Hello everyone, I don't know if this question was already asked in this forum, but I figured that this would be a good thread to post in hopes of attracting other aspiring students. My inquiry is this: Does anyone have advice/pointers/exercises for loosening the hips? To list one, my Tai Chi instructor tells me to take Salsa lessons. That'll work, but I'm sure that not every Tai Chi student does Salsa. Does anyone have any other suggestions?
Several things you could try in addition to old paldens suggestion.. Get some poi poi's and just have fun..great for loosening the waist/hips. Tha same goes for the good, old fashioned hula hoop. Another thing which really brings home non flexability and is a good way to resolve it, is to sit in a chair (kitchen type chair as opposed to an armchair!) sit with feet firmly on the floor..suspend your head..make sure you are not slouching..and repeatedly turn the waist side to side . By doing it seated, it is nigh on impossible to cheat. Also do the first part of your taiji form sitting as described. Good luck!!
Stretch maybe? Seated hip stretch http://www.racewalk.com/Stretching/HipStretches02.asp Seated groin stretch http://www.racewalk.com/Stretching/GroinStretches.asp Seated hip stretch http://www.racewalk.com/Stretching/HipStretches03.asp
There is a Qi Gong excercise 'The Drum' which is a good one to practice...best with a partner if you are very inflexable!
I can see this working for the waist. But the hip joints, or kua if you like, aren't affected much with this. Do standing pole. Losen up. Then do cloud hands for a couple of minutes and make sure you're not just turning the shoulders above the hips, but the whole torso. Repeated practice is the way to go.
If you practise Yang style - Snake Creeps Down on both sides will loosen the hip joints. Keep the body upright and don't lean forward. Y9u need to take care though, it is easy to pull a muscle or stretch a tendon!! Very best wishes
hi guys, loosening the hip- its half of taiji to actually figure out how to do this properly. Well, loosening the hip i believe requires a few things: 1) Flexibility of muscles, tendons, joints 2) Substantial strength of muscles and tendons 3) Practice coordination of waist&hip + seperate weight 4) Relax Mind, Raise Spirit, Let Go of Body 1) Whilst being flexible does not necesarily make you soft, without proper flexibility, one cant become soft nor move properly w/o stiffness. Flexibility helps open up joints, tendons, and muscles 2) One obviously needs a substantial proper strength in order to relax, stretch and loosen- w/o proper strength in and around the joints, it would be impossible to gain anything. 3) Proper coordination of waist&hip + seperating yin&yang encompasses a multitude of things. It refers to the training of the waist and body through the form, push-hands, and exercises- learning the way the waist moves. And we need to learn how the waist and spine 'fold' and open. Proper posture is thus required here 4) Relax Mind, Raise Spirit, Let Go of Body. Even if you get everything else right, if the mind, spirit, & body are tense, no amount of flexibility, strength or training will ever soften it. This is also the most difficult step to do Whilst I give these suggestions as a series of steps, they actually are done almost simultaneously to achieve effect. There may be many more factors to consider but i have tried to sum up alot of methods to help in our everyday training
