In order to get the beneficial effects of meditation a daily practice that is not limited to the cushion is necessary. I’ve been acquainted with eastern concept of meditation for decades now and my perception of an intermittent practice is similar to jump from a healthy diet to junk food and vice-versa - undoubtedly we can get some benefits when doing the right thing but the opposite is also true thereby threatening our health. So it was more or less my practice for years without any or little knowledgeable guidance and my almost inconsequent effort in search of reliable teachings.
Daily life offers so many distractions that anyone easily loses peace and mental/physical balance. Fortunately Sifu’s guidance to one’s meditation or gom (which means to become familiar – a less ambiguous definition) in our program here at Chi-Factory is very well intertwined with tai chi chuan and I liq chuan principles and practice.
When walking and even more when sitting at a desk sometimes I realize how stressed is my upper vertebrae with chin protruding. Well maybe then it is time to smile, to low the chin a little, feeling the ground with the soles (and lower back if seated) and the crown simultaneously, eliminating cervical lordosis and the excessive kyphosis resulting in a collapsed and emptied upper body. While, in my mind, remarking and giving attention to just a few of the entire set of principles, if lucky, maybe I’ll get the rest of them all right as in a tensegrity model in which moving one part affects all the other parts, given the subtle and perfect connection between all parts in such a model - simplifying I would say that if I get just a few joints of body structure correctly aligned I’ll get a posture with all the joints simultaneously in its natural strongest and relaxed position in accordance with the 13 points. I suggest watching http://ucbprogram.com/strength
I say more explicitly that breathing naturally paying attention to the “principles” (as a matter of fact if we put at work all the Chi-Factory program) although fully aware of our environment could help effectively at one’s proficiency without compromise one’s tasks maybe improving them and even amplifying the gains from cushion practice as I see it. As Jeff well put it: “[…] Practice early and often. Don't underestimate the Bitter Pill and sitting […]” and Patrick rightly emphasizes: “[…] And that awareness of what's wrong may be just as important as being able to do what's right. It's all about awareness for our art […]”.
Finally about correctness on sitting, in spite of the more precise teachings in the lessons, I would suggest reading Sifu’s post “be at ease in meditation” answering to my post “Questioning about correct posture meditation”
Thanks’ Sifu and you all