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Quick Links to Postures 1-17 | 1 Lifting Arms | 2 Opening the Chest | 3 Painting the Rainbow | 4 Separating Clouds | 5 Rolling Arms | 6 Cloud Hands | 7 Raise the Ball | 8 Carry the Moon | 9 Pushing Waves | 10 Loosening the Trunk | 11 Touch the Sea, Look at the Sky | 12 Rotate the Wheel and Point at the Moon | 13 Parting Wild Horses Mane | 14 Brush Knee and Push | 15 Grasp Sparrows Tail | 16 Fair Lady Weaves Shuttles | 17 Punching
Consult the "seated stage" notes in posture 1 regarding sitting / chairs.
Begin with hands lightly resting on the thighs, palms down.
Imagine you are holding a ball on your right side. Turn the trunk to the right corner. Imagine you're holding a big medicine ball which is quite heavy so your hands are quite close to your body; the right hand in front of your right shoulder, the left hand in front of your right hip. Make sure your right shoulder and elbow are not raised.
Inhale. Then:-
Imagine squashing this ball with both palms facing each other. As you squash the ball turn the upper body to the front and let the palms pass each other, palms flat, right palm sinking down the left palm rising upwards across the body to the left side diagonally. Straighten the left arm, the left hand finishing up about head height to the left corner. The left arm is straight and the wrist is also straight. Imagine feeding a horse with an apple or carrot. The right palm comes to rest with the arm slightly bent just outside the right thigh. The hand is placed palm-down, pressed downwards as if you are patting a big dog.
Turn the left palm down and pull the hand back in front of the left shoulder keeping the left elbow low, then turn the torso to face the left corner as the right hand comes across the body at waist level to hold the bottom of the invisible ball on your left side.
Now you perform exactly the same two movements this time on the left side.
The palms are going in opposite directions the left palm going down the left side to pat the dog, the right palm travelling up diagonally to the right corner at head height, hand finishing off palm upward with arm straight as if feeling a horse.
Turn the right palm over to face the ground and pull the hand back in front of the right shoulder, keeping the right elbow low, then turn the torso to the right corner as the left hand comes across the body at waist level to hold the bottom of the invisible ball on your right side.
Now repeat the squash the ball as you feed the horse on the left side and so on.
Repeat both left and right sides several times.
Consult the "important points" in exercise one regarding "moving in water".
Stand with feet at shoulder width and parallel, toes facing directly forward. Legs should be straight with Knees slightly bent.
Perform the torso movements as in the seated stage while keeping the lower half of the body - including the hips - still. Only move the arms and torso.
Refer to the "Small Stepping" directions in the footwork section.
Refer to the "Lunging-Bow" directions in the footwork section
Applying the footwork to the posture:-
Stand with feet at shoulder width and parallel, toes facing directly forward. Legs should be straight with Knees slightly bent.
Perform the torso movements as in the seated stage with these additional steps:-
The instructions which follow apply equally to small stepping and lunging bow posture.
As you squash the ball on the right side, step forward with the left foot into the "feeding the horse" posture with the left hand leading.
Then as you turn the left palm over and bring it close to the left shoulder to hold the ball on the left side, the left foot moves back under the body.
As you squash the ball on the left side, step forward with the right foot into the "feeding horse position" on the right side.
Then you are back in the right side hold the ball position.
Repeat several times.
Parting Wild Horses Mane posture is taken from XXX.
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