It may seem silly, even spurious, to perform a series of exercises in preparation for…exercise, but most Tai Chi classes begin with a series of “warm-ups” such as those which I describe below. There are many such warm-ups, and you need not do them all nor do them in any particular order, but here are some of my favorites (the Salute not being an exercise but a sort of formal, and respectful, punctuation mark to any class).
1. Fist Salute
Standing with feet together, present the right arm in front of the chest, making a fist. Cover the fist with the palm of the left hand, fingers together. Bend the thumb down.
The fist is for strength; the hand with fingers covering the fist is for friendship (we come together to help each other); the thumb is bent over symbolizing humility
2. Cleansing Breath
Move feet a comfortable distance apart (usually shoulder width) and bend at knees very slightly. The arms begin from a relax position along the sides to rise up in an arc like a bird opening its wings, tracing a circular path until the hands nearly touch above the head. Breath in deeply as the arms go up. From their position above the head, the hands, with palms facing down, travel downward in a linear path past the face and chest and stop just below the navel. Bend at the knees slightly as the hands come down. Breath out as the hands travel downward. Repeat this movement three times, breathing in and unbending the legs as the arms go up, breathing out and bending the legs as the hands move down. Visualize pushing bad energy out of your body.
3. Shake Hands
Hands are held at chest level with palms inward, then the arms are quickly thrust forward and the hands uncoil so that finger tips point forward. Repeat rapidly many times.
4. Wave Arms
Standing with feet spread approximately the distance of the shoulders and legs slightly bent, the arms are dropped along the sides, then the torso turns left and right as the arms swing, following the motion of the waist. The arms do not move of their own accord, they are like willow branches in the wind. Repeat many times.
5. Flex Ankles
Standing relaxed, shift weight to left leg and move right foot forward in a half step so that the ball of the foot barely touches the floor. Rotate the foot around the ball of the foot as an axis, flexing the ankle. Repeat many times. Return foot to standing position, shift weight to right foot and flex left ankle in the same way.
6. Heel, Toe, Inside, Outside
As in Flex Ankles, shift weight to left leg and move right foot forward, touch down on heel. Raise right foot slightly and touch down with toe, Repeat three times. Return to standing position, shift weight to right foot and do the same Heel/Toe routine with the left foot (three times).
Return to standing position, shift weight to left leg and move right foot forward, this time touch down (gently) on the outside edge of the foot, lift and touch down on the inside edge. Repeat three times. Return to standing position, shift weight to the right leg and do the same Inside/Outside with the left foot (three times).
7. Punch With Step
From standing position, rest both hands (made into fists) at the hips. Shift weight to right leg. Raise left foot so that it is weightless and step forward with the left leg, touching down heel first, then lowering the toe as the weight slowly shifts to this forward leg. The knee should not extend beyond the toe and the body’s weight is distributed approximately 70/30 percent between forward and backward legs. As the left foot steps out, the right arm makes a forward punch nearly, but not completely, straightening the right arm. Breath out during the punch. Return to standing position and do the same stepping routine with the right leg and left fist. Repeat three times.
8. Punch With Kick
From standing position, rest both hands (made into fist) at the hips. Shift weight to right leg. Raise left foot so that it is weightless and continue, bringing knee upward to a comfortable level. (The height you will be kicking should be determined by your own ability to balance and flex and should not be forced. A very shallow kick is adequate.) The kick is performed very slowly by unbending at the knee after the foot is raised off the ground, rather than swinging the whole leg outward. It is helpful to sink slightly on the opposite leg (bend at the knee) to stabilize the body. As the left leg kicks, punch outward the right fist. Return to standing position, repeat routine kicking with the right leg and punching with the left fist. Repeat three times.
9. Make Ball, Turn at Waist
Standing double weighted on both feet, hold the hands in front of the body, arms only slightly bent at the elbows such that they form a gentle curve. Bring the right hand up and the left hand down, palms facing each other so that it appears they are holding an invisible ball of a size bigger than a soccer ball but smaller than a basket ball. Turn to the right from the waist, not moving the hips, until the ball is positioned about 45 degrees over the right hip. Turn back to the left, reversing the position of the hands until they reach about 45 degrees over the left hip, left hand now on top and right on the bottom. Repeat several times doing the movement slowly and turning only from the waist. Do not move the arms, let them follow the turning of the upper torso.
10. Parting the Horse’s Mane Variation
This movement is similar to the Tai Chi movement called “Parting the Horse’s Mane” except that there is no movement of the torso or legs, only an expansion of the arms. Start, as in the precious exercise, by making the Tai Chi Ball with the right hand on top. The right hand moves down and slightly over to end just along side the front of the right hip as the left arm arcs up and to the left, keeping the elbow slightly bent and the palm rotating counter-clockwise about 70 degrees so that it faces the position of the right hand. The left hand will end at a position only slightly higher than the left shoulder and in front of it. This movement is done slowly while breathing out. The hands then move back to the ball-holding position but with the left hand on top and the right below. Breath in while returning the hands.
The movement is now done in the opposite direction, moving the left hand down and to the left hip while the right arm arcs up and to right in a mirrored position of the first movement. Again, this movement is done slowly. Hands then move back to the ball-holding position in front of the body. The hands always rotate during the movement of the arms, not before or after, so that they arrive in the correct orientation at the end of the movement.
This routine is repeated three times, each time extending the hands a little further than the previous time. By the second Parting the Horse’s Mane the upper hand will stop more or less even with the shoulder and the lower hand even with the hip. By the last time the both hands will stop behind the body but not so far as to strain the joints. The purpose is to exercise the range of motion and stretch the limbs. During the movements extending the arms, the head turns at the neck to follow the movement of the upper hand. The torso does not turn.
11. Shoulder Rolls
Hands at sides, roll back shoulders three times. Roll forward shoulders three times.
12. Neck Roll
Standing position, very relaxed, slight bend to all limbs, hands at sides. Rotate head on neck counter-clockwise many times, then revise and rotate clockwise many times. You should be totally relaxed by the end of this exercise.
