Open your Lao Gong and Yong Quan points – Open and close your hands deliberately. Control and observe the energy flow. Don’t trap the energy when you want to push.

We often talk in class about “opening your hands to collect energy” and “cupping the hands to push energy down into our bodies”.

What we are really doing is stimulating our Lao Gong (勞宮) points in the middle of the palm of our hands. As we spread out and open up our fingers, we’re opening the gate through the Lao Gong points.

Think of your arms as a water hose

Think of it as a water hose. You cup your hands a little, bringing the fingers together to keep the energy in, like pinching a water hose. Then when you let go of the pinch, when you spread out your fingers to open the Lao Gong points, you open up to let the water (energy) flow.

Become a big energy pump

Now extend that picture and think of your Yong Quan (涌泉) points, in the middle of your feet, as another end of the water hose. Think about pulling water (energy) in through your Lao Gong and Yong Quan points as you inhale, and pushing it out through those four points as you exhale.

Turn yourself into a big energy pump for the universe, connecting Heaven and Earth through yourself (Human).

Transmit your energy

When you push in a movement, think about how you are pushing out energy through your Lao Gong points as you exhale and move your Qi Bai point forward. At the same time push out and connect to the ground through your Yong Quan points.

For example, when you do the double hand pull and push sequence, imagine how you are pulling in water through Lao Gong and Yong Quan when you pull back and inhale. Then reverse and visualize pushing out a sparkling stream of water through those four points as you exhale and push your whole body forward.

“In Tai Chi we don’t keep energy selfishly. We just borrow it for a moment and then give it back to the universe.
We connect heaven and earth through ourselves (human).”
Hilmar Fuchs