Seven mornings, seven classical forms

These are not invented "chair exercises". Every day takes a classical movement from the Yang style short form and teaches the seated version of it one movement at a time, in the order a teacher would give them.

Each morning adds one thing to what you already know. By day seven you're running the whole set as a single flow.

1. Day 1

   Settling & the breath

   无极Wújí

   Before any form there is wújí the state of nothing yet. In practice this means learning how to sit so that everything afterwards has somewhere to come from.

   Trains

   Posture and breath. Nothing else.

   In a chair

   Sit forward off the backrest so your spine holds itself. Feet flat and hip width. Crown of the head gently up, chin slightly in.

   Make it smaller

   Keep the backrest if sitting unsupported is tiring. The breath still works.
   6 min
2. Day 2

   Cloud Hands

   云手Yún Shǒu

   The most recognisable movement in Tai Chi, and the clearest lesson in the whole art: the hands trace slow circles in front of the body while the waist does all the driving.

   Trains

   Rotation through the middle, and the habit of letting the arms be carried.

   In a chair

   The turn happens above the hips rather than through them, so nothing is asked of the knees. Hands stay within the width of your own shoulders.

   Make it smaller

   Make the circles smaller. A hand that travels six inches trains the same thing as one that travels two feet.
   8 min
3. Day 3

   White Crane Spreads Its Wings

   白鹤亮翅Bái Hè Liàng Chì

   One hand rises past the temple while the other settles by the hip the posture a crane makes as it opens. It is the most opening movement in the week.

   Trains

   The front of the chest and the shoulders, which close up in anyone who spends the day sitting.

   In a chair

   The rise stops at forehead height rather than overhead, which keeps the shoulder out of its most vulnerable range.

   Make it smaller

   Take the top hand only to chin height. The chest still opens.
   8 min
4. Day 4

   Brush Knee & Push

   搂膝拗步Lǒu Xī Ào Bù

   One hand sweeps down and across the thigh, clearing the way, while the other presses forward with an open palm. Two different jobs for two hands at the same time.

   Trains

   Coordination the part of balance that isn't strength. Both hands moving differently, together.

   In a chair

   The sweep passes over the thigh instead of the knee, and the push travels forward rather than down.

   Make it smaller

   Do one hand at a time for the first few mornings. Put them together when it stops needing thought.
   9 min
5. Day 5

   Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane

   野马分鬃Yě Mǎ Fēn Zōng

   The hands start close, as if holding something the size of a melon, then separate along a diagonal one up and out, one down and back as the waist turns to follow.

   Trains

   Opening on a diagonal, which is a harder line for the body than straight up or straight across.

   In a chair

   The diagonal is shallower seated than standing, and the turn is smaller. The sensation through the ribs is the same.

   Make it smaller

   Separate the hands less far. The diagonal matters, the distance doesn't.
   9 min
6. Day 6

   Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail

   揽雀尾Lǎn Què Wěi

   Not one movement but four, run together without a break: ward off, roll back, press, push. It is the heart of the Yang form and the longest thing you'll do all week.

   Trains

   Continuity four shapes joined so smoothly that you can't say where one ends.

   In a chair

   All four work seated with no change to the arms. Only the weight shift is smaller, moving between the sit bones instead of the feet.

   Make it smaller

   Practise two of the four, then add the others. Nobody learns this in one morning.
   10 min
7. Day 7

   Gathering & closing

   收势Shōu Shì

   The six movements joined into one sequence, then a proper close hands lowering in front of the body, breath slowing, the practice put away rather than abandoned.

   Trains

   Putting it together. This is the day the week stops being six exercises and becomes one thing.

   In a chair

   The sequence runs seated from start to finish. No transition in it requires standing.

   Make it smaller

   Run only the days you feel steady on. A four movement flow is still a flow.
   10 min