Tai Chi for Over Thinkers For people that tend to over-think, the slow moving practices of Tai Chi and Qigong can be a great way to calm the mind, restore grounding and connection to our physical bodies. The Buddhists practice ‘nowness’, is what we call ‘mindfulness’ today, a single point of focus. Our Tai Chi…
Chronic Pain Course ReMap Course Summary – March to June 2019 Wednesday 12 June 2019 saw the completion of the 12 week ReMap course, a movement and stillness class for those living with chronic pain. Over the duration I introduced the students to ‘Hibernating Bear Tai Chi’, covering a variety of Qigong, Chen Tai Chi and…
ReMap Pain Management Movement and Stillness for Health and Wellbeing March – June 2019 The Independent Arts charity launched a new project entitled ‘ReMap’ on 20th March in conjunction with the chronic Pain clinic to see how Tai Chi and Qigong aided life with chronic pain. This project is designed to help people manage their…
Tai Chi Qigong for Ehlers Danlos Tai Chi and Qigong as dynamic movement practices to aid the genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Hello everyone, I’m Nicola, a Tai Chi, Qigong and meditation instructor and I live with hypermobility EDS. This article explores how mindful dynamic movements can support the symptoms of…
Ebb and Flow In your Tai Chi and Qigong Training Spring is near and life is beginning to return to the earth. My favourite time of year is about to erupt into pink and white blossom. Over the last months, my online lessons have flowed into similar paths. In the winter the challenges that come up…
Challenges in Tai Chi Training As a student, you can expect many challenges to come up during your training in a group class and your practice at home. Try to hold a positive approach, seeing challenge as opportunity. Tai Chi and Qigong are life-long practices, there will be times you are enthusiastic and highly motivated…
Motivation in your Tai Chi Practice “Motivation gets you going, but discipline keeps you growing. That’s the Law of Consistency. It doesn’t matter how talented you are. It doesn’t matter how many opportunities you receive. If you want to grow, consistency is key.” — John C. Maxwell First let’s look at the difference between intrinsic…
The Hips in Tai Chi The importance of aligning the pelvis and hips in your Tai Chi practice, to improve the quality of your Tai Chi movements and your ability to absorb and generate martial power. In turn, this aids your postural health, how well your organs function and your ability to breathe deeply. Aligning…
Pain Instructs Training Tai Chi and Qigong during times of injury, chronic and acute pain can offer some unusual benefits. Simply put, pain instructs. It’s one of the responses in the body that is not subtle, it hurts and we react to it. When you experience physical pain in your Tai Chi or Qigong practice,…
Detoxing through Movement The Importance of the Lymph System to Health Most of us know that a sedentary lifestyle causes health to decline, and yet a large part of the population of all ages do not move or exercise regularly. Sitting at a desk, lounging on the sofa, driving, lying in bed and so on….
What does EDS pain feel like? Making the invisible visible I would like to describe my experience of living with pain to help educate and raise awareness for all living with chronic and acute pain health conditions. For those reading this that know someone who lives with chronic pain, the best thing you can do is…
Recommending Wild Geese Martial Arts Introducing Dave Hedges from Wild Geese Martial Arts and WG-Fit in Dublin City Centre. Dave helped me through a time in my life when I was going through a health deconstruction and reconstruction. In my early 30’s, around 2008 unknown to me I was heading into the world of chronic…
Tai Chi Qigong for Injury Recovery In this article I would like to explore the benefits of using Tai Chi and Qigong as restorative exercises to help during injury recovery. Over the years I have worked with many students to aid physical rehabilitation after accidents and injury, from frozen shoulders, twisted knees and falls, to…
Who I Teach I talk to a number of prospective Tai Chi and Qigong students each week, finding out what their reason is for joining a class and what they are looking for in their training. Students come to my private and public classes from all walks of life. Often students are surprised to find…
Joe Lok Workshop Review Phoenix Alchemy Qigong Master Joe Wai Man Lok visited Horsham on Thursday 11 and 18 June 2015 for his Phoenix Alchemy Qigong seminars with students of Earth Balance Tai Chi and the local Horsham community. Reviews from some of the students: “What a great workshop last night! Thank you so much…