early days
I joined a colleague in his daily lessons with Master Chen in Sydney (the person to whom we in Europe owe thanks, as he personally sought out Chen XiaoWang in Australia, having seen a video of him, then invited him to Switzerland in 1992, after which the European teaching took off). The ZhanZhuang segment of the lesson lasted 30 minutes minimum.The bouleversemental adjustment that Chen XiaoWang had made to my posture in the London LaoJia seminar three months previously he reconfirmed : I had reverted to my habitual "upright" Taiji stance, with a slight pull backwards; this he again corrected and made me feel like I was the leaning tower of Pisa.
Once I accepted this novel position, I began to relax in it. This brought about many unknown sensations. The muscles around the shoulders and upper back began to release; there was a feeling of movement towards the lower body; the chest eased; the waist expanded; the abdomen filled...but the legs! They now had to work harder in the thighs though the knees felt much lighter. The feet screamed - the weight in them would become unbearable, the pain disappearing just as mysteriously. I stopped paying attention to the areas of the body that hurt. A stillness was at work, feeding a deep hunger.