The First Principle of Balance

Within the THT curriculum is a DVD covering a special topic called the Five Principles of Balance. We contemplate and use these five principles as we perform our Qigong exercises. But more importantly these five principles apply to how we move throughout the day.

The first principle is our "vertical line inside". Our top center of head cooperates with the sky above, meanwhile, center between legs cooperates with the earth below. With these two opposites cooperating our spine remains long and healthy. Although a simple concept this one principle can have an immediate and profound impact on your physical balance.

Bai Hui and Hui Yin are the acupoints at the very ends (top and bottom) of this "vertical line". In our Tai Chi and Qi Gong classes we refer to Bai Hui acupoint as the "top center of head" and Hui Yin as the "center between legs". When Hui Yin seeks the earth below and simultaneously Bai Hui ascends to the sky above, our spine is long and healthy. With our spine lengthened our vertebrae are loosened and we decrease the chances for illnesses and injuries to manifest in our spine due to stress and tension building up and residing in our spine.