Yin, the receptive principle, and Yang, the active principle permeate all aspects of Taiji Ch’uan. Taiji or Tai Chi is literally the Yin Yang symbol, that continuous flow between positive and negative, masucline and feminine, full and empty, function and form. Students of Taiji Ch’uan are moving from the center of this symbol, continuously balancing these opposing and complimentary energies.
In learning the form we start with the Yin element, the structure and alignment of the body and the choreography of the movements. It is like building a house, or molding a vessel, or one of the most apt metaphors digging a canals to water the garden.
Once we learn the postures we can start focusing on the flow of chi through the body and through the form. Just like the function of a house is to be lived in, the function of the form is to have the chi flow though it. It should be enjoyed, and we should relax and live in the form, flow in it. Yet just like a house, the structure needs tending to. If the foundation was good there will be less adjustments but like a house we sink into our root, joints open, we let go, the structure becomes stable and loose and the chi flow increases. Form and function, yin and yang, work in unison to achieve this wonderful magic of Tai Chi, and the garden is watered and flourishes.