One of the most counter-intuitive feelings in qigong, Tai Chi, or Ba Gua is the way that making more space inside the body allows you open more outwardly as well.

In these two Inner Form office hours video clips, I show Brendan how making more space in the kwa and shoulder's nest can help her take a more connected step in her circle walking practice and develop a more fluid single palm change.

Beyond Ba Gua practice, you can apply these same principles to working deeper into your Tai Chi form, developing a more connected and integrated structure in San Ti, and even in your more neutral standing posture, as in Energy Gates, you can find more space and settle into the posture, to unify your four points.

Here's how:

Check out the way, at 2:20, Brendan is able to sink into the armpits, which allows her to "unlock" the arms and stretch out more. If you can find this link, you will find more openness in all your postures.

A special note about meditation: When Bruce Frantzis teaches Taoist meditation, one of the main tenets he emphasizes is that there is as much space inside the body as there is outside. Taoist Inner Dissolving works by taking you deeper and deeper into internal space, at ever-more-subtle levels. Ultimately, you develop the ability to extend your awareness out as much as in.