Finding the waist...

 Finding one’s waist is the first step to correct Taijiquan movements. This is initiated by keeping the point just above the mingmen (gate of life) substantial, not the entire lumbar spine. It is as if the waist is being held to drive the whole body. The abdomen, the back and the whole body are not tense. Before the waist becomes dominant, the upward lift of the waist cannot be felt so this is the first sensation to try to get.

The next step is to drop the hips/buttocks below the mingmen area. The lower abdomen is slightly contained. The combination of the upward lift of the waist above the mingmen and the downward sinking of the hips below it is the preliminary success to realising the waist.

Start practising with jibengong (basic drills consisting of form training that includes precise hand and footwork). Choosing to do static exercise over movements before possessing any lower plane concept only encourages scattered thoughts and tension. Trying to loosen the hips/kua and practise crotch strength independently will not bring about the correct result.

Without first ‘finding’ the waist any action of lifting the top of the head is localised and false. True lifting is the result of the outward expansion of the waist and the support of the central qi; as is with the true sinking of the lower plane and the acquisition of dang jin (crotch strength).