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…
Hibernating Bear Tai Chi Do you live with chronic illness and want to try a different approach to building resilience in mind and body? The Hibernating Bear system draws from traditional Tai Chi, Qigong and meditation practices to help support chronic pain, chronic fatigue, those living with a different health baseline than the norm, senior citizens…
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….
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…
Rooting in Tai Chi One of the main principles in Chen Tai Chi training is rooting / grounding / sinking / balancing. This principle combines three concepts: Chen (pronounced chuen) which means rooting and sinking Qi to Dantian Zhongding which means central equilibrium, stable and balanced. Song which means applied relaxation. Without a root there…
Ding in Tai Chi How to align your spine correctly in your Tai Chi practice. The principle Ding in Chen Tai Chi means maintaining a well aligned upright spine. It is sometimes described as: Imagine a piece of string is pulling you up from the crown on the top of your head. Elevate the crown…
Peng Jin in Tai Chi Peng jin is the primary principle in learning Chen Tai Chi. It is a whole body quality that times time, effort and patience to develop within your structure. Once established, it should always be present. When beginner students notice that their movements and structure looks different from their teacher, on…
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 Boosts Immune System In 2007, UCLA and the University of California, San Diego carried out medical research on adults over a 25 week period. The findings at the end showed that those participants who practiced Tai Chi three times per week had double the immune system response than the others. Science Daily published…