Putting the egg in the eggcup

[Steve Rowe]

Putting the head in the foot,
Is like putting an egg in an eggcup.
The head is the egg,
The arch of the foot, the eggcup.

Why is this important?
Is it even possible?
The combination of head and foot,
Is one of the most important in Tai Chi.

What makes the ‘substantial’ and ‘insubstantial’?
The ‘weighted leg’ or ‘double weighted’?
If you can feel the weight of the head in the foot,
You have to be connected through the body.

Only when the egg is in the eggcup,
Is that leg truly weighted,
The bodyline is then secure,
It is rooted, and will not tip or lean.

Mobility and power arise from good balance,
The ability to know where your body is in space,
If the head and foot are connected,
So is everything in between.

The movement of the head,
Is pumped by the arch of the foot,
Pumped from one,
To be caught by the other.

When the pump is active,
The arch flattens to the floor,
When the arch is released,
The body and head will float.

The float is still connected,
While you feel the head weight in the feet,
When one arch is down, the other is up,
This is weighted and unweighted.

This means the body is light and floating,
And can move with mobility and ease,
But because it is connected,
Any touch in any direction can be repelled.

Apart from forwards and backwards,
The head moves from side to side,
Arch to arch is on both planes,
Powering each leg even more.

The core has spiral and compression,
Giving a range of movement,
Whilst the egg is in the eggcup,
That adds a lot to the power.

So root and mobility,
Are actually just the same,
Adding to power and connectivity,
As long as the egg fits in the eggcup.