The practice of Tai Ji emphasizes the theory of Universal Balance. Ancient Chinese philosophy had attained the idea of an ever changing Universe in which five basic elements existed in accordance with each other. These elements have opposing properties; however, at the same time they complement each other.

A simple way of describing this relationship is by observing the relationship between day and night.

The idea of day and night is in its essence an idea of opposing forces, in this case light and

darkness. One may not exist without the other; however, because one may not exist without the other, they in turn complement each other. These ancient theories were translated into what it is known as the Yin-Yang and Five Element theories.

These ancient Chinese philosophy theories detail these relationships within the Universe and in many ways they are very similar to our modern physics theories on energy, namely The Principle of Conservation of Energy - "Energy can

neither be created nor destroyed, but can only be converted from one form to another".

In this instance the well-known Tai Ji Yin-Yang symbol depicts a circle representing the universe; within it is a rotating image of two water drop like shapes. The black (Yin) and white (Yang) seem to feed off each other; as one gets stronger the other gets weaker and as one gets weaker the other gets stronger, always maintaining a perfect balance.

In essence, the practice of Tai Ji is the practice of change and balance and to understand that nothing in the universe is constant except for change.