Laojia Yilu, Chen Taijiquan (Old Frame, First Form)

"When practicing Taijiquan, the requirements for proper practice are as follows: keep the head erect naturally (as if it were suspended by a string attached to the top of the head), stand naturally upright, relax the shoulders and drop the elbows.  Bring the shoulders slightly forward and lower the waist.   Let the internal energy (qi) descend, and breathe naturally.  With the hips relaxed and the knees bent, round the crotch, i.e., the legs should form a rounded shape.  With solid and empty clearly separated, the upper and lower parts of the body move in harmony with each other, blending hard and soft, fast and slow movements smoothly.  External movements of the body should describe an arc (i.e., should follow circular paths) with the internal energy within the body following a spiral path.  With the waist as an axis, movement of the torso leads the movement of the limbs, with a spiraling or twining type of movement.  Gradually, a type of internal energy is produced which is seemingly soft yet not soft, seeming hard but not hard, and which can easily change between extremely heavy or incredibly light action.  Your movements appear outwardly soft but are inwardly firm, like iron wrapped in cotton.  If in the entire set of movement there are not any breaks in the continuity of movement or any motions that don't follow a smooth circular line, then that is the correct way."
-  Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei, Chen Style Taijiquan, Sword and Broadsword, p.64   

Chen Taijiquan Old Frame First Form: Bibliography, Links, List of Movements, Notes, Quotations, Resources.  By Mike Garofalo. 

A new Chen Taijiquan book is now available:

The Five Levels of Taijiquan  By Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang.  Commentary by Master Jan Silverstorff.  Translated by Christina Schulz.  Singing Dragon, 2012.  112 pages.  ISBN: 184819093X.  [Rather expensive at $26.37 for 112 pages.]