Sit into the Kua & Sink your Qi
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One of the first things to learn in Qigong and Taijiquan is “how to sink the Qi” and how to “sit into the Kua”. I would like to explain the meaning behind these two instructions.
You will generally hear “Kua” (kwa) being translated as the hips, but this can be slightly confusing. The Kua is an area in the hip region which involves a range of different muscles and other soft tissues, as well as the sacrum and the perineum. As this definition is rather broad we will need to focus on a more specific area in the Kua region to understand how we can utilize it correctly. It is helpful to pay attention to the immediate area of the joints (in the front of the body). This will help you move in a more rexaxed fashion but I let me start from the beginning:
In many Qigong exercises we rise and sink, usually in coordination with other movements and the breath.
In order to move the body up and down, it’s important to understand the function of the Kua. First of all, let’s take a look at our centre of gravity. Through the up-down movement we are able to shift the centre of mass in our body. When we move up, the centre of gravity will move into the chest and we can stretch our body out (open position). In this case, don’t try to force your limbs into a stretch but rather focus on opening the joints and stretching and relaxing the muscles at the same time. When you rise up, your movement is led by the crown of the head. This is lengthening the spine and opening the space between each vertebrae. The process of sinking and sitting into the Kua (closed position) is slightly more complicated.
When we sit into the Kua we first drop our tailbone as if a string with a weight was attached to it. Your head stays in the same position until the movement is led downward by the pelvis. In order to shift the centre of gravity and sink the Qi downward we need to make sure that our muscles are relaxed and the Kua can release. When the muscles are too tense, your centre of gravity can not move into the lower abdomen and you won’t be able to sink the Qi. In this case it’s not only important to relax the muscles in the immediate area of the Kua but also in the chest, hips, butt cheeks, legs and in the rest of the body.
There is an interesting phenomenon that you can observe in Taijiquan or Qigong practice. When you tell people to move from the waist or hips, they often begin to place their attention on the area outside of the hips. The movement appears unnatural and forced and the necessary relaxation “song” of the body can not be achieved. This is because the focus on the outside of the hips (instead of the immediate area of the joints) results in a stronger engagement and the large muscles are not relaxed anymore. Often you will even feel tension moving all the way down to your knees.
Clearly, there happens to be a slight misunderstanding in regards to the region that we’re supposed to move from (or focus on). It is helpful to understand that moving from the hips or waist is not exactly the same as moving from the Kua. When the attention is placed on the outside of the hip area, the knees and lower part of the body are engaging in the wrong way. This misplaced attention often results in twisting of the knees or even a conscious counter-press of the knee to maintain a better structural integrity. All this is creating a lot of unwanted tension and will prevent the pelvis from relaxing down and maintaining the body “song”.
A better approach when moving from the Kua is focusing on the inside of the hip joint. When we move (like in Taijiquan), we open and close the Kua on either side. This awareness and focus on the inside of the Kua (the 2 bottom lines of the triangle in the picture below) will help us move in a more relaxed fashion and allows us to maintain the principles for proper Taijiquan practice.
At this point I briefly want to clarify what it means to sink the Qi.
In Taijiquan or Qigong for body-development we are often referring to Qi in relation to the tissues in the body which will release downward as a result of relaxed muscles and an elevated and opened bone structure. In other words, your bones, in this case your spine, is extending while the tissues inside your body are moving downward. When you are not “song” (stretched connective tissues due to pelvis release and relaxed muscles) you would simply collapse. Your body would have no structural integrity. When you sink your Qi, you are keeping your skeleton elevated and your joints open while all your flesh and tissues are moving downward. Qi in regards to body-development Qigong and internal martial arts therefore directly relates to the action of the tissues that are being stretched downward like wet clothing on a drying rack. If you have learned how to sink the Qi, your tissues are able to relax “hang” and your centre of gravity will be in the lower Dan Tian. If your muscles are not relaxed your centre of gravity and your Qi will be stuck in your chest.
Another important thing to consider is where the movement comes from. In my classes I often use the cue “hinging from the hips” because the natural reaction of a beginner is bending the knees. However, this serves just as a quick example to show the student how to bend the body in different regions in order to stay close to the central axis. Even though, when you are bending your knees, theoretically the centre of gravity will be lower, this is only because your body is closer to the ground. The actual centre of gravity (centre of your mass) will still be in the chest. So what we try to aim for by sinking the Qi and sitting into the Kua is lowering that focal point into the lower abdominal area. If you are developing the bad habit of mainly bending from the knees, you might end up with knee problems later down the road. Once the student has roughly understood some of the basic body mechanics, he will understand that “hinging” is not really a fitting word for sitting into the Kua and lowering your centre of mass. The correct alignment and sinking can be achieved by successfully “emptying out the chest” releasing the large muscles, let them hang off the bones and only sink lower as a result of the releasing of the pelvis.
We always try to keep the body “song”. When we sink, we try to avoid using the muscles actively. Naturally, this is a bit of a challenge for a beginner because these muscle groups are engaged constantly in day to day activities like walking or running. If you think of a squat for example, you are largely activating the back of your thighs and glutes. When we sit into the Kua we try to avoid using those muscles because they are supporting the upright structure of the body. In other words, these muscles are creating an upwards power and also keep the insides (tissues) in an upward position. However, this doesn’t mean that we should collapse into the lower position. Remember, we NEVER collapse in Qigong. Instead we try to maintain as “song” as possible. For maximum efficiency we try to rely more on our internal structure with the body working as one interconnected unit. This includes the skeleton structure, muscles and tendons, and all kinds of connective tissues and fascia.
In order to sink correctly in a more relaxed fashion, we need to shift the engagement of the muscles more towards the quads and inside of the thigh. These muscle groups are used when we sit down. They create a downward power and won’t be in the way to release our internal body. When the hip muscles, glutes and lower back are engaged, they keep the inside of your body (organs, tissues etc.) trapped and elevated. Your centre of gravity will remain in your chest. When you shift to the muscle groups in the front and inside of the thigh (quads, adductors, psoas) you are able to release the upright supporting muscles and your internal body can sink. All the tension and engagement in the torso can empty out. Though this might still seem quite complicated, a lot of this will happen naturally when you are able to relax the pelvis correctly and let the legs receive your body mass. With enough practice you will notice that all your tissues will connect together and the weight of your entire body can be felt in your feet.
Whenever we focus anything to the lower Dan Tian area, for example pushing the palms down or squeezing a pearl, we want to sink into the Kua and bring the centre of gravity down to the lower abdomen. If you don’t release your Kua your practice won’t be as effective. The movements of your arms reflect what happens energetically in your internal body. When you are about to form a ball or bring your palms down, you likely want to bring your Qi to the lower Dan Tian and create a slight compression in this area. When your centre of gravity remains in the chest, you won’t be able to create this effect. Only if your internal body is moving downward at the same time, you will coordinate the external and internal movement to create the desired effect.
This concept is not only important to cultivate or control Qi within the body, to develop the Dan Tian, but it’s also related to a strong root and internal power development.
I hope this article has helped you to get a decent understanding of the Kua. In this short video I will show you how to sit into the kua and rise up.
Are you interested in learning more about Qigong and Taijiquan? You can find many articles in my internal arts blog. If you are a motivated practitioner of Qigong or you would like to begin learning this art, I would love to invite you to become a member of the online academy. I’d love to hear from you.
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