There is a saying, "learning postures is easy; changing them is hard." Or, as Master Hwa says, "...sometimes it is more difficult teaching a student not to move than how to move..." This difficulty expresses the "stubbornness" of the mind and body in relying on preconceived notions in thought and habit.
Just as some students will find the following statements uncomfortable, most students will not endure the discomfort of proper training without consciously or subconsciously seeking relief. Constant vigilance on the part of the teacher is required to keep the student on the correct path.
However, in "staying the course," we can become aware of sensations and, thus, the effects of the errors of muscle actions. I speak of Yin and Yang: "…to achieve internal movements, the Yin and Yang are a pair to form a junction at the right place in the torso. If there is any movement in the Yin, the junction will be altered, resulting in an entirely different kind of move…." However, are you cognizant? Are you sensing when there is movement in the Yin?
An instance of this not perceived in muscle action is a medical checkup. You are familiar with the Doctor putting a stethoscope on your chest and asking that you breathe in. In doing so, the chest heaves up, and the body becomes top-heavy. While the body is in physical balance, our belly gets hollowed.
This hollowing of the abdomen weakens our waist as a support column, thus weakening the support of balance in body structure. Not that the Dr. would do it, but I think the body would fall easily with a gentle nudge. I confess I have been breathing from the abdomen for decades. When the Dr. tells me to take a "deep breath," I never "heave up" the chest, and the Doctor never says otherwise.
The body can learn from the top heaviness as an effect of the yin-yang imbalance of muscle actions. Do we know, do we notice, and if we see, do we care? In routine activity, we make internal imbalances in the body structure, such as when we raise a hand excitedly to attract attention. Honestly, can you say you use quarter-body movement all the time?
Many combinations of muscle actions underlying a body's posture and motion exist. The differences in support do not matter much for everyday activities, but in sports, they determine the performance outcome. Master Hwa has elucidated this in many YouTube videos. I notice that some people do not agree with this, but chances are none are proficient at Tennis, Football, Baseball, etc., much less Taijiquan.
The silk reeling exercise "turning + crunch" is very energizing internally. You will feel the intense energy circulation in the dantien. The “folding the body along the spine move” was discussed extensively in Forum 14. Several variations of “folding move” were tried in my class. The one shown in this Youtube video appears to be the most effective in training this move and also has great relevance to form practice. The movement gives strong stretching and contraction sensations at both the front and the back of the torso. Since it is carried out in square form, it is not a silk reeling exercise. There is not much continuous energy circulation. Because the folding movements exercise the muscle and tendon along the spine and stimulates blood flow in that region, it is a good way to keep the spine healthy.
