Is Qigong a Somatic Movement Practice? You may have heard of the somatics within the study of human movement and bodywork, however did you know that Qigong is one of the origins of somatic movement practice? At circa 5,000 years old Qigong was originally called Dao Yin pre circa 1960’s, and is a health preservation…
Self Managing Chronic Illness Your Guide to Self Care “I’m not interested in competing with anyone. I hope we all make it.” By Erica Cook. This article looks at the impact of chronic health conditions on every day life and offers suggestions for ways to self manage alongside or outside of Western medical treatment. I…
Hibernating Bear Patreon Movement & Stillness for Chronic Illness My Hibernating Bear programme is now on Patreon. Learn to live gracefully with your baseline through online movement classes, relaxation sessions, natural health resources and connection with others. A private community group to support those living with chronic health, degenerative illness or a different health baseline…
Nourish Through Breath Part 5 Qigong Breathing for Health The fifth part in this breath work programme looks at developing your breath work by combining whole body movement. The heavenly breath is a foundation Qigong practice that is co-ordinated with diaphragmatic breathing. You can also learn to train your breath to become slower over time,…
Nourish Through Breath Part 3 Buddhist vs Taoist Breath Work Welcome to my breath work course. This part of the programme looks at the two main breathing techniques, known as the relaxation breath and the energetic breath. Discover the role of the diaphragm in each of these methods and practice breathing a full breath. Part…
Nourish Through Breath Part 2 Teach yourself better breath work techniques for optimum health The second part of my breath work programme, looks at the relationship between pain and poor breathing habits. Learn about the role of the diaphragm muscle when taking a full breath and what the best posture is when performing breath work…
Nourish Through Breath Part 1 Learn to Breathe Better for Health Welcome to my breath work programme, helping you breathe better for optimum health. Breathing can be done anytime, anywhere, by anyone, in fact you are doing it right now. Except are you breathing properly? Does your breathing support your health? The aim of this…
Chronic Health Tai Chi Livestream Online Group Class UK Join our Tai Chi, Qigong and meditation online class for relaxation and health. Open to all abilities, the lessons include seated and standing movements, guiding you through gentle tension relief, physical relaxation and meditation techniques. Anyone can join in, whether living with chronic illness, chronic pain…
The Art of Pacing What does pacing mean and how can it benefit you as a life philosophy? Pacing is generally the opposite of how we have been conditioned and brought up. We live in an ever increasing fast paced and demanding world. It’s no wonder stress is one of the most silent and untreated…
Types of Meditation There are thousands of types of meditation and mindfulness practices, varying from stillness to movement. You can be seated, standing, lying down, walking, dancing or doing. When starting out with meditation, practice a very simple method like pausing or focusing on the breath, daily or every other day if possible for small…
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….
Deception Training Body Language and the Mind Body Connection This article looks at deception training and the relationship between how you hold yourself, the stress and relaxation state, and how Tai Chi and Qigong movements can help. The Stress Response What does the fear, stress, anxiety, scared, afraid, discomfort or nervous response look like in…
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…
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…