Insights & Practice
Every Turn Begins by Sinking: Finding Stability Within Change
Dr Jar - Apex Tai Chi - Swansea, South Wales & Online
Change is one of the few experiences that every person shares.
Our circumstances change. Our relationships change. Our bodies change. The environments around us continue to shift. Some changes arrive quietly over time, while others transform the way we understand ourselves and the world we live in.
A body that once felt familiar may begin to move differently. A role that once gave life meaning may disappear. A relationship may end. Health, ageing, work and family responsibilities may ask us to adapt to situations we never expected to face.
Often, we search for calm by trying to remove uncertainty. We hope that once everything becomes stable around us, we will finally feel stable within ourselves.
Tai Chi offers another possibility.
Instead of waiting for life to become still, we cultivate the ability to remain centred while movement is still happening.
In Tai Chi, every turn begins by sinking.
Before the body changes direction, it first returns to support. The weight settles through the feet, the legs connect with the ground, the centre becomes organised, and unnecessary effort begins to release.
This is not simply a physical technique. It reflects a deeper principle of human wellbeing: before we respond to change, we need enough awareness to feel where we are.
When we lose connection with the body, we often react from habit. The shoulders tighten before we realise we are under pressure. The breathing changes before we notice we are anxious. The mind moves quickly towards worry, resistance or prediction before we have fully experienced what is actually happening.
Tai Chi begins with another skill: listening.
Ting: Learning to Listen Before We React
The first principle we cultivate is Ting.
Ting is often translated as listening, but it describes a deeper quality of embodied awareness. It is the ability to sense what is happening within the body before immediately trying to control, correct or escape it.
During practice, we begin to notice:
Where is the body holding unnecessary tension?
Has the breath become restricted?
Are we using effort where support would be enough?
Can we feel the relationship between different parts of the body?
This awareness matters because change is often experienced through the body before it is understood by the mind.
When life becomes uncertain, the nervous system naturally prepares us to respond.
Muscles may tighten, attention may narrow, and movement may become less adaptable.
These responses are not failures. They are the body attempting to protect us.
The difficulty comes when protection becomes the only way we know how to exist.
Research into mindfulness and body awareness suggests that practices involving present-moment attention can support emotional regulation and psychological wellbeing.
Developing awareness creates the possibility of responding rather than automatically reacting.
Reference: Mindfulness and emotion regulation: A systematic review (Frontiers in Psychology)
Ting does not mean analysing every sensation. It means developing a relationship with the body where we can recognise what is happening without immediately becoming overwhelmed by it.
Song: Releasing Without Losing Support
After listening comes Song.
Song is sometimes misunderstood as simply relaxing. However, in Tai Chi, it does not mean becoming loose, passive or without structure.
Song means releasing unnecessary tension while maintaining connection and support.
Imagine holding a cup of water. If the hand grips too tightly, the movement becomes stiff and exhausting. If the hand completely relaxes, the cup falls. The skill lies in finding the balance between holding and releasing.
The same principle applies to the whole body.
The shoulders can soften while the spine remains supported.The feet can remain grounded without gripping.The mind can acknowledge difficulty without allowing difficulty to become the whole of our experience.
Song allows us to distinguish between effort that supports us and effort that simply drains us.
This is particularly valuable during periods of uncertainty. When we experience pressure, the body can remain prepared for a threat long after the immediate challenge has passed. Tai Chi helps us develop sensitivity to these patterns and gradually discover a more balanced response.
Chen: Returning to the Ground
The third principle is Chen, meaning sinking or settling.
Chen is the foundation of every turn.
Before the body moves in a new direction, the weight settles. The feet become clearer. The legs provide support. The movement begins from a stable centre rather than from imbalance.
This principle extends far beyond physical practice.
During major changes in life, people often experience a sense of being pulled away from stability. The future becomes uncertain, identity becomes unsettled, and the mind searches for answers before the experience has fully unfolded.
Chen offers a different rhythm.
First, we settle.
Then, we respond.
Research into Tai Chi has demonstrated benefits related to balance, physical function and wellbeing, particularly among older adults. Studies suggest that Tai Chi practice can support balance, mobility and confidence in movement through its emphasis on controlled, mindful and coordinated action.
Reference: Tai Chi for improving balance and preventing falls: a systematic review and meta-analysis (British Journal of Sports Medicine)
Stability Is Not the Absence of Change
Tai Chi does not teach us how to avoid change.
It teaches us how to remain connected while change is happening.
The aim is not to become someone who never feels uncertainty, fear or difficulty. That would not be human. The aim is to cultivate the capacity to experience these moments without losing our relationship with ourselves.
When the body sinks, attention settles.
When attention settles, we create space between what happens and how we respond.
Within that space, a different movement becomes possible.
The next step does not have to come from panic. The next decision does not have to come from habit.The next direction can emerge from awareness.
Every turn begins by sinking.
The body returns to support.
The mind becomes quieter.The whole person becomes available for the next movement.
Through Tai Chi, we learn that stability is not found by resisting change, but by developing a deeper connection with ourselves as change unfolds.
Sink. Listen. Settle. Then turn.
Join an Apex Tai Chi Session
If you would like to explore these principles through guided Tai Chi and Qigong practice, you are warmly invited to join an Apex Tai Chi session.
Through mindful movement, standing practices and embodied awareness, we explore how to develop greater balance, resilience and connection with the body in everyday life.
Whether you are beginning your Tai Chi journey or looking to deepen an existing practice, each session provides space to slow down, reconnect and discover a more aware relationship with movement.
Book your place at an upcoming Apex Tai Chi session and begin your own journey of listening, settling and moving with greater awareness.
Visit: /classes/
Be well and remain curious,Dr Jar
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