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. ...
As Tai Chi Master Cheng Man Ching is famous for saying, “Tai Chi Chuan, the great ultimate, strengthens the weak, raises the sick, invigorates the debilitated, and encourages the timid.” I believe that many of these benefits come from building stronger legs. Not only do these exercises solve the obvious physical problems that come from weak legs, but when you feel more stable, planted, and connected to the earth, you get a major boost of confidence, self-assurance, and drive. ...
The spine is the frame upon which our body hangs and keeping a healthy spine means paying attention to your posture. The way that our body is constructed is quite strong but if you keep negative pressure on an area, especially a joint, it will begin to adjust itself to the new position, which might or might not be natural. When this position is maintained it can actually reshape the joint, causing pain and lack of circulation. ...
A few months ago we talked about the signs of progress in your qigong practice. For so many of us, the issue of “progress” is central to qigong or Tai Chi practice, since we are driven by the desire to get it right, to solve a problem like a health issue, or to reach an amorphous and elusive spiritual goal. But what if we completely abandoned the idea of outcomes and perfection in practice? Instead, what if you started each day with a “doing” mindset in your qigong practice? ...
Anyone who has suffered back pain, especially lower back pain, understands from listening to doctors and therapists that much of their problems are the result of years of bad posture. The spine is meant to curve in a certain manner to allow the nervous and circulatory systems to function at their optimum. When we slouch, sag our shoulders, even stand too straight, such as maintaining a military like posture, we force the spine into unnatural positions. When these positions are held for long periods we begin to develop many different types of problems, from chronic pain to shortness of breath. ...
One of the biggest benefits that you can get from studying Tai Chi is to improve your physical and mental health. What most people do not understand about Tai Chi, even some beginning students, is that the power to do this comes not from the muscles but from the Chi. It is much easier for non-spiritual people to visualize the body as a complete of electrical circuits and the Chi as the electrical potential that runs across those circuits. ...
In his new book, the Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi, Dr. Peter Wayne lays out the “8 Active Ingredients of Tai Chi” to help us understand the interface between traditional Tai Chi practice and the Western biomedical paradigm. As the Research Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, jointly based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, and the founder of the Tree of Life Tai Chi Center, Peter blends more than three decades of teaching experience with ongoing inquiry into what makes Tai Chi an effective medical intervention. ...
Tai Chi has the potential to solve many common posture-related problems, but only if you follow the correct Tai Chi principles. Specifically, you want to pay attention to the body alignments that unify the arms, legs, and spine, creating effortless openness throughout the skeletal system. In Tai Chi, the way you hold your neck and head and release the pelvis into the legs are the exact opposite of what those of us who sit all day do. This is good news if you want to change your posture, but tough, because you probably spend lots of time in detrimental sitting positions each day. ...
Download Instructions: Each of the workouts listed below is approximately 20 minutes long. To download, right click and save each file to your device. If you have any problems with the downloads, contact me here. Movements from the Wu Style Short Form Commencement Play the Lute Peng Lu and Ji An Single Whip Shoulder Stroke Shoulder Stroke Series White Crane Spreads Wings Transition to First Brush Knee Brush Knee Sequence Tai Chi Principles Leg Power Shifting Releasing the Nerves to Stretch Sinking and Rising Upper Body Sinking and Relaxation Pumping the Legs and Releasing the Back in Ji Empty Neck Four Energies in Grasp Sparrow’s Tail Twisting and Turning through Single Whip Whole Body Flows in Commencement Internal Integration