52 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

Final Step: Integration and Practice

Once you have comfortably integrated your breathing with the movements, you are ready
to do 20 repetitions of Movement 1 of Dragon and Tiger (see Figure 4-2). One repetition
is defined as one cycle of a hand moving from down to up (Figure 4-2 F-L or Figure 4-2 L-R).
Choose your right or left hand and count the rising of that hand as one, its falling as two,
its next rising as three, etc. Doing 20 continuous repetitions without rest is considered one
round of practice.

Use Movement 1 to Balance Your Chi

Now you can start to use Movement 1 to balance the chi of your feet, legs, hands, arms
and torso.
Begin to do Movement 1 slowly, steadily, and continuously. Try to keep your arms and
hands, and your legs and feet moving at all times. If you stop moving a part of your body
for an instant, then your chi circulation in that part of your body will slow or even stop. It
will lag behind the circulation in other parts of your body and your overall chi flow will
become less balanced. So the first step in balancing your chi is to move continuously.
The next step is to notice which parts of your body feel more alive and easy to move
and which feel less responsive and more sluggish or tight. For a while just practice feeling
your body as you do the movements. Be aware of what you notice, but do not try to do
anything yet. Relax and open your mind and let yourself learn to feel many parts of your
body simultaneously.
Once you can do this a bit, then begin to play within your body. Put a little more atten-
tion into the parts of your body which feel less alive and responsive. Play with how you do
the movements so that you try to awaken these areas. For example, you might exaggerate
how you move those areas or how you move your hands across those areas to make them
more alive.

Moving with the Breath

You can also use your breath to help you focus on less responsive areas of your body. To
breathe in concert with the movements, pick a hand or foot with which to coordinate your
breath. As that hand or foot moves up, you inhale. As it moves down, you exhale.
 Chapter 4: Movement 1 Integration 53

Try not to hold your breath at any time; let it smoothly shift from inhale to exhale and
vice versa. For example, as your hand smoothly turns over near the front of your shoulder,
let your breath smoothly and steadily move from inhale to exhale. As your hand circles from
the outside of your foot to the inside, let your breath change smoothly from exhale to inhale.
Choose to coordinate your breath with the part of your body that you'd like to awaken.
For example, if your left leg or foot seems like the least responsive part of your body, then
breathe in concert with the movement of your left foot. If it is your right shoulder, then
breathe in concert with the movement of your right hand.

Emphasize the Downward Movement

A slightly more advanced aspect of Movement 1 is to try to balance the up and down flows
of energy between your body and the earth. The best way to do this is to emphasize the
downward action of your hands and heels. The way chi works in the body is that if you can
cause energy to sink down your body into the earth, chi will naturally rise up again. (This
does not necessarily work in reverse; an upward flow won't necessarily cause a downward
flow to occur.)
So in Movement 1 you should play with sinking energy out of whichever heel is dropping
at any time. You can simultaneously also play with moving chi with your falling hand down
the front of your torso and the outside of your leg into the earth.
It is best to master the downward flow before trying to work with the upward flow. Once
you get those downward movements going, then you start to playas well with the hand and
foot that are rising. Try to move in such a way that you feel your dropping hand and heel
causing your other hand and heel to rise up your body.

Important Points to Remember

Pay special attention to using your hands to trace the correct energy pathways. If
you do so, then you will more fully reap the benefits of Dragon and Tiger chi gung.
Keep your hands six to eight inches away from your body and never allow your
hand to move closer than the width of your closed fist.
Remember the 70 percent rule and only raise your hand and heel as far as you
can without strain.
Putting a little pressure on the heel of the weighted foot will cause energy to drop
down your body. Putting a little pressure on the ball of the weighted foot will cause
energy to rise.
54 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

The raising of the hand and heel occur simultaneously. Keep the ratio of the move-
ment of your hand and heel constant, so they begin and finish together and are
always at the same percentage of their respective ranges of movement.
As your hand rises, make sure the tops of your shoulders stay relaxed and down.
The weight shifts should be seamless and comfortable.
The breath should be relaxed and your transitions from inhale to exhale and vice
versa should be smooth and without gaps. You should not hold your breath at any
time during the movement.
When you perform Movement 1 correctly, you will feel as though there is a continuous
pulley-like motion between your right and left sides.
Be gentle with yourself and do not try to be perfect.

Congratulationsl You have learned the first of Dragon and Tiger's seven movements.
Practice this movement until you become very comfortable with it. Then move on to learn
the second movement.
 SHIFT WEIGHT
5 WHILE TURNING
Movell1ent 2 Basics

Before attempting to learn Movement 2, you must learn how to properly shift weight
while turning the torso from the hip joint (kwa). This is necessary for physical balance,
coordination and, most importantly, the protection of the knee joints and the lower back.
Learning to do this will make it easier for you to learn Movement 2, arguably the most
difficult of all Dragon and Tiger's movements. Turning while shifting weight is also a major
component of Movement 7 and many other chi gung and other Taoist energy arts, especially
tai chi.
First you will learn the basic positions of weight shifting: turned left, center position and
turned right. Next, you will be taught five components for turning correctly that you will
integrate into these basic positions.

Step 1: Basic Turning and

Weight Shifting Positions
Beginning (facing center) position: Basic standing posture-face
forward, feet flat on the floor, parallel and no wider than shoulder's
width apart (Figure 5-1).

The center position is a mid-point resting stop before turning left or

Basic Standing
right. It provides the best structural integrity for enabling your body to Position
turn in a relaxed and stable manner. Figure 5-1

55
56 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

1. From the facing center position (Figure 5-2 A), shift your weight and turn your hips and
torso to the left (Figure 5-2 B).
When you do this, make sure you do the following-

While turning, raise your right heel, but keep the ball of your right foot touching
the ground.
let your right foot pivot on its ball so that your right knee and toes turn to point in
the same direction as your torso and hips.
Only turn your torso and hips 70 percent as far as is comfortable.
Initially let your unweighted right leg naturally follow the turning of your hips and
torso. Do not independently move or force the unweighted leg to pivot.

2. From the facing left position, gradually shift your weight and turn back to the facing
center position (Figure 5-2 C-D). When you do this, make sure you do the following-

As you begin to turn your hips and torso back to the center, keep your weight
mostly on your left foot and begin to put your right heel down.
Gradually shift your weight toward the middle and turn your hips back to face
forward. As you do so, let your right foot pivot on its ball until your knees and toes
face forward and then put your right heel completely down.
When your feet are facing forward and parallel to each other, your weight should
be evenly distributed on both feet.

Turn torso
to left

Right foot
pivots back
to center
Right
foot
t
A B c o
Turn Torso to the Left and Back to Center Again
Figure 5-2
 Chapter 5: Movement 2 Basics 57

3. From the facing center position (Figure 5-2 E), turn your torso to the right. Gradually
shift all the weight of your torso onto your right foot, as you turn your torso and hips
to the right (Figure 5-2 F). When you do this, make sure you do the following-

While turning, raise your left heel, but keep the ball of your left foot touching
the ground.
Let your left foot pivot on its ball so that your left knee and toes turn to point in the
same direction as your torso and hips.
Only turn your torso and hips 70 percent as far as is comfortable.
Initially let your unweighted left leg naturally follow the turning of your hips and
torso. Do not independently move or force the unweighted leg to pivot.
4. From the facing right position, gradually shift your weight and turn back to the facing
center position (Figure 5-2 G-H). When you do this, make sure you do the following-

As you begin to turn your hips and torso back to the center, keep your weight mostly
on your right foot and begin to put your left heel down.
Gradually shift your weight toward the middle and turn your hips back to face
forward. As you do so, let your left foot pivot on its ball until your knees and toes
face forward and then put your left heel completely down (Figure 5-2 H).
When your feet are facing forward and parallel to each other, your weight should
be evenly distributed on both feet.

Start return

Left foot
pivols back

Right
foot

E F G
Turn Torso to the Right and Back to Center Again
Figure 5-2
 58 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

Practice this basic turning sequence (Figure 5-3 A-G) for four or five minutes or until it
feels comfortable and natural and you do not have to refer to the instructions. The most
important point to remember is to let your unweighted leg follow the turning of your hips. It
is very easy to get into the bad habit of independently moving or forcing the unweighted
let to pivot.

Turn left Turn right

Right
foot

A B c D E F G

Basic Turning Sequence

Figure 5-3

Take a Short Break

It is recommended that you take a break at this point in order to allow your
nervous system to absorb what you have just learned.
 Chapter 5: Movement 2 Basics 59

Correct Turning Protects Your Knees

Although you have just learned the basic positions of turning, there are five discrete
components that will help keep your knees healthy and pain-free. These are-
Using your kwa to turn
Maintaining a constant shoulder's width stance
Keeping the knee of your weighted foot stable
Paying attention to the alignments of the legs and feet
Keeping the "four points" together as you turn.

learning to turn correctly so that you do not damage your knees is one of most important
things you can learn. The knee joint is not meant to be a weight-bearing joint. The five
components of correct turning will enable the pressure of your body weight to pass through
and go around the knee joint into your muscles. They will keep the weight off the knee joint
so that it doesn't cause damage to your cartilage and tear the ligaments of the knee.
If you properly protect your knees when turning, you will mitigate or break any bad knee
habits you may already have and adopt safe ones. This will enable you to safely protect your
knees while performing other physical activities.
Once you learn these components, you will not only use them in Movements 2 and 7
of Dragon and Tiger but will be able to apply them to any other chi gung, tai chi, Taoist
energy arts programs and most sports. Knee injuries, particularly when turning, are
common in almost any movement activity and not easy to repair.

The Importance of Correct Hip, Leg and Knee Alignments

The perspective held by chi gung doctors on the natural design and proper functioning and
protection of the knees is different than that held by some Western medical and exercise
professionals. According to the Western view, to protect your knees you should build up the
strength and tension in the soft muscles around the knee joint to better hold the joint in
place. The chi gung perspective is to learn how to have proper body alignments as you
turn, particularly as regards the hip, leg and knee joints, as well as maintaining relaxation.
Correct alignments allow the pressures generated from the turning of your body to be
absorbed by your soft tissues and not your knees or lower spine.
60 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

How Knee Damage Occurs

Knee joints are fragile and have limited range of motion. They can withstand very little twisting,
torque or direct sideways pressure before their cartilage or ligaments become damaged. Your
knees are especially vulnerable when you shift weight and turn because all your body's
weight must pass through one knee.
Any pressure exerted on the knee should pass through or around the joint. The attached
surrounding soft tissues (muscles, fascia, ligaments and tendons) should stretch and twist to
take the pressure away from the joint. Learning to reduce or eliminate small pressures exerted
on the knee when turning can forestall or erase long-term problems. If these tissues do not
gently stretch and twist they will stiffen and pull strongly where they attach to the knee bones
and joint. As a result, the joint may be pulled out of alignment, the soft tissues (especially
ligaments) may tear and the cartilage inside the joint may wear down prematurely.

Knee Damage Is Usually Progressive

Most knee problems are not caused by one dramatic incident, such as a severe
unexpected accident. Rather they are caused by cumulative damage, which can occur over
months of intense physical activity or imperceptibly over years of everyday activity. Over
time, repetitive strain can either set up knee ligaments and cartilage to excessively
wear and eventually tear, or cause them to overstretch, resulting in a floppy knee with minimum
capacity to remain stable as you stand, move or turn.

Learning Strategy
These components are essential to learn in the sequence presented and before you move
on to learning Movement 2 of Dragon and Tiger.
As you learn each component, integrate the component into the basic turning sequence
and practice turning left, center, right, center, left, etc. for four or five minutes. Practicing
these weight shifts continuously for that amount of time will help lock each component into
your body memory. If this amount of time is insufficient to have the component feel com-
fortable as you turn, take the time you need to do so. Sometimes taking a short break before
trying to once again integrate the component into the basic turning sequence will help lock
it into your nervous system.
After learning each component, take a break for five to 10 minutes.
 Chapter 5: Movement 2 Basics 61

Important Safety Principles

As you learn the components of correct turning, remember these important safety
principles-
Your muscles, ligaments, tendons and fascia-all of which are soft tissues-should
comfortably and safely twist when you move. The bones and cartilage of your knee
joint are not designed to be twisted and therefore should not twist when you move,
or the result can be painful knee damage.
If you feel pain inside your knee joint while exercising you may be risking knee
injury. Do not continue any movement that makes you feel pain inside the joint
itself. If you do feel pain, something, somewhere needs to be adjusted.

Step 2: Use Your Kwa to Turn

Turning from the hip joint (kwa) is integral to all Taoist internal arts, including chi gung and
tai chi. Besides protecting your knees, turning from the kwa has important energetic and
healing benefits. First, the kwa is the meeting point which connects the horizontal energy
flows to the legs from the vertical right or left energy channels or the central energy channel
flowing from the torso, and vice versa. The kwa is also the connection point that connects
the horizontal flow of energy in the acupuncture meridians from the torso to the legs and
vice versa.
When turning while keeping the four points aligned (see Step 6, p. 70), you will enable
the energy obtained from the turning actions of the legs to transfer through the hips into
the abdominal cavity to massage your internal organs in the most optimal way.

Preliminary Exercise
Working with a partner will help focus your attention on feeling the the kwa and keeping
the knee of your weighted foot balanced and stable as you turn. If you wear a bikini or
briefs and turn to the side, your kwa fold will be very visible in the groin area.
 62 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

1. Stand with your feet parallel, approximately shoulder's width apart and your weight
evenly distributed on both feet (Figure 5-4 AJ. Your partner will place the edge of a hand
on the bottom of your left kwa crease, where your inner thigh connects to the hip. Your
partner will place the other hand on your knee to help keep it balanced and stable.

2. Turn to the left, and as you shift your weight to your left foot, your left kwa will begin
to fold. Your partner will rub the edge of that hand up the crease, stopping at the top
(crest) of the hipbone when you complete your turn (Figure 5-4 BJ.

3. Now, as your partner rubs the edge of that hand down from the crest of the hip bone
to the bottom of your left kwa crease, turn back to face the front (Figure 5-4 C). When
you return to center, the kwa will have stopped unfolding (Figure 5-4 DJ. Repeat these
folding and unfolding actions until you can feel the impetus for your turns coming
directly out of the movement of your left kwa. Your partner will keep the left weighted
knee stable as you do so.

4. Repeat the procedure on your right side.

,,7\ Left kwa

begins ta
unfold as
you turn
back to
center

Left knee
remains
stable
Right
foot

A B C D
Learn to Turn by Folding the Kwa
Figure 5-4
 Chapter 5: Movement 2 Basics 63

Fold Your Kwa When You Turn

The primary impetus to turn your torso towards your weighted leg must come from your hip
joint (kwa), not your shoulders or chest. The torso will turn naturally when you fold the kwa
and swivel from the hip. This will prevent damage to your knees and lower back, which you
could cause by the twisting that can occur inside your knee joint if you turn from the shoulders
and chest. In these instructions, you will fold the kwa as you turn by yourself.

Beginning (facing center) position: Basic standing posture-face forward, feet flat on
the floor, parallel and no wider than shoulder's width apart (Figure 5-1).

1. When you shift your weight and turn your hips to the right, maximize the crease on
the right side of your kwa to enable you to use its full range of motion and properly
protect your knees and back (Figure 5-5 A).

Turn to right- Turn to left-

when your kwa when your kwa
stops folding, stops folding,
stop turning stop turning

Left knee
Right knee
remains stable remains stable

Left foot is
Right foot is weighted
weighted
A B
Fold the Kwa as You Turn
Figure 5-5
If you turn your hips to the right but you do not fold the kwa, then you are not
swiveling your hip joint fully or properly. Your turning movement is incorrectly
coming from twisting your back, knee, ankle, chest, shoulders or all of the above.
Keep the weight evenly distributed on your weighted foot as you pivot on the ball
of your unweighted foot with your heel raised.
Only turn your hips as far as your kwa can fold comfortably. Remember the
70 percent rule.
Keep the knee of the weighted foot stable and balanced.
64 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

2. When your kwa stops folding, stop turning. Turning too much will generate pressures
inside your body that can pull and strain your knees and lower spine. Such pressures
will block the flow of energy and inhibit the overall circulation of energy throughout
your body. They will also cause damage to, or inhibit the healing of injured hip, knee,
ankle or foot joints. Do not ride up on the outside or collapse on the inside edge of
the weighted foot.

3. Shift your weight back to center. Your kwa will unfold as you turn inward.

Repeat steps 1-3 five to ten times until your turning to the right and back feels comfortable
and relaxed.

4. Repeat steps 1 and 3 to turn to the left (Figure 5-5 B) at least five or ten times, or until it
feels comfortable and relaxed.

Integration and Practice

Integrate this component into the basic turning sequence for four or five minutes to help lock
it into your memory.

Take a Short Break

It is recommended that you take a break at this point in order to allow your
nervous system to absorb what you have just learned.

Step 3: Maintain a Constant Shoulder's

Width Stance
As you turn your torso from side to side, you may find that the width of your stance changes
to become wider or narrower than shoulder's width apart. Do not allow this to occur.
Maintain a constant width between your feet. If your stance becomes too narrow,
you may feel unstable, compressed and uncomfortable. If your stance becomes too wide,
you may overstretch your lower body and strain your knees, ankles or lower back.
The shoulder's width stance is ideal for turning because-
In order to turn, your body has to overcome a minimum of resistance from tight
muscles, ligaments, etc. This allows your pivot and turn to be smoother, more relaxed
and more fluid.
 Chapter 5: Movement 2 Basics 65

You will most efficiently use the natural strength of your hips to support both your
legs and lower back. Your ability to use this strength diminishes when your weight
falls between your legs in a wider stance or outside of your legs in a narrower
stance. In such stances, you tend to use the muscles of your lower back and legs
for support. As a result, you can easily strain all the muscles of your lower body-
lower back, hips, legs and especially your knees. This in turn may strain your lower
spine and diminish the nerve flow to your lower body.
This is the ideal width for you to maintain physical balance in turning movements
where you alternate between a forward-facing stance and turning your hips and
torso to the side, as occurs in Dragon and Tiger Movements 2 and 7.
The width also ensures that when you turn your torso side-to-side, you will not
exceed your body's stretching capacity. Too wide a stance may result in over-
stretching your tightest muscles, for which the body compensates by contracting
other muscles in the pelvis and legs. This can put direct and potentially damaging
pressure inside of your knee instead of having the pressure generated by your turn
flow safely into the soft tissues that surround the knee joint.
Excessive width can also bind the body, add tension and stiffen the muscles
above and below the knee, further putting pressure into the joint itself, as well as
cause the spine to twist excessively, particularly at the lower back. This can lead
to chronic back problems. A telltale sign that you are doing this is when your
shoulders tense and begin to rise when you turn.

First, practice maintaining a constant shoulder's width stance as you turn for four or five
minutes to help lock it into your memory. Every minute or so check your stance.
When this component feels stable, then combine it with turning from the kwa. Make sure
you are comfortable doing this before learning the next component.

Take a Short Break

It is recommended that you take a break at this point in order to allow your
nervous system to absorb what you have just learned.
66 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

Step 4: Keep the Knee of Your

Weighted Foot Stable
The following biomechanical alignment and movement principles are valuable because they
allow the pressure generated by the turning of your body to be absorbed by your soft
tissues and not your knees or lower bock. You can best protect your knees by keeping
the knee of your weighted foot stable, making sure that you do not twist or collapse your
weighted knee outwardly or inwardly while turning from the kwa (Figure 5-6 A-C). Doing so
blocks the ability of chi to flow through your legs and between your spine and lower body.

Correct: Incorrect: Incorrect:

Right knee Right knee Right knee
is stable twisted out collapsed
inwards

A B c
Correct Knee Position While Turning From the Kwa
Figure 5-6

When you turn, try to consciously and properly align the bones and joints of your entire
weighted leg. Let any pressures on the leg move through and around the soft tissues, rather
than into the bones or cartilage. The soft tissues should turn and twist in synch with your
movements in a natural and relaxed manner. Your bones should move very little, if at all.
The knee is a fragile joint and is not meant to bear excessive weight. When your knee
is not in alignment with your supporting foot, the weight of your upper body goes directly
into the places where the ligaments of your knee hold the knee together. If, in any form of
physical activity, the ligaments of your knee are habitually exposed to such strain, they can
tear or become severely strained. Over time this can lead to their becoming overstretched,
often to such on extent that they can no longer stably hold the knee in place.
 Chapter 5: Movement 2 Basics 67

In martial arts, if you want to dislocate or break someone's knee, the standard technique
is to kick or, with your hands, twist the opponent's knee so the knee is radically displaced
outwardly or inwardly. You can achieve less dramatic, but similarly harmful results with your
own knee, by slowly, progressively over time, putting your knee in the same dangerous
positions when you stand or turn.

Integration and Practice

Integrate this component into the basic turning sequence for four or five minutes to help lock
it into your memory.
Next, try to combine keeping your knee properly aligned as you turn from the kwa and
maintain a constant width between your feet. Make sure you are comfortable doing this
before learning the next component.

Take a Short Break

It is recommended that you take a break at this point in order to allow your
nervous system to absorb what you have just learned.

Step S: Pay Attention to the Alignments

of Your Legs and Feet
Legs weigh a lot. If you shift your weight and turn your hips and torso without relaxing and
letting the unweighted leg turn, a potentially dangerous pull can be exerted on the anatomical
insertions to your lower back and weighted knee. If you try to throw, hit, push or exert
strength against something when you turn, leaving your unweighted leg behind will inhibit
the success of that activity.
Your goal is to have your spine, hips, navel and moving kneecap, foot, and toes face in
the exact same direction during your entire turn, while, ideally, keeping your leg and foot
relaxed at all times.
68 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

1. Adjust the angle of your weighted foot when necessary.

When you are turned to either side, the ideal position of the toes of your weighted foot is to be
pointing forward with those of your unweighted foot pointing toward the side (Figure 5-8 A).
If you properly turn your body into this position, you create maximum pressure in your
lower and middle internal organs and massage them at the same time. This increases fluid
flow through them and improves their functioning.
Initially, achieving this ideal position may compromise your comfort.
If you feel any weakness at all in your back or if you feel pressure going into either knee,
relieve this by letting your weighted foot turn from five to 45 degrees toward the side (Figure
5-8 B). Although this will reduce the beneficial pressure into your organs a little, it should
alleviate strain in your knees or hip or lower back and allow you to turn your hips further
toward the side.
If you still feel pain in your knees, increase the angle of your foot to more than 45 degrees
until the pain in your knee subsides (Figure 5-8 C).
Although doing so will significantly reduce the pressure that your turning generates into
your internal organs and reduces the benefit of the internal massage, it is far more important
to protect your knees and not force your body to maintain an uncomfortable or potentially
dangerous position. When you have practiced enough that your body and balance have
become stronger and your knee more comfortable, then return to the 45-degree turn-and
ultimately, bit by bit, to the zero degree turn.

The ball of
the unweighted
right foot
follows the turn '\~ --... Only if necessary: More
of the left kwa . ~ ethan 45 degrees
A I B ' \ Acceptable: 5 to 45
.. degree angle
Ideal: Straight ahead

Weighted Foot Position Options

Figure 5-8
 Chapter 5: Movement 2 Basics 69

The correct placement of your feet will help you turn and shift your weight without strain
and will alleviate cumulative damage to the knee and lower back.

2. The ball, outside edge and heel of your weighted foot must evenly touch the
ground, so that you do not ride up on the outside edge or collapse on the inside of
your foot.

If your foot does not evenly touch the floor, natural body alignments from your ankle upward
through your whole body will become distorted to compensate for not having a stable base.
As you put your weight on one foot, make sure you are not rolling your foot up on its
outside edge. This strains the places where your tendons and ligaments attach to the bones
of your foot, ankle, and knee and may also strain your lower back.
Your foot or knee should not collapse inward. The key to preventing this is to keep your
perineum open at all times (see Chapter 14, Principle 12). Most people with normal arch-
es do not pay attention to how their weight moves through their feet; in Dragon and Tiger,
you should do so.

3. Let the unweighted knee, foot and toes move in synch with the hip turn.

While you are making the turn, pivot on the ball of your unweighted foot. As you turn, your
thigh, knee and toes should point in the same direction as your torso.
Commonly, there is some initial inertia to overcome to get your unweighted leg to turn.
Try to consciously relax and let the unweighted leg rotate and turn. Pay special attention to
the first moments when you move from feet evenly weighted to shifting your weight to the
side. If you relax and let your leg turn at this point, inertia is easily overcome. If you wait
until midpoint in the shift to let the turn occur, you may get preoccupied and stiffen your
unweighted leg so it does not rotate and follow your hips, thereby potentially straining your
knee joints or lower back.

4. Integrate this component into the basic turning sequence for four or five minutes.

When this feels comfortable, combine it with the other components that you learned: paying
attention to your leg and foot alignments, keeping your knee properly aligned, turning from
the kwa and maintaining a constant width between your feet. Make sure you are comfortable
doing this before learning the next component.

Take a Short Break

It is recommended that you take a break at this point in order to allow your
nervous system to absorb what you have just learned.
70 Dragon and Tiger Medical Chi Gung

Step 6: Keep the IIFour Points" Together

As You Turn
As you turn your hips, keep both shoulder's nests and both sides of the kwa vertically
aligned to form a rectangle within your torso (Figure 5-9 A & B). This alignment is called the
four points.

Shoulder's
nest Shoulder's
nest --+....- - - . Ideally, when
you turn, top
and bottom
points turn the
same amount
and rectangle
is maintained

Kwa
Kwa

A B
Correct Four Points Alignment-Four Points Maintained as a Rectangle
Figure 5-9

Shoulder's
nest turned a Unhealthy
lot to left S-curve created in
torso and spine

Kwa points
turned a little
to left

Incorrect Four Points Alignment- Top Points Turned More than Bottom
Figure 5-10
 Chapter 5: Movement 2 Basics 71

This body alignment principle of the four points is very important in most Taoist
chi gung practices, tai chi and other internal martial arts. It provides several important
benefits and will-
Ensure that you are turning from your kwa and not your shoulders, chest or belly
Form a box within your torso to hold your internal organs in stable, natural alignment
Cause a light nonforceful twisting pressure to arise from your hips that will massage
your internal organs
Unify the energy of your body
Prevent your spine from twisting into a misaligned S-curve (Figure 5-10).

Incorrectly turning from the chest or shoulders, without maintaining the same degree of
turn in the kwa, has several negative consequences-
You can torque the inside of the knee joint causing potential damage
Your upper spine will twist into an S-curve and misalign your upper spinal vertebrae
(Figure 5-10)
Your middle spine will twist and misalign your middle spinal vertebrae.

If you leave your upper body still and only turn from your belly, your lower spine will
twist and misalign your lower vertebrae, a common cause of lower back pain.
Over time the habitual misaligning of vertebrae can result in neck or back pain and
visits to your healthcare practitioner.
To help yourself maintain this four-point alignment, as you turn exert very light pressures
simultaneously downward from your shoulders' nests and upwards from both sides of your
kwa. You should have a definite feeling that the up and down movements meet somewhere
in the middle of the left and right channels of your body.
Integrate this component into the basic turning sequence for four or five minutes to help
lock it into your memory.

Integration
Integrate all five components into the basic turning sequence. Turn for five more minutes.
Each minute or so, place your attention on one of the components to make sure the
integration is seamless. If any component needs more practice, go back and practice it
separately and then integrate it again into your turning movements.
Once you feel you have learned and integrated these components into your turning