1) This is a common warm up exercise. I have run across many names for this exercise: Spinal Twist, Knocking at the Door of life, Ringing the Temple Bell, just to name a few. It is a general warmup exercise for Tai Chi and Chi Kung. It is good for the vertebrae, muscles, and connective tissue of the spine. It also helps stimulate the nerves. The hands striking the body sends vibrations through the body stimulating the inner organs.

If you have not done this twist before, then start out with just twisting the hips. Place hands on hips and turn from left to right in a back and forth movement. This hip movement is like turning a childs drum from side to side on its central stick like in the photo below.

2) Ringing the Temple Bell works like a simple child’s drum. The drum pictured to the left has two pieces of wood attached to it with string. As the drum is twirled on its central stick, from side to side, the wood on string strikes the drum.

This is simular to the movement in the Spinal Twist. The Hip twist movement which we practiced above is like turning the childs drum on its central stick. If we let the arms naturally swing with the movement of the hips, hands will strike the body like the two pieces of wood on string stricking the drum.

Twist back and forth letting the hands gently strike the body. In the back the hands strike the kidney area with gentle force and on the front of the body the hands softly strike the left and right sides of the torso at the level of the waist. The movement comes from the waist and not the arms. This is why we begin with the Hip Twist, so you can get use to the feel of moving from the waist before you add your arms and hands. Smile and enjoy the movement like a child with a drum.