“Hundred Meetings” Controls Your Body and Your Tai Chi

"Hundred Meetings" or Bai Hui is a Chinese acupuncture point located at the highest point of your body, atop your head, in the center, aligned with your ears. It is an important energy center that controls your body. In traditional Chinese medicine, there are about 400 acupuncture points and 20 meridians, or paths through which the life-energy known as qi is believed to flow. Many meridians meet at this point at the top of the head. That’s why it’s called “Hundred Meetings.”

In Tai Chi, many principles are related to relaxing and stretching. Principles such as sinking your shoulders and dropping your elbows, and sinking your shoulders and stretching your arms are both good examples. Another Tai Chi principle is to tuck in your chest and stretch your back. When your back is stretched, the next principle to add is emptying your mind and supporting your head with energy. This means erecting your neck and keeping your head straight and lifted as if you can feel an invisible string attached to your “Hundred Meetings,” pulling it towards the sky.

In Chinese, we say, “ if your head tilts and your waist bends, then you didn’t learn martial arts well enough.” You neck and head should be naturally vertical to the ground. Don’t lean forward or backward or tilt left or right. Stay relaxed but loose. Don’t be tight, but have a structure. Your mind should be empty and you should have good concentration.

In Chinese, we say that the “Bubbling Spring” acupuncture point at the bottom of the foot in the center of the sole is man’s connection to the earth. We say the “Hundred Meetings” is one’s connection to the sky and to the heavens. Once you’ve connected to the earth and sky, you can center your energy and let it move around. You can then empty your mind and you will be able to concentrate on your Tai Chi movements.

copyrights Huan's Tai Chi 2011

New Article up on Fall Tai Chi magazine on How to Relax

Hello All,

Thanks for checking my blog articles and giving feedback. I am pleased to announce that my new article is on Fall 2011 Tai Chi International Magazine. The title is Huan Zhang on How to Relax, Understanding the 8 sections and 9 joints


There are 6 pages of detailed explanations plus exercises to do to help you relax,
in addition to the introduction which I have written a while ago on my blog.

You should be able to find it on most newsstands around the country. If not, please feel free to directly order from my website.

Enjoy the article and feel free to give comments and questions here!

Huan Zhang
Chief Instructor and Executive Director
Huan's Tai Chi

Tea and Patience

Many things I enjoy require patience, including gardening, Tai Chi, golf, feeding my fish, and having tea.

I love to have tea because it trains you to have a lot of patience. Water is the mother of the tea. Waiting for the water to boil just slows down the step of your daily life. Waiting for the bubbles to surface, the steam to appear, and the water to begin hissing, are all time-consuming.

Before even drinking the tea, steps such as smelling the tea, warming the cup, putting the tea leaves in the cup, and wetting the tea leaves to let the taste seep out all require time. You need to quiet down your mind, just feel relaxed, and try to enjoy the whole process. The process will become a pleasure once you are able to quiet your mind.

Sometimes, although you may try to drink your tea one sip at a time, you may end up swilling the whole cup at once like a donkey. It takes patience to do everything slowly and gracefully. If your mind is not empty and relaxed, how can you enjoy the color, taste, fragrance, or shape of the tea? How can you identify if this tea is smooth, sweet, bitter, light or strong? Can you visit a village for just a few seconds and still enjoy the view? Imagine your cup of tea is like a village. Have patience and be relaxed, and then you can enjoy the details of your tea. Wander around and look for its character, its personality.

Why must we hurry to finish everything fast? The next time you are walking to work, or shopping in the grocery store, try doing it slowly. Be aware of the good feelings and let them last, just like having your tea.

copyrights Huan's Tai Chi 2011