Difficulty doing circling hands.

[Anonymous]

Difficulty doing circling hands. I fractured my big toe many years ago. The first joint above the toe nail. Now when bending knees and putting weight onto balls of my feet I tend to curl my toes under and press into the floor to stabilise standing on the balls of my feet. This is causing pain in my big toe which i presume is arthritic. Any suggestions please how i might overcome this. Thanks Ann.

[Anonymous]

Hello Ann, good to hear (hopefully) that it is helping you in other ways, utilizing neigung to recover-rehab is great (do you feel the circle-flow, not just overall, but as a quality through the system, which can alter the insides of each jt.. thus toes etc)
Anyway, my first thought is, are you doing the movement in “standing position” (both feet even, and hands moving above that)? in that position, there isn’t really a shifting of weight (unless you are rocking fwd and back along the foot-arch line.. which may want to not do),, even if doing the “bow-stance” version (one foot fwd of the other) where the weight is shifted from foot to foot, but that can also be done so that even though the torso shifts, the weight doesn’t shift on either foot (just keep the weight centered and evenly distributed on each, even as changing the % of body-torso weight on either foot; whatever the % on either foot, keep that distributed throughout the foot, vs rocking or shifting.]

Also sometimes people interpret putting weight on the ‘balls of feet” to be to put weight on the bony-edge at front of foot where the toes connect (like the base of palm-wrist edge).. which may not be the balls of feet (rather than the yongquan- pt, felt as hollow on bottom of foot- seen as about halfway between toes and the front of ankle, where tassel often is on slipper type shoes.. weight there may or may not require toes activation, per injury.. but as I understand it, placing the weight on the foot (espec in neigung.. but even in the walking of martialarts-bagua/taichi) should squish the foot in the ground and not require the toes, or even ankle to tense and grip.. but instead “seat” like clay on a potter’s wheel.

just some thoughts- I hope that helps- luck in your seeking

[Anonymous]

Hi Ann. I also have had foot injuries. I realized that when doing tai chi that I would curl my toes to help maintain balance when standing on my right foot. When I started doing standing qigong my right foot would really begin to ache in specific places so I practiced the dissolving techniques focusing on those specific areas and within a week I developed a rash directly over the problem area. The rash went away and my foot is much better but not 100% so I still am working on it. Just remember to follow the 70% rule if you try this. In my case, when first working on it the pain could become quite intense if I did not back off by adjusting my weight. Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

Thank you both Takoma and Wes. Yes my foot has sustained a lot of problems. not only a broken toe but also Sesamoiditis On ball of foot also plantar fascistic is now. When doing circling hands according to Bruce video no 2 in that series. Stand with feet parrellel and bend knees. tailbone tucked in. I believe I was exaggerating going up onto the ball of my feet too much so that the heel would actually come up off the floor while trying to grip the floor with my toes because my balance is not good.

Anyway guys once again thanks for the reply much appreciated.
Ann

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