 360-degree circle. Try this same exercise on the other foot. Once you have the weight-bearing foot straight and the non-weight bearing foot on the diagonal, again lift the toes on the diagonal foot and go back to the parallel position. Try this a few times and make sure the weight shift is slow and complete.
If you feel that you’ve got the hang of it, try turning to face a different direction and repeat the exercise with both feet. The goal is to create a familiarity with your own diagonal in any given direction. It can feel strange to do this in a square room, because our eyes want to get involved with the direction-finding. When outdoors, of course, our surroundings are not always square. By cultivating a sense of one’s own inner compass, the body gains confidence in itself for balance and steadiness, while flowing smoothly from sequence to sequence. Just like the needle in the compass – flowing slowly and deliberately to orient itself in space, yet ground itself in clear direction.
