Internal Tai Chi: A Subtle Yet Powerful Resource for Balance Health & More
- Susan Thompson
- Sep 16
- 6 min read
by Susan Thompson, OTR, Tai Chi Instructor, and Vestibular Patient
Definitions:
Vestibular - the body’s balance system that integrates signals from the inner ear, vision, and proprioception to maintain equilibrium.
Balance - the ability to maintain equilibrium and prevent falling when stability is challenged by internal or external disturbances. Balance can be physical or emotional.
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Tai Chi is often perceived as a set of beautiful, flowing movements performed as a gentle exercise. While the external expression of Tai Chi can certainly be beneficial for balance, mobility, and overall health, there is more to Tai Chi than what initially meets the eye. The aspects not readily observed are what bring deeper experiences of health, effortless movement, and powerful coping mechanisms for navigating both one’s health and life.
Over Tai Chi’s long history, essential principles of movement and internal qualities were kept secret, while the outward forms were often deliberately altered to conceal the true internal mechanics. As a result, the internal properties that give Tai Chi its unique depth and effectiveness have faded into the background.
External vs. Internal Tai Chi
Tai Chi began as a remarkably effective martial art from ancient China which included specific trained movements, but more importantly, internal qualities that made such movements both efficient and powerful. Throughout history, Tai Chi became divided into two separate practices: External Tai Chi movements (forms) and internal qualities of Tai Chi. Gradually, the external expression of Tai Chi came to the forefront, practiced by the masses as a form of gentle exercise.
The internal qualities, in contrast, were practiced in secret, known and passed down by family members or practiced in secluded mountains of China by Shaolin monks. These guarded traditions served to conceal the potent internal qualities of Tai Chi from the oppressive armies that ruled China. (Waysun Liao, Tai Chi Classics, pp.12–14)
A Foundation in Simplicity
For many people, including those with balance challenges, the sequence of external Tai Chi forms can feel overwhelming and remain inaccessible, even when simplified or adapted. Tai Chi movements have frequent rotational components and single-leg stances, which can be especially unsettling to individuals with balance disorders or other movement challenges.
Internal Tai Chi, in contrast, utilizes simple methods that go beneath the surface of the movements. It teaches one how to move and listen to the body in nuanced and subtle ways without the need for constant motion. These internal skills are developed through accessible training, which cultivates the following:
Creating body connections to develop a whole body sense rather than disparate parts
Sensing one's own body via a process of aligning the posture in refined ways
Acquiring Song — a special quality of being relaxed yet structured through simultaneous release of tension and expansion from within
Developing finely tuned equilibrium responses through enhanced awareness of weight distribution
Sensing and connecting to the fascia system for greater stability and physical power
Qi (energy) cultivation for connecting to the energy within ourselves and the energy around us
In order to teach these powerful qualities, Internal Tai Chi shifts the focus from multiple complex external movements to quiet, stable, and comfortable postures. Profound change begins with Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation) and later extends into a few easy-to-perform movements. This approach emphasizes presence of mind, nuanced body sensations, and essential postural qualities, and this process reveals Tai Chi’s true depth through simplicity and stillness.
Unlike many programs, the benefits of Internal Tai Chi can be realized with minimal time and effort. Just two or three minutes a day of standing and simple movement with intention can bring about profound changes. No equipment is needed, making it very cost-effective, and the practices can be done standing, sitting, or even lying down. There is no need for an expert or professional to ensure success. In fact, this practice shifts the focus from reliance on something “out there” to the empowerment of self for coping and healing.
Why It Matters for Balance Challenges
The practice of Internal Tai Chi is a powerful resource for those navigating balance challenges, as it immediately brings us inward to mechanisms that provide calming stability. By practicing and developing subtle nuances of internal qualities, Internal Tai Chi changes the body’s neurological responses and chemistry. It transitions away from the fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system toward the calming and restorative parasympathetic system. This shift is accomplished by creating internal space through Song. Song opens the body and calms the mind, allowing improved blood flow, natural breathing patterns, and reduced cortisol.
The result is an ability to sense and ground oneself during a balance challenge through a highly developed proprioceptive system, keen body awareness, natural breathing patterns, and a calmed state of mind. The ability to draw on these internal qualities fosters empowerment at times when one might otherwise feel vulnerable and helpless. The state of Song and other internal qualities provides immediate and usable coping tools.
Once these qualities are first sensed and then made reproducible, the essentials of Internal Tai Chi become a portable and discreet mechanism that can be applied in any situation—while standing in line, sitting at a desk, or enduring a challenging environment. Its inconspicuous nature makes it especially valuable for coping with vestibular symptoms, or a perturbance of balance, when traditional Tai Chi forms may not be practical in the moment of need.
Is it Meditation?
Tai Chi is often referred to as moving meditation. Internal Tai Chi shares and enhances this quality because the movement is subtle and sensed within the body rather than displayed as outward forms. The practice of Zhan Zhuang, a key component of Internal Tai Chi, translates as “standing meditation.” Additionally, Internal Tai Chi engages a few simple, accessible movements practiced very slowly and with the intention of body awareness. These movements become meditative in nature, calming the mind and releasing both emotional and physical tension. Even imagining these movements can guide the body and mind back to a place of calm control, making it uniquely suited to managing balance issues.
Both Zhan Zhuang and the simple movement practices create a potent meditative state that shifts the mind from focus to awareness. Typically, focus brings tension, whereas awareness facilitates calmness and perspective. Heightened awareness provides stillness, so greatly needed in the midst of the constant fervor of activity that pulses around us.
Key Internal Principles of Internal Tai Chi
Some of the principles of Internal Tai Chi include:
Structure and Song (松) — Song is a unique quality of released tension along with an internal expansion of the body. This essence creates postural support, grounding, and heightened body awareness. Song is particularly helpful in overcoming joint pain and with enhancing body awareness in space.
Yin and Yang Balance — This internal practice makes one aware of the distribution of gravitational weight throughout the body. When double-weighted we are immobile and stuck in our posture. The exchange of Yin Yang balance instead trains the body to be light, adaptable, and responsive even when in challenging situations.
Connecting with Incoming Force — This quality allows us to sense and work with gravity to build postural structure, develop subtle responses, and move with ease, especially when equilibrium signals are unreliable.
Qi Cultivation — Qi (life energy) empowers us to influence responses, shape outcomes, and enhance healing potential.
A Practice of Empowerment
Internal Tai Chi utilizes simple but effective subtle postural adjustments, awareness, and movement principles to create greater presence within ourselves. These strategies refine our management of the space around us and the cultivation of the space within us. For those with balance challenges, this shift from external movement to internal sensing offers an empowering set of tools. It is a way to restore calm, build equilibrium, and navigate daily life with more confidence.
Internal Tai Chi can—and should—be applied to external Tai Chi practices as a complement to any existing program. At the same time, Internal Tai Chi also stands on its own as a powerful, complete practice.
Most importantly, Internal Tai Chi goes Beyond Form and stands as a practice devoted to enhancing life itself, giving individuals a renewed sense of stability and personal power.
Learn these internal qualities for improvement of balance and your Tai Chi practice:
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Susan Thompson is an Occupational Therapist, a vestibular patient, and a Tai Chi instructor who understands both the challenges and the possibilities of healing from within. She is the author of Beyond Form: Learning Tai Chi from the Inside Out and shares Internal Tai Chi principles through free videos on her YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/@internaltaichi. In addition, she offers livestream classes, online courses, and in-person workshops to support students from beginners to advanced practitioners. Learn more at https://www.taichisusan.com.
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