Balance

I’m very excited to share some news about two big projects with you today: Brookline Tai Chi’s annual Immersion Week and the publication of the Tai Chi Way to Better Balance as a physical book. Join me from Tuesday, April 22 - Friday, April 25 at Brookline Tai Chi in Boston for Energy Gates Moving Qigong Exercises. Times, cost, and registration details in the link. The Tai Chi Way to Better Balance is now available for purchase on Amazon, but you can also get your copy of the physical book directly from the publisher.

Allow me to share with you a Tai Chi principle so simple and clear that it is often overlooked, even by practitioners who have been doing Tai Chi for 10 years or more. The Five Movement Centers is a template for understand HOW you move and applying it to any form you know or any repetitive movement you can perform, like going for a walk, is going to have a serious impact on how grounded, fluid, and connected you feel. ...

When my first Tai Chi teacher, Bruce Frantzis, came back to the US forty years ago to spread the Tai Chi he learned in China, he found out that many basic Tai Chi concepts were not being taught, either because of communications issues or lack of knowledge. Only a fraction of the vast potential of the art was being shared. Bruce set out to teach the Inner Form of Tai Chi and that’s what I have studied for the last 15 years. ...

If you listed to the recent Qigong Radio episode on Rooting, Central Equilibrium, and Balance, you probably want more insight into how to put Tai Chi balance training to work in your practice. Now you can start Tai Chi balance training with our new eBook , “An Introduction to Rooting and Stability,” where you will take the Tai Chi Way to re-gaining, one of life’s simplest yet most essential treasures–the gift of balance. ...

In a recent post, we looked at 5 Ways to Build Strong Legs. When I posted the video to Youtube, someone replied: I think nowadays there is a great misunderstanding of internal martial arts goals and methodology. The great issue is not to become strong but to become very weak! Now, I think the commenter is kind of right, but misses a critical point, by simply reducing Tai Chi to the art of getting weaker and weaker. Just look at these Tai Chi Masters, specifically in the legs , and tell me if they seem weak: ...

In this episode of Qigong Radio, Don Miller and I explore the essential elements of Tai Chi Balance Training. As you probably know, Tai Chi is being used more and more for falls prevention programs for the elderly and becoming a mainstream part of the Western medical vocabulary. But what are the actual elements that make up a great Tai Chi balance training program? How can you use them for your own well-being? ...

We often talk about the way Tai Chi can improve your physical health and mental and emotional well-being from the point of view of the practitioner. But not everyone out there is as familiar with practical ways to use Tai Chi to support their health and wellness goals as you may be. Later this year, I’m thrilled to have the chance to share Tai Chi with physicians in a course at Harvard Medical School. It’s always exciting to be able to present a combination of research and practice to knowledgeable caregivers, especially because in this case, the focus of the course is on promoting healthy, active lifestyles to their patients. What do you think I should share with them? If you have suggestions for what I should cover, please leave a note in the comments. ...