Afterwards I drove down to Hatfield to work with Paul C. We started with a discussion on where to practice, and what he thinks is 'working' for him. What does he gravitate towards when he is exercising. I also reviewed the sheets and exercises that the PT specialist is giving him. I noticed that the PT exercises encourage a BIG OPEN feel to all the exercises and I pointed out that the person demonstrating the exercises was fully "squared away" (good Wuji posture) before starting any of the exercises. We brought that BIG OPEN feeling to our Tai-Chi practice.
We started with Single Hand Push Hands on both sides. Striving to 1. Look eye to eye 2. Eventually when he felt comfortable and balanced to close the eyes and go on feeling alone. Once he closed his eyes, his body 'squared away' much better than with his eyes open.
Next we worked on Bagua Circle Walking. This morning it seemed like too much to try and circle around my nap sack. So we just stuck to 'regular' walking as fluid with arms swinging as possible.
Next Paul followed me through the first half of Part I a few times. Attempting to use Big Open postures. I felt he was fully engaged in trying to get his postures more open and less collapsed.
When we came down stairs I pointed out a few things I've noticed to Jean:
1. I thought the PT exercise 'get up out of the chair' (functional exercise) was the most important of the batch.
2. That Paul should attempt to be fully 'squared away' posture wise (Wuji) before he attempts any of the PT exercises. That 'squared away' is in the preparation for Tai-Chi and Qigong practices.