In the practice of maintaining balance

In the practice of maintaining balance while standing on one foot and stepping, if imbalance occurs resulting in falling, do not encourage the autonomic nervous systems natural tendency to tighten the muscles of the body, trying to stabilize with stillness and tension, but instead relax, reestablishing song, by immediately putting the other foot down and trying again. 

Learn to fall correctly by minimize the body's natural tendency to overreact. Let it fail and try again. 

Cultivate skill, not undue force. Proper practice develops skill, not merely seeks to go through the steps of the form and complete the practice session. Clearly knowing the "why and how of what we are practicing" is more important than how many redundant times we perform the exercises. Seek quality. 

Taijiquan practice is not a forced crash course of Marine boot camp to prepare quickly for battle on the front, but a slow and meticulous deep study of ourselves physically and mentally over a lifetime. Think of maintaining the quality of our life over the long haul. Yangsheng, nourishing life.