Most people are familiar with the benefits of basic Tai Chi: relaxation, better balance, relief from stiff joints. As you get more internally connected and learn to listen to the inside of your body as you practice, there are whole other layers of benefits, hidden beneath the surface of the graceful, flowing movements typically associated with Tai Chi. In this video, Robert Tangora explains one of the more interesting ones, that is rarely taught with the precision he is outlining: how to use specific Tai Chi movements to target and massage individual organs in your body, like your liver, spleen, heart, and lungs.
In issue 48 of Qi Magazine, there is an article about Wu Style Tai Chi Master Wang Hao Da. The article describes Master Wang’s early training and his desire to interact with as many different people as possible to refine his art. The description of Zhong Ding, or Central Equilibrium, drawn from the article, explains much of what organized Master Wang’s teaching and personal practice, as described to me by one of my teachers, Robert Tangora.
We are in the process of finalizing the details of a Tai Chi Cloud Hands workshop with Robert Tangora this fall in Boston, from October 26-28. As preparation for the workshop, I will be teaching a fall course at Brookline Tai Chi, covering the basic mechanics of Cloud Hands, as well as the prep exercises from Robert’s newly published book. I’m really looking forward to taking everyone at Brookline Tai Chi through these exercises and at the same time, working with members of the Inner Form coaching program to improve their Cloud Hands practice.
One of the toughest parts of learning movement exercises from a book is knowing what goes in between each still photo. That’s why I’m very excited that Robert Tangora has put out an overview video of all the exercises that he teaches in the Internal Structure of Cloud Hands.
You can use this video as a companion guide to the book. I think this book is such an excellent resource, that I’m urging every serious Tai Chi and qigong practitioner that I know to find a way to work it into theirs.
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.
Recently, we hosted Robert Tangora at Brookline Tai Chi for an introduction to Bend the Bow Spinal Qigong. Prior to the workshop, I had put together a few thoughts on what it feels like to work with the spine in Tai Chi and qigong. This weekend definitely helped me refine my sense for what Spinal Qigong can do, so I wanted to share some of those lessons with you.
I’m sure you’ve spent time looking around YouTube for qigong and tai chi videos. According to their website, people upload 24 hours of video to YouTube every minute! No doubt you’ve seen some crazy stuff. So how do you sift through all of it and more importantly, are there any qigong videos on YouTube worth watching? The good news is, of course there are. And I’ve put together a list of 5 good ones to get you started.
I sat down with Robert Tangora to talk about his upcoming book on Tai Chi Cloud Hands when he was in Boston in October. When he discusses Tai Chi Cloud Hands, almost reverently, Robert explains it as a paradigm for understanding the complete art of Tai Chi, and also as a way to bring each practitioner closer to integration. The basic problem is that you have a spectrum of practices, from sitting, to standing, to moving, to fighting, that all feel very different and all develop different attributes.
