I Forgot the Moves “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” – Bruce Lee.  Beginner Tai Chi students often get hung up on memorising the movements. This can make Tai Chi and Qi Gong a stressful and frustrating experience….
Tai Chi for Heart Failure What is Heart Failure Heart failure is a chronic condition. When the heart muscle becomes damaged it is unable to heal itself, this results in blood/oxygen not pumping around the body as well as it could do. This creates stress on the body as it cannot function normally. Possible Damage…
Method Not Mimic Your Tai Chi Journey As a beginner when learning the internal martial art of Tai Chi or Qi Gong, it is important to learn how to move rather than just mimicking the instructor. Without guided and personal instruction, the movements become mere choreography. If you simply watch and follow your Tai Chi…
Tai Chi for SAD SAD stands for seasonal affective disorder. Commonly talked about as the winter blues, SAD is a serious condition that affects many people over the winter months. Linked with the lack in our bodies of Vitamin D from natural sunlight, this condition can be hard to diagnose as the symptoms are similar…
Tai Chi for Cancer Over my years of teaching, I have had the honour of teaching many students who have cancer or are in recovery from cancer. Whether through private tuition in their own home, in my public community classes, teaching as a volunteer within cancer support groups, to teaching care-givers. Some of my students…
Tai Chi and Hypermobility Joint Syndrome As a Tai Chi Instructor I live with hypermobility. The good news is that Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Meditation are all recommended ways to help manage the symptoms of this connective tissue disorder. This article explores Tai Chi and hypermobility joint syndrome and the health benefits of using…
Why Smile to our Organs How much attention do you pay your face, hair and body each day? How many times do you look in a mirror a day? Do you know where your organs are in your body or what they look like? In a Western world obsessed with looks, appearance and the exterior…
Tai Chi Standing Zhan Zhuang – Standing Still for Powerful Health Zhan Zhuang is a powerful internal practice where a fixed posture is held for a period of time. It is also known as standing pole, stake standing and standing practice. It is the foundation of Tai Chi and Qi Gong training, and is rooted in…
Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia Fibromyalgia is a non curable medical condition/syndrome that causes chronic musculoskeletal pain and fatigue in the muscles, tendons and ligaments. It is often misunderstood by the health service here in the UK, and effective treatment outside of long term pain relief medication is lacking. There is a natural approach to try,…
Tai Chi Trigrams How Taoist philosophy & the I Ching relate to Tai Chi Chuan practice. In Taoist philosophy, the 8 Trigrams are symbols of change found within the Book of Changes, known as the I Ching. Each trigram represents a unique set of characteristics; tai chi application, qi gong movement, natural identity, cardinal directions,…
Tai Chi for Chronic Pain Learn how exercise & meditation can ease the symptoms of living with pain. Chronic pain is continuous and can range from low-level aches to constant unmanageable pain. The source of pain can come from injury, illness, disease or disharmony. Pain is a signal that tells us there is a problem somewhere…
Tai Chi for Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) An auto-immune disease causing inflammation of the spine, vertebrae, sacrum and can also affect other major joints. The connective tissues; tendons and ligaments harden (ankylosing) where they attach to the bone.  At the later stages of progression, the spine can fuse together. This article will explore Tai Chi for…
Tai Chi for Pregnancy Tai Chi and Qi Gong combine a well aligned posture with graceful powerful movement and deep breathing. Often referred to as meditation in motion, Tai Chi and Qi Gong can be practiced by everyone no matter age, fitness level or physical condition. Everyone can benefit from regular practice including mums to…
Help Reduce Stress Do you have a spare 5, 10 or 15 minutes today? What are you doing whilst the kettle is boiling? Can you grab 15 minutes of privacy? Whilst the dinner is in the oven can you take 10 minutes ‘me time’? You don’t always have to dedicate 1 hour to your daily…
Parasympathetic System and Tai Chi Learn how to activate the relaxation response and the vagus nerve with deep breathing, slow connected whole body movements and applied relaxation. First let’s look at the mechanics of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. Together they are known as the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Stress = activation of the…