The Model of the Imaginary "Suit"
I tend to use a cartoonish model in my head about the body being covered with an unwrinkled lycra "suit" that is somewhat elastic (like a leotard), but which can also actively contract-inward toward the torso/center along the limbs as we inhale and which can also tighten and contract-against the skin as we exhale. This "suit" supplements our normal strength both by supporting the muscles as they act and by adding to the overall strength when the suit moves and twists as a whole unit.
The imaginary "suit" generally supports the muscle-tendon ("Sinew") channels, in terms of its contractions, but the "suit" also acts as a whole-body elastic covering that you can store elasticity in by twisting/bending-joints and inhaling: you can release elasticity by unwinding/unbending and exhaling.
The "suit" follows the directions of forces that the muscle-tendon channels delineate: Opening and expanding the body tends to be with forces upward from the ground along the backs/outsides of limbs and along the back of the body; Closing and contracting the body tends to be with forces from the extremities toward the dantian along the under/inner sides of the limbs and along the front of the body (except for the Stomach channel which is an Opening channel).
Because the imaginary "suit" has built-in elasticity that is not all capable of being manipulated, the natural elasticity can be equated with the Eight Extraordinary Channels/Meridians, so the model of a "suit" is adequate for our purposes.
So, generally, the forces rise up the back of the body (Han Xiong Ba Bei - 含胸拔背?) and sink/contract along the front of the body.
For the forces of the body to travel along the "suit" in various directions, the "suit" must be slightly stretched out enough so that a pull at one part of the suit will be transmitted to another part of the suit. Without that slight tensile connection, the dantian could not pull and control the limbs and the body could not move as a whole in which "when one part moves, all parts move".
To accomplish that whole-body connection and get rid of any "wrinkles" which might impede a pull from one part of the body to another, there are admonitions about body posture that are common:
The head is supported by jin from the ground through the structure, much like the head is suspended from above by a string. This "suspension" helps to keep the wrinkles out of the suit from the head down the back and down the front of the body. The imaginary fabric of the "suit" also extends from the head and neck down the shoulders and upper/outer arms to the fingertips so that the arms can be pulled upward and outward as part of Open.
The armpits are opened "like holding a pomegranate under the arm": this prevents "wrinkles" under the armpit and allows the pulling from the dantian for Closing movements. The elbows, similarly, are normally curved and not bent acutely.
The lower-back and the dantian area twist, turn, and bend to pull the rest of the body "suit", so those areas must be strong, mobile, and relaxed.
For the leg controls to be complete, the crotch "must be rounded, not triangle (sharp angle) or square (too low of a stance)". Unless the fabric between the legs is slightly stretched the "suit" tugs and pulls can't be transmitted and a person will only use muscle for leg movement.
The pictures below are of a "suit" to help in visualization and include a picture of Chen Xiaowang in three different heights of Zhang Zhuang. A person should not be doing the low position too quickly because it takes a while to build up the qi/fabric of the suit in the crotch so that it will hold the weight of the body without a lot of muscles being triggered.
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