In this “office hours” post, Nate asked me about kwa work in Tai Chi. Specifically, we were looking at movements where you squat in a front stance. The question is figuring out how low to go and why. In Tai Chi, you use your kwa to control your movements. At first, think of your kwa as simply the fold in your hip joint. In the following video, though, I explain how your understanding, and use, of the kwa changes as you learn to work deeper into the body.

One of the major goals of standing qigong is to develop a strong downward flow that clears stagnant energy out of your system and strengthens your natural restorative abilities. When you begin to work on this process, though, it’s natural to wonder how strict you need to be able sticking with the downward flow and what to do if you start to notice other things happening in the body. Recently, I got this question via email that nails the exact issue:

Here’s a round-up of guided practice aides I’ve put together in various sections of the site. What else would help you with your current practice? Let me know here.

To download the audio files below, right click and “save as”. Breathing Use these basic principles as a guide for your breathing and standing practice:

Downloads: 20-Minute Guided Practice #1 20-Minute Guided Practice #2 Standing Qigong You can progress through longer standing sessions with these guided practice mp3s or pick one on any given day that matches your practice goals:

Lately, I’ve been trying to do some sinking during standing qigong, in addition to other practices, like opening and closing, but I don’t get the full calming effect of the sinking. This is a problem, because it gets a lot of energy moving and something this manifests as more anger than I would like. What should I do?

Sinking the chest while raising the spine is a key energetic alignment practiced in Tai Chi to facilitate a grounding, downward flow of energy. Martial artists use it to develop their root and anyone who “gets stuck in their head” will find some relief employing this principle. The question is: Do you have a good standing position to practice sinking the chest?

If I’m going to practice several types of qigong and maybe some tai chi, does it matter what order I do things in? Or if I do one longer practice vs two shorter ones during the day?