Many people come to Tai Chi in later years, often with problems of posture, movement and balance – we should not think we can, or even attempt to deal with, everything all at once. Over the years our bodies take up habits of usage that enable us to survive – rushing in and trying to fix everything immediately is likely to cause further problems. So the first thing we should bear in mind is to be gentle with ourselves, then we can learn to look after ourselves.
Loosening is a vital part of this process but being careful to do nothing that is painful as that would only promote more tension. As we loosen our bodies then the structure can self adjust to enable improved posture and flexibility. Loosening involves relaxing and moving in such a way that we minimise muscle use and encourage passive movement.
