Qigong Wall Squatting Wall squatting is an ancient Qigong whole body movement. This is the ultimate squat that develops leg strength, power, balance and body awareness. The stretching and relaxing motion in the spine gives circulation a boost, helps the body detox and massages your internal organs to aid their functioning. As a beginner there…
Tai Chi Hurt My Knees There are many barriers to starting something new, whether a hobby, new job or leisure activity. We are our worst enemy sometimes and our minds will throw up all sorts of reasons why not to do something. When we start something new, our minds will also try and dissuade us…
Tai Chi for Spine Health An Unhealthy Spine The spine is key to health. One of my teachers once said that Tai Chi and Qigong all focus on spinal health. We use the phrase ‘structural integrity’ when talking about the Tai Chi and Qigong posture. This means the posture is aligned correctly, to hold your…
Tai Chi Qigong for Ehlers Danlos Exploring the potential of Tai Chi and qigong exercises to aid the genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS). Instructor Nicola lives with hypermobility EDS, you can read her journey in health here. Living with a different health base-line from the norm comes with plenty of challenges, from…
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,…
Hibernating Bear Tai Chi “Build a Strong Foundation for Mind and Body Health” The phrase “Hibernating Bear” comes from instructor Nicola’s ethos to make authentic Tai Chi and Qigong available to all abilities of students, no matter age, physical ability or location. The online hibernating bear lessons follow the Taoist principles of kindness, modesty and…
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…
Physical Symmetry Training Physical Health for Life I remember a training session a few years ago with Tina Chunna Zhang from Qigong for Women in NYC. She said that qigong practice is for ‘finding your weak spots’. To me, this means training the body in a way to create physical symmetry or harmony in the…
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…
Dr Bergman Alternative Health One of my favourite youtube channels for alternative health is Dr Bergman’s videos. He is a corrective chiropractor from the USA who is a leading figure in alternative health. There are hundreds of videos to watch that cover posture and health, arthritis, nervous system, parkinsons disease, vaccinations, Western pharmaceuticals and much…
Prolonged Sitting is Killing You Tai Chi and Qigong to improve your posture in daily life If you have attended my Tai Chi and Qigong classes, you’ll know how emphatic I can be regarding frequent healthy movements and postural health in your daily life. By practicing the Classical Chinese arts regularly, the corrections to your…
Tai Chi Qigong Fall Prevention “Falls among elderly cost NHS £2.3bn a year” Reported by the Independent Newspaper in 2017. “Falls among elderly people may be costing the NHS in England up to £4.6m a day.” Reported by the BBC in 2010. “Pensioners can cut the risk of falls by a fifth by practicising…
Living with EDS “Ehlers Danlos Syndrome” My Story by Tai Chi Instructor Nicola During May 2014 it is Ehlers Danlos awareness month. I have written my account of living with EDS and wanted to share this with you all. Here is my story, it is a little raw and gives honest insight into what it…
February Taiji Push Hands Seminar Our friend Mat Ward of Inner Harmony School will be returning to Horsham in February 2014 for the second workshop focusing on Tai Chi partner work, push hands, sensitivity training, throwing away our hard strength and learning to yield. Join us for an afternoon of Tai Chi exploration, self discovery…
