Struggling to Meditate?
Part One. Meditation is great, we all know that now. Long since disregarded as merely an esoteric activity for hippies and followers of Eastern religions, there is now a plethora of supportive medical research, classes in almost every town and village, and more apps than you can fill your …
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The Lack of Tai Chi Crisis
Everything is a crisis nowadays. We’ve currently dealing with the cost of living crisis, Ukraine crisis, fuel crisis, energy crisis, food crisis. There are probably more, I’ve most likely lost count. Whilst I would never demean the severity of the situations listed, it does strike me that it is manna …
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Warming Up for Tai Chi
I remember being at school in the 80’s and for the first minute or so of our PE lesson we’d do the warm up. It was a case of the teacher shouting something along the lines of, “Okay boys, touch your toes… now you’re good to go!” I would hope …
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Tai Chi Fan
When a student reaches a certain level in their open hand tai chi practice (ie. not with a weapon in their hands), it is time to start practicing weapons! Traditionally, attainment of this level may well have taken up to a decade or more. However, these days it 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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Take Back Control in 2022
Over the past couple of years I would imagine that you have felt important parts of your life have been at best inconvenienced, at worst been practically impossible. Many have felt the heartbreaking loss of loved ones; separation from family and friends; freedom to visit other countries – or …
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Winter in Chinese Medicine
Winter is the most Yin time of year in Chinese medicine. The darker months are a time of looking inward, slowing down, resting, wrapping up, keeping warm, and eating nourishing foods. It is a time when looking after our kidneys is important. In Chinese medicine each season is associated …
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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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Routine, Reflection, and Readiness
As we slide into week two of isolation and / or social distancing it is beginning to feel like a new kind of normal and I am sure that I am not the only one who has slipped into a new routine that is making my ‘normal’ day to day …
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Change, Adapt, Grow
We get so used to doing things a certain way and caught up in our routines or comfort zones that testing times such as the one that we are experiencing can be harder to get through collectively than they need to be. Witness those who cannot cope without life’s so …
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