Tai Chi Chuan is the art of letting hardness dwell within softness and hiding a needle within cotton
Yang Cheng Fu
The13 basic principles of Tai Chi practice:
1. Sinking the shoulders and dropping of elbows.
2. Relaxing of chest and rounding the back.
3. Sinking chi down to dan tien.
4. Lightly pointing up the head.
5. Relaxation of waist and hip.
6. Differentiate between ying and yang, between empty and full.
7. Coordination of upper and lower parts of the body.
8. Using the mind instead of force.
9. Harmony between internal and external.
10. Connecting the mind and the chi.
11. Find stillness within movement.
12. Movement and stillness present at once.
13. Continuity and evenness throughout the form.
Yoga for Health 