The word song often comes up in Tai Chi classes: “Song your joints!” or “Are you songing?” But for many students, it’s hard to know what that actually means.
In Tai Chi, song refers to releasing unnecessary tension - softening, opening, and expanding - without collapsing. It’s a state of readiness and ease that allows movement to be fluid and qi to flow freely.
A helpful image is a feather doona that’s been lying flat on the bed. Over time, the feathers settle, and the doona becomes compressed and heavy. But when we shake it out and fluff it up, air moves between the feathers, creating space and lift. The doona becomes lighter, fuller, and more resilient.
Our joints and connective tissues respond similarly when we song. A joint that’s held stiffly, braced or locked, feels like a flat doona: compressed and tight. But when we soften and release tension in that area, it's like fluffing the doona. The tissues around the joint gently open, and internal space is restored. This doesn’t mean going limp - it’s a dynamic softness that supports strength and responsiveness.
Songing also engages the fascia, a continuous web of connective tissue that wraps around and weaves through every part of the body. Fascia gives form and flexibility, helps transmit force, and plays a major role in movement and proprioception. When we song, we allow the fascia to stretch, breathe, and recoil naturally, keeping it elastic and healthy.
Benefits of Song:
Increased Flexibility: By loosening the joints and fascia, we can improve the range of motion and flexibility of your body.
Improved Strength: Song helps to develop internal strength by allowing the body to move more efficiently and effectively.
Enhanced Body Awareness: The practice of song cultivates a deeper awareness of our body's structure and movement, allowing for more precise and coordinated movements.
Reduced Tension: When joints are relaxed and fascia is healthy, there is less unnecessary tension in the muscles and connective tissues.
Connecting to the Joints: Engaging the fascia to connect to the joints is a key aspect of Tai Chi practice, allowing for the efficient transfer of energy and power throughout the body.
Songing lets qi and blood move freely through the body. It also improves balance, reduces stiffness, and allows one part of the body to communicate more clearly with the rest. Movement becomes more integrated, like one continuous wave flowing from foot to fingertip.
If we forget to song the joints, Tai Chi can become stiff or disconnected. But when we soften like a freshly fluffed doona, the form becomes supple, alive, and effortless. It’s not just a physical change, it’s a shift in how we relate to our own body and to the energy within it.
So the next time you’re asked to song, picture fluffing up a doona. Create space. Let the tissues breathe. And notice how movement becomes smoother, lighter, and more connected from the inside out.
