A third leg?

I've been focusing my practice on standing up using my spine as if it were a third leg. Keeping the pelvis level, anchored by tai chi foot placement and the femur of the bent leg, and making sure my torso does not move forward or back, the spine lengthens and with it the sensation of standing up. For this to happen, I must give it extra time. Linda remarked about my doing extra slow sets. From slow to really slow.

As the spine lengthens, it stretches my rib cage, the sternum rises, and the bent leg is pulled up, leaving me standing. With a standing/balance deficit from a progressive disease, this internal standing practice has become more and more important. Bit by bit, my body is being reconformed by my tai chi training.