Tai Chi for the Brain
One of the most common comments that students who are new to my class make at some point during their first class with me are along the lines of, “I didn’t realise it would be so good for my brain!”. Learning to move our bodies slowly and methodically is …
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5 Animals Qigong
Tiger, Deer, Bear, Monkey, and Crane are the five animals which together make up this qigong routine. Known in Mandarin as Wi Qin Xi and also translated as 5 Animal Frolics, it was created by a Chinese doctor called Hua Tuo in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 CE). 5 Animals …
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Martial Arts for Stress, Balance, and Happiness
During the 15 years that I had a career in the corporate world, I was often asked how I was able to not display signs of stress when everything seemed to be going wrong – as it very often does when you work in IT! My standard answer was, …
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Eight Pieces of Brocade Qigong
One of the oldest and most famous of all qigong sequences is ‘Ba Duan Jin’, or ‘Eight Pieces of Brocade’, also known as ‘Eight Treasures’. Visit parks across China in the mornings and you’ll see individuals or groups practicing a variation of the form which has been passed down and …
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Tai Chi for Asthma
Of all the chronic conditions we face in the modern world, asthma seems to be one of the most prevalent. According to the Office for National Statistics, 1320 people died in England and Wales alone. In the UK, 5.4 million people are currently receiving treatment – this includes 1 in …
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Breathing for Life
Of all the things which sustain us, our breath is one of the most vital. We can go several days without food and water, yet the world record for absolute longest breath hold is 22 minutes. This is an almost unbelievable time (by a world champion free diver) – but …
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Tai Chi Cross Training
Whilst Tai Chi is a wonderful activity to integrate into your life, there are – apparently – other things that people enjoy doing – so I am told! 🙂 For many people, tai chi becomes their sole activity and for them this is enough to keep active, healthy, fit, …
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Balance and foot strength – the benefits for martial arts and everyday life.
When we think of strength in the West, we will often imagine broad shoulders, prominent chest muscles and thickly set arms. Undoubtedly, such physical attributes will often infer a degree of physical strength but looked at from an Eastern mindset, it will appear top heavy, disproportioned and unbalanced if such …
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