Hibernating Bear Tai Chi
Movement & stillness for all abilities
Moving gracefully with your baseline
I created the Hibernating Bear Tai Chi and Qigong programme, to make traditional Tai Chi, Qigong and meditation available to students of all abilities, all ages, and for those living with chronic illness, degenerative health or a different health baseline than the norm. The Hibernating Bear programme focuses on movement and stillness for relaxation and health. Learn dynamic slow movements, nourishing breath work and relaxation techniques to take a positive step towards self care.
The Hibernating Bear programme got its name from the characteristics of the bear animal. A bear knows instinctively when to rest and rejuvenate, and when the winter is over he knows when it is time to be active again. My programme is all about restoring balance, following the natural ebb and flow of life and responding to changes with grace.
As a Tai Chi, Qigong and meditation instructor, I have distilled my studies and practice of the Classical Chinese movement and stillness arts over the last 18 years, to pass on the most effective methods for improving health and wellbeing. I work with students privately online and through group livestream classes to help show an alternative natural route to support chronic health, pain, fatigue and the aging process. I help show students how to improve their quality of life through low impact exercise and relaxation, with compassion and validation of you as a unique individual. It is possible to cope better and build resilience!
What will you learn?
Physical Health
- Gentle loosening exercises to warm the body
- Qigong movements
- Find out what qi gong means
- Chen style Tai Chi movements
- Movements that encourage joint rotation, expansion and compression
- Muscle strengthening through whole body connection
- Connective tissue pliability, mobility and elasticity
- Posture and alignment in movement, stillness, and daily life
- Physical symmetry in the body
- The importance of body awareness
- Balance, stability and grounding
- Fall prevention
- Detoxing through movement
- The health consequences of being sedentary
Relaxation & Wellbeing
- Relaxation techniques that are easy to learn
- The meaning of true physical & mental relaxation
- How to tap into the relaxation response
- How body language has an impact on the stress response
- How to activate the vagus nerve
- How to improve your mind & body sensitivity
- Reduce stress and mental tension
- Tools to aid anxiety and depression
- Learn how to create healthy distractions
- The mind and body connection
- Self compassion training
- Playing with mindfulness and meditation
Pain & Fatigue Management
- How to exercise and manage your individual health baseline with grace, not pushing passed your body's tolerance, to avoid extremes
- How to avoid the boom and bust cycle
- What you can do to lessen fatigue
- Exercises when living with chronic fatigue
- Release chronic physical tension
- Movement and stillness for chronic pain management
- Reframing and lessening the pain experience
- Learn how to progressively to build up to a regular exercise practice
- The importance of frequency over duration
- Natural steps to improving your quality of life
N.B. This is not tuition where you will learn a Tai Chi routine or a qigong set. The focus is on Tai Chi movements, drills and exercises for health and wellbeing. Especially correcting and maintaining physical alignment, with deep muscular / soft tissue /joint movements and diaphragmatic breathing.
Hibernating Bear Tai Chi Qigong Meditation - Video Classes
Hibernating Bear - Hypermobile Video Classes
For the bendy folk out there I also have a video programme dedicated to hypermobility syndromes and Ehlers Danlos syndrome. Where the focus is stabilising the joints and learning to be in your body in spite of pain and fatigue. These classes can also be of benefit to any of my Hibernating Bear students, as the theme of living well with chronic illness runs through this programme too. Click the image below to find out more about this programme. Wishing you happy training!
Hibernating Bear Tai Chi - Other Ways To Learn
Health Resources
Instructor Nicola
I live with hypermobility spectrum disorder, fibromyalgia, and chronic fatigue syndrome. My experience of living with chronic pain, chronic fatigue and physical restriction has given me a unique insight into training and teaching Tai Chi and Qigong. I have trained the practices personally since 2006, experiencing the raw ebb and flow of chronic health since and seeing the benefits these practices can offer. I have trained many students with a differing base line than the norm, in private tuition in the home, across the community, in residential homes for the elderly, at hospices, at chronic health support groups, at physiotherapy studios, on behalf of the council wellbeing team, on behalf of the chronic pain clinic at a hospital and through my online classes.
I have supported students with the following conditions:
- Parkinson's disease
- Cancer (pre, post op, recovery and terminal)
- Ehlers Danlos syndrome /Â Hypermobility joint syndrome
- Fibromyalgia / Lupus /Â Endometriosis / Polycystic ovary syndrome / Fertility
- Chronic fatigue syndrome /Â Chronic pain
- Arthritis / Psoriatic arthritis / Rheumatoid arthritis
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- High/low blood pressure /Â Recovery from heart failure
- Asthma /Â Respiratory disease
- Recovery from spinal injury / Post sciatica / Scoliosis / Osteoporosis
- Recovery from stroke /Â Recovery from brain injury
- Recovery from injury e.g. torn muscles, hernia, rotator cuff injury, frozen shoulder
- Depression / Stress / Anxiety / Over thinking
- Fall prevention / balance
- Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
- Dementia / Alzheimers / Learning difficulties / Autism / Asperger's
- Senior citizens and the elderly up to 96 years old
- Including care givers
Hibernating Bear Tai Chi - As with all medical conditions, injuries and/or ill-health, please consult with your Doctor prior to starting a class. Tai Chi, Qigong and Meditation are not a replacement for conventional medical treatment. This article is for information only and should not be taken as medical advice.
