Slowing Down in a Fast World If you consider your daily routine, what tasks and activities do you do at speed? I don’t mean sports where you deliberately train fast for aerobic exercise and strength and conditioning training. I mean everything from chores to work, to speaking and movement. If you observe your pace, you…
I found this poet on social media, and the poem had such an impact on me that I wanted to share John’s words with you. The relationship between his poem and our Tai Chi and Qigong training is quite profound, not much renders me speechless these days, and this poem did. I hope you enjoy…
Meditation Myths There is a lot of misinformation about what meditation and mindfulness are, mixed in with unnecessary stereotypes and superiority. For many this puts the stillness practices out of reach. When I teach meditation and mindfulness, I strip away preconception, expectation and myths. Simplicity is the key. On a basic level mindfulness and meditation…
Building Resilience in 2021 Do not worry, this is not a blog post with a humble brag about how I wrote a novel during the 2020 restrictions or learned how to perfect the art of the soufflé. Nope, I’m the average Joe, and have been on a roller coaster. Like many other community teachers, the…
Emotions and Body Awareness For over-thinking, cyclical thinking and catastrophising when you get into a certain mindset it can be difficult to stop the mind getting carried away with itself. The mind will latch on to memories and stories from the past or it will make stories up about the future. Try this simple exercise to…
Ways to Relieve Stress I would go as far as saying that stress is one of the most silent health disorders of our modern times. Managing stress is often overlooked and seen as trivial. There is growing pressure on everyone, to go faster, be more productive, achieve more, do more and so on. Before we look…
Self Managing Chronic Pain For those living with chronic pain who would like to be active in their self care management, read over my collection of resources that aim to naturally and holistically support you. Explore gentle and powerful methods for both mind and body to change your pain experience. I understand personally the impact…
Earth Qi for the Pancreas Stomach & Spleen The earth element in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) governs the stomach, pancreas and spleen organs. Earth as an element is located in the centre and is associated with stability and being grounded. This is mirrored in TCM as the stomach, pancreas and spleen are central to health. The…
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…
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 for Serotonin, Dopamine, Endorphins This articles discusses how to hack into and boost your happy brain chemicals to increase your mood, happiness and wellbeing. Serotonin – for – Good Moods Serotonin is a naturally occurring substance (chemical neurotransmitter) within the human body. It helps to control our mood, emotions, thought patterns, learning and…
Tai Chi for Depression This webpage shares student experiences of training Tai Chi and Qigong when living with depression. For more information about the many benefits of the Classical Chinese practices, read my article on how Tai Chi and Qigong can aid anxiety and depression. Written by Anon, Female Tai Chi and Qigong Student. “The…
Compassionate Tai Chi Developing Life Skills with Tai Chi Taoist philosophy trickles down into our Tai Chi and Qigong practice, teaching us how to navigate daily life. Tai Chi and Qigong help us become more compassionate with ourselves and others, which helps us balance our heart-mind. Regular practice of the Classical Chinese arts helps bring…
Taiji Qigong Chronic Fatigue How the Classical Chinese Arts can aid the symptoms of CFS One of my students has written a personal account of her Qigong practice relating to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: “I had been diagnosed with CFS in 2009, following a bout of swine flu and a chest infection, which left me with…
Improving Health Naturally Are you happy with your health? Imagine this scenario: ‘You go to the Doctors surgery for a general check up with a few nagging problems and he offers you a course of tablets that could offer the following health benefits. There aren’t any side effects and the tablets are totally natural, would…