Feet

The foot corresponds to the hand: the four toes are the four fingers and the heel is the thumb.

When the foot is planted on the Earth the toes extend and spread so that the fleshy ball of the foot can press onto and into the Earth.

The connexion between the Earth and the bubbling-well point (the red spot in the diagram) corresponds to the heart.

The toes and heel open apart and sink, gripping the ground: embracing the connexion the bubbling-well point has with the Earth ��� effectively embracing the heart.

When we relax in Tai Chi, our energy flows down the spine, into the sacrum, and then down the leg and into the Earth through the heel.

A natural energy circuit is then from the crown, down the spine, sacrum, back of the leg, heel, then up through the bubbling-well point, up the front of the leg into the heart, throat, face and crown. This circuit tends to make the posture lean back slightly ��� it is effectively Cheng Man-ching's circuit.

The opposite circuit is also possible. Sinking down into the heel causes energy to kick back up from the heel into the sacrum, up the spine through the back of the heart and to the crown of the head. When the bubbling-well point is pushed into the Earth a connexion is made which feels like a spark of spirit. This spark suddenly opens the heart which achieves a spirited immediacy that wants to leap forwards and fight. The spark also sucks a veil of energy down the front of the body and into the Earth. This circuit tends to make the posture lean forwards aggressively and is more like that of traditional Yang style Tai Chi Chuan.

It is possible to have both circuits flowing without them canceling each other out. Like everything in Tai Chi, power comes from the interplay of seemingly opposing energies.