Are you a Movement Collector? When studying and practising Tai Chi and Qigong, consider “are you a movement collector?” It can be easy to fall into the trap of becoming one. A movement collector means when you have “completed” learning the movements of a Tai Chi form or Qigong routine, you are done and move…
Tai Chi vs Qigong When starting out as a beginner student, which practice is best to start with? Tai Chi vs Qigong. Find out the low down on each practice here. My suggestion is to give both a good try, over about six weeks each, and then practice the one you fall in love with….
Stages in the Learning Process Your handy guide as a new beginner Tai Chi and Qigong student. When starting out, it’s important to not become overwhelmed with the learning process. Read through this handy guide that explains the stages in the learning process, to support your home practice. Level 1 as noted below, takes a…
Tai Chi Qigong Library Welcome to the Earth Balance Tai Chi Qigong library for video, audio and article resources. This is a growing collection of recorded live stream classes, courses, snippets and resources to help support your home practice. Dip in and out via video on demand anytime through any device via Patreon. I, instructor…
Stages of Awareness Beginner Chen Tai Chi Students When starting out as a beginner Tai Chi student, as you learn the movements and copy the instructor you begin to develop different levels of awareness. This article looks at common progression to expect when learning Tai Chi. The duration of time spent in one stage is…
Earth Balance Tai Chi Patreon My Patreon community page is expanding to bring together all of my students and our Tai Chi Qigong community group into one place. This means all livestream and private students will join the Hibernating Bear students over on Patreon. I made the decision to remove advertising from this website, to improve…
Two Plates in Tai Chi Pelvic Floor & Diaphragm The pelvic floor and diaphragm connection are important to consider in your Tai Chi practice. They are called the two plates and are coordinated in movement and breath work. Spending time practising the connection will help develop your form and improve your posture. The principles that…
Self Sabotage in Tai Chi When starting a new hobby, like Tai Chi or Qigong, our minds can be our own worst enemy and will try to put all sorts of barriers in the way to stop us from leaving our comfort zone. This is a form of self sabotage. As humans, we like to…
Beginners Chen Tai Chi Learn the beginners Chen Tai Chi form via video on demand. The Chen Tai Chi 5 elements and 4 corners form consists of 6 movements to start your Tai Chi journey. Learn the signature movements in Chen Tai Chi, from silk reeling energy, to the body method and principles of alignment….
Qi Gong Principles What Are The Key Concepts in Training Qi Gong is a term from the 1960s, historically known as Dao Yin. It is an ancient Chinese health preservation system dated 4-6000 years ago. Active Qi Gong is the widely known physical exercise system that is typically performed standing up or seated. Passive Qi…
Zhan Zhuang Video Course A Free Programme for Beginner Students Standing like a tree – Standing Pole Zhan Zhuang is a stillness meditation which is a unique and powerful method to awaken the body in stillness. It is an ancient internal Taoist practice to cultivate mind and body. Learn to re-wire your habitual posture, integrate…
Attending Group Tai Chi Classes Blending to Green One of my teachers passed on this method to me in my earlier days of teaching group Tai Chi and Qigong classes. This message is so important when working in any group environment, to consider and become aware of how you hold yourself. One aspect of Tai…
Fixed vs Growth Mindset What kind of Tai Chi student are you? If you were to divide the population down into two types of learning styles, you could use the fixed vs growth mindset approach. Read through the characteristics of each, which mindset do you feel you are most like? In reality, it is not…
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…
Tai Chi Does Not Heal The ‘ask the teacher’ question this month is from an email I received which said that 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…