Tai Chi

Exercise is about transformation. When we work are working out we are trying to change some aspect of ourselves, whether it be building muscle, losing weight, or just releasing endorphins to induce happiness and relieve depression. Exercise does all that for us. If our physical bodies were all that we were however regular exercise alone would be be fine. But we think and feel as well and these processes need maintenance as well. The mind is linked to the body through the breath and it is when you bring these three aspects into harmony that you will get the most out of your body. ...

Sample Tai Chi Audio Workout Here's a free preview of a Tai Chi Workout, designed for the Wu Style Short Form. It's part of my 21 Tai Chi Workouts Series, which includes hours of lessons just like this, to guide you through deeper and deeper Tai Chi practice. Listen now: [powerpress] Make 21 Tai Chi Workouts a part of your practice. Click here to learn more.

I want to thank everyone who took the time to answer this poll about meditation practice. You shared some really nice insights into what you experience and why you practice. In this post, I want to share some of the common themes and the particular language people used to express what happens in a typical meditation practice session. Body-Centered Meditation Practice The first big theme was how physically oriented many people are in their practice. Here’s one description that captured the body-centered practice well: ...

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. ...

Taoist sitting meditation is a powerful practice, but many people have a hard time sitting still or focusing on their bodies long enough to develop sensitivity to the energies of sitting meditation. Sometimes, when you explore related practices, like Tai Chi, you develop the skills you need to ease into sitting meditation practices. One of the most important skills taught in Tai Chi is the ability to focus. It is only through structured focus that we can access our Chi, or internal energies. Focus allows us to travel around our body, seeing it in a whole new way and teaching us how to heal ourselves. ...

The Chinese have been using Tai Chi for millennium to help maintain health, a practice that the Western World is just now beginning to appreciate. The movement started slowly, with teaching studios cropping up in strip malls and people's backyards. Because some of these early students were receiving medical care and soon began showing improvement in their conditions, this sparked an interest in the medical community and, since that time a number of very positive studies have been conducted. ...

I was talking to a friend last night about standing qigong and different meditation traditions that we had both tried. When we say “meditation” in this context, we were including all practices like breathing for relaxation, Tai Chi, qigong, and sitting practices too. Part of what I’d like to hear from you (see below) is how you define “meditation” in a way that’s practical and part of your everyday life. ...

Stability in most exercises is based on and comes directly from the legs. The position of the legs determine the expression of the movements and it is the legs that generate the energy, the power that turn the legs, and through them the body, into a spring, ready to pounce. One of the most important things that we do before we begin sets is to pay particular attention to the weight distribution between the legs. In Tai Chi there are twin concepts of "empt and "full". Beginning students learn these concepts very early in their studies by applying them to the legs. ...

When you study standing meditation postures, you discover many different ways to "organize" the body. One way to feel the body come together is by focusing on the spine. The spine is a major highway for our body's Chi, or natural energies. One of the first thing new qigong students must learn is how to relax the spine and allow these energies to flow more freely. The spine spends the day, and sometimes even the night, under a great deal of strain. Not only is it the frame upon which the entire body hangs, emotional turmoil or stress can cause the muscles around the spine to contract as well. ...