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 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…
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…
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…
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….
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…
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…
Travel with Hope A Qigong student interview. Meet ‘John Doe’ and read his story of learning to live with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). How practicing the Classical Chinese movement and stillness arts can help the symptoms of PD. This interview is dated April 11, 2014 is an update to a previous interview on March 15, 2013. John…
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 = 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 sleep by…
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…
Chen Taiji Cloud Hands For students wishing to practice at home, here some resources to help. In the Chen style Tai Chi movement “Wave Hands like Clouds” (Yun Shou) this uses the double arm silk reeling movement with a side stepping action. The side stepping Chen style cloud hands movement, found in the short and…
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…
