The mouth and tongue: Another important point to be observed deals with the mouth.

The requirement in taijiquan says that the tongue should be curled up to touch the tip to the palate. As you do this, do not overdo it. Use just a very gentle and natural effort in putting the tongue lightly on the roof of the mouth. The purpose of that is to prevent the mouth and tongue from getting dry. One reason for your mouth getting dry is having your mouth open during your practice. If you do have your mouth open, pretty soon you notice your mouth and tongue getting very dry. Therefore hold your mouth "closed but not closed" [closed but not tightly closed] and your tongue naturally curled up to the top. When you practice taijiquan, don't open your mouth; this is not correct. But don't forcefully close your mouth, this is not natural, either. Therefore stress naturalness.