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 spines gives circulation a boost, helps the body detox and massages your internal organs to aid their functioning. As a beginner there…
Learn to Breathe Well for Life In ancient Eastern cultures breathing is seen as fundamental to life-long health. This has become lost in the modern world, leaning more on pharmaceutical companies to provide us with ‘better health’. Learning to breathe more effectively can have a profound effect on how the systems in your body function….
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…
Tai Chi Does Not Heal The ‘ask the teacher’ question this month is from an email I received which advised Tai Chi: “healed my childhood knee problems and bad tendonitis in my arm, neither to return again, despite not continuing Tai Chi” “Can it repair and strengthen ligaments that were injured or are weak /…
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…
Summer Qi for the Heart Summer is an expansive time of year that is governed by the fire element and the heart in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Here are my suggestions for strengthening your heart in the summer months. The Heart in TCM The heart is a yin organ, paired with the small intestines, a…
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…
Spring Qi for the Liver Spring is a time of re-birth and new growth. A time for outward expression, like the first signs of plant life that burst out of the earth. A time for new beginnings and waking up. Spring is governed by the wood element and the liver organ in Traditional Chinese Medicine…
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…
Winter Qi for the Kidneys Winter is yin by nature, a time for consolidating, stillness and retreating within. It is a dark, cold, wet and icy time. The winter solstice is seen as absolute yin, with the tiniest spark of light within. It is easy for our vitality to become depleted in this season, as…
Autumn Qi for the Lungs Autumn is a mellowing and contracting time of year that is governed by the metal element and the lungs in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Here are my suggestions for strengthening your lungs as the weather turns cooler. Lungs and Large Intestines in TCM The lung is known as a yin…
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…
Chronic Pain Course IOW ReMap Course Summary – March to June 2019 Wednesday 12 June 2019 saw the completion of the 12 week ReMap course in Newport on the Isle of Wight, a movement and stillness class for those living with chronic pain. Over the duration I introduced the students to ‘Hibernating Bear Tai Chi’, covering…
Tai Chi for Anxiety and Depression I am often asked will Tai Chi and Qigong cure anxiety and depression? Simply no. They are not a replacement for professional psychology, psychotherapy or talking therapy. If you live with anxiety or depression, it is advised to seek professional advice. Tai Chi, Qigong and Taoist mediation can help…
Health Baselines Learning to Take Care of Yourself In my classes I often talk about exercising and training gracefully to your own physical baseline. This phrase comes from my teacher Casey Kochmer, from Personal Tao. Read his article on baselines here. We all have a unique health baseline, that changes with the ebb and flow of…
