Benefits: Centers the energy and rebalances the body.
Posture: Begin in the same position that you were in for the Butterfly tai chi exercise. At the point where you move upward and over your head, arch your back away from the back of the chair until you begin to bring your arms out to the side and back to the front of your chest. Slowly press your back against your chair and tuck your hips underneath.
Visualization: Imagine that you are collecting the ch’i and bits of energy from all over your body returning them to a neutral position at the lower dan tien so that energy will be lost or trapped elsewhere in the body. your arms out
Pathways: You are targeting all the pathways you have used in the previos exercises.
- Hold your hands, palms up, just above your lap. Breathe in deeply through your nose while contracting your diaphragm. In this exercise, the diaphragm is not expanded during inhalations.
- As you tighten your diaphragm and abdomen, raise your arms out to the side and up over your head to it’s center. Your palms are now facing the ceiling, fingers barely touching.
- Allow your arms to descend gradually in an arc out to the side. As you do so , exhale until there is no breath left in your lungs and relax the muscles of your diaphragm and abdomen.
- Return your arms to the original position in front of the lowest part of your abdomen, palms facing upward.
Repetitions: Three
Relax for a moment before beginning the next set of exercises.
