Ding in Tai Chi

How to align your spine correctly in your Tai Chi practice.

The principle Ding in Chen Tai Chi means maintaining a well aligned upright spine. It is sometimes described as:

• Imagine a piece of string is pulling you up from the crown on the top of your head.
• Elevate the crown and lift the spirit.
• Be suspended from the top of your head.
• The baihui point (crown) on top of your head is suspended by a thread.

All of these are correct, they have the same meaning, except they are half of the principle. You need to counter upward expansion with an equal opposing grounding and rooting quality. This creates expansion between the pelvis and the crown. This is symbolised as separating yin yang, “sinking the lower dantian” as the yin part, and “suspending from the Bai Hui (crown)” as the yang part. Maintaining an upright spine is achieved by balancing and separating yin yang. I describe this to my students as heavying the hips, lengthening the spine and raising the crown.

If you only raise up like a string is pulling you upwards, this gives the assumption that the lifting up is external to you, which is incorrect. You are in control of the lengthening of the spine. If you only focus on raising up from the head, this will cause you to become uprooted and unstable as your momentum shoots upwards. This will destabilise your centre of gravity making your vulnerable to incoming force and unable to redirect or generate force = no Tai Chi.

By focusing on an equal and opposing lengthening quality in the spine, this creates an elastic rebounding strength. By aligning the body, especially the knees and pelvis, then rooting the lower body and expanding the upper body vertically, this stretches and lengthens the spine, creating space and release between the vertebra. You can then freely expand, compress and rotate the spine as you move, which is as vital for spinal health as it is for martial power.

The caveat is to not exploit the other Tai Chi principles whilst lengthening, which means not over stretching into tension nor over compressing into misalignment. Developing this body awareness helps to loosen the spine whilst stretching it. This is part of the principle peng jin and fang song.

Head and neck alignment

Part of the Ding principle is also the head and neck alignment. Avoiding over extension and stiffness is key. Gently lift the back of the skull up, the occiput which is the bulb by the base of the head. This will naturally raise your Bai Hui (crown point) up. It will also lengthen the vertebra in the back of the neck. The motion of raising the occiput will drop and withdraw the chin slightly. Avoid forcing the chin to withdraw towards the spine as this will create too much tension.  

Pelvis alignment

The head and neck alignment is paired with aligning the pelvis into a neutral position, with a relaxed lower back and the tailbone lengthened down, not exaggerating the pelvis tilting forwards or backwards.  Read more about the lower back alignment in my article on spine health.

How to train the principle ding?

• Traditional standing practice (Zhan Zhuang).
• Loosening exercises and warm ups.
• Silk reeling exercises.
• The Tai Chi forms.
• Daily life.

What do you need? Hands on correction from your instructor.

Health benefits of a well aligned spine

• Improved head and neck mobility.
• Less neck tension.
• Less shoulder tension.
• Improved shoulder mobility.
• Improved blood circulation to the brain.
• Improved spinal fluid circulation.
• Improved blood circulation.
• Improved lymph system circulation and drainage.
• Space for diaphragmatic breathing.
• Internal organs are aligned and able to function.
• Muscles are aligned correctly, not over lengthening and shortened.
• Central nervous system and nerves that come off the spine and not compressed / compromised.
• The weight of the body, has no resistance in the spine, and can transfer down to the ground.
• Improved qi flow along the Conception and Governor channel (Ren and Du Mai).

If you sit all day, your vertebra become compressed over time, which can lead to spine problems like herniated discs and irritated nerves. The principle ‘Ding’ helps to open the spine, creating more room for the nerve holes (foramen) where the nerves from the body connect to the spinal cord through the vertebra bone. As we age, these holes become smaller, and can compress the nerves, think sciatica! The muscles also become shortened or hyper-lengthened by a seated posture, which leads to weak core muscles, weak back muscles and a weak diaphragm muscle.