“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