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…
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…
Wang Hai Jun Towards the Light “Made to celebrate World Tai Chi Day on April 25th, ‘Wang Hai Jun – Towards the Light’ is an intimate portrait of one of the most accomplished Tai Chi practitioners on the planet. Featuring Wang Hai Jun, a teacher and practitioner of Tai Chi at the highest level, the…
When Resources aren’t Enough A delve into the Tai Chi learning process, looking at the ebb and flow of training a life-long art. When learning Tai Chi, there are several highs and lows along the way. Sometimes students will say “The resources aren’t enough”. As an instructor and student, I would like to share my…
What is your Goal? Tai Chi, Qigong and Meditation Training Being your natural self Maybe it’s easiest to start with my goal, or rather my journey. I am striving to be myself, it is as simple as that. So my goal in my Tai Chi, Qigong and meditation training, practice and play is to travel…
Chen Taiji Cloud Hands The Chen style Tai Chi movement “Wave Hands like Clouds” (Yun Shou) can be performed as a standing silk reeling drill known as ‘double palm front silk reeling’ where both arms follow a positive/yang circle, or in the form the same movement is coordinated with a side stepping motion. The hands…
Importance of Silk Reeling Silk reeling is at the centre of Chen style Tai Chi training, helping the student to develop strength, co-ordination, body awareness, unity in movement, relaxation and grounding. Also known as Chan Si Gong; Chan (pulling), Si (silk) and Gong (skill achieved through applied effort). Chan Si Jin = A spiralling and…
Peng Lu Ji An Chen Tai Chi – Silk Reeling Practice This foundation drill of Chen style Tai Chi covers the four primary martial movements of Peng (ward-off), Lu (rollback), Ji (squeeze press), An (push down). Read more on the Eight Basic Movements of Chen Style Tai Chi and the Development of Chen Tai Chi. …
Chen 18 Form Resources For my Chen Tai Chi students, here are a variety of Chen style 18 form videos from YouTube to help you practice at home between classes. The Chen 18 form was created by Grand Master Chen Zhenglei and is a condensed version of the Chen 74 form, known as the old…
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…
Not a Quick Fix Is Tai Chi or Qi Gong what you think? Lots of new students come into a class saying “I’ve always wanted to do Tai Chi, it looks so soft and gentle, with the wavy hands in the air.” People are drawn to the Classical Chinese practices for many reasons, and often…
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…