The Internal forms of exercise, which emphasize slow movements and tranquillity of mind, have a completely different emphasis to the external forms of exercise. The underlining principle of this form of exercise is the idea that action follow thought. An example of this is the starting position, where the slow raising of the arms occurs only after the thought of raising the arms has occurred. All internal exercises are controlled by suchconciousness and one must therefore be quiet and calm before beginning each exercise and then apply ones total concentration.
Relaxation is all-important.
Muscles and joints should be relaxed to such a degree that all rigidity disappears. The torso should be kept upright with arms held in a round manner and legs bent or curved as required. Special attention must be paid to balance as one moves from one position to another and natural breathing is essential. In the standing position, for example, the raising of the arms causes you to breathe in the lowering of the arms to breathe out. There are several distinguishing features of the internal forms of exercise.