Robert Tangora’s new book, The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands, has just been published. Last October, I spoke to Robert about why he chose this topic for a Tai Chi book and what he hoped to communicate to people. Based on that interview, working with him live doing his Cloud Hands training, and the meticulous way he approaches learning, teaching, and Tai Chi, I have no doubt that this book is going to the top of my recommended reading list next to Energy Gates.

The eyes are the gateway to your nervous system. This is a theme that my teacher Bruce Frantzis weaves into many different Tai Chi and qigong teachings that he gives. Relaxing the nervous system is one of the central goals of Tai Chi practice. With a relaxed nervous system you are more aware of your reactions, thoughts, emotions, and really, your entire internal environment. One of the best ways to begin to tune into the state of your nervous system is by learning to feel your eyes.

Taoist Master Bruce Frantzis is my main Tai Chi and qigong teacher. Bruce was one of the first Westerns to live and study intensively in China, then come back to the U.S. and popularize Wu Style Tai Chi, qigong, and Taoist meditation in a way that was accessible to a Western audience. He teaches all over the U.S. and Europe, including regular workshops at Brookline Tai Chi. His books on qigong and meditation offer clear and direct practical instruction.

When you relax into the turning of the waist and feel how it connects to the legs, you begin a process of rooting while moving that creates a dynamic and springy stability. Kind of a paradox, right? You feel like a giant spring, anchored to the floor even though you’re moving around, that is constantly being wound up and then released. The key to cultivating this connection is how you relax through your turning, so let’s start off by getting clear on what we mean when we say relaxation.

When you spend a month training Tai Chi 10-12 hours a day, what happens when you go home? What does it feel like several months later when your life has returned to normal? Is it a let down? Do you need to be inspired again to continue your training? What have you continued to discover about your practice? How has the intensive training infused your teaching? I sat down with several Energy Arts Tai Chi instructors to discuss these issues for Episode 3 of Qigong Radio.

We’re hosting Bruce Frantzis for a Push Hands Intensive this week at Brookline Tai Chi. The training is being filmed and it will become the Push Hands module of the Tai Chi Mastery Program, due out later this year. Here are my thoughts so far on how the Push Hands component fits in with what we did this past summer in Brighton:

Recently, on the Insight Taiji Facebook group, we got into a fascinating discussion about the challenges of teaching and the different kinds of student expectations that come across as teachers. As much as this was framed as a teacher’s dilemma, I felt that I came away with some lessons about how I set my own expectations as a student as well. Anthony Court has been studying systems of health, healing, meditation and self-defense for over 41 years.

Twisting, especially the legs, is one of those techniques that sounds really cool, but it easy to overdo. Going slow and steady with twisting can help everything loosen up. My advice: at first work on feeling what naturally happens rather than trying to make something happen. Develop sensitivity. In this “office hours” clip, we look at twisting the legs in Cloud Hands and troubleshoot some of her stuck spots.