Tai Chi

Here is my mid-week update from Tai Chi Immersion Week 2013 at Brookline Tai Chi. It’s pretty cool to see folks come from all over to train for a week, but you really have to have the right mind set to make the most of the format. See what I mean here: http://youtu.be/tBOBhSljYNo When you practice, be sure to include a clear: Warm-up: where you settle in and transition from the rest of your day. Ramp-up: where the real “training” happens and you work on specific attributes of your practice. Integration period: where you don’t try to do anything new, but let the work from the ramp-up period settle down. Buffer: where, without making an abrupt shift, you transition back into the rest of your day. Whether you practice for 20 minutes or twice a day for a week, if you look for these rhythms, you will build more energy and deepen your Tai Chi practice.

The Art of Qi Gong is becoming very popular in the Western world and the medical community has begun to use it extensively. Qi Gong is often confused with Tai Chi. But while the two are similarity rooted in Taoism the two can be quite different. Qi Gong has five distinct branches: Taoist Buddhist Confucian Medical Arts Martial Arts The first three branches are essentially spiritual practices. The second two branches however are the ones most often practiced in the West and medical, or Healing Qi Gong (Yi Gong) has begun to be used with a broad brush by the Western medical community as well as individual practitioners. ...

For the last couple of years, I’ve been teaching regular workshops in Farmington, Maine. When I went up again last week, I had a fascinating conversation with one of the students. She was telling me how the core group had been coming along and that other people have come in and out of practicing with them. She said, “you know, it’s not really for everyone.” ...

The spine is the frame upon which our entire body hangs and the importance of proper spine maintenance cannot be overstated. In many western exercise routines the importance of proper spine maintenance is often overlooked and as a result practitioners often miss out on many of the benefits of the exercise. Tai Chi however keeps the spine in primary focus and there are many exercises specifically designed to address problems in this area. One of the most basic is the Kwa squat, which focuses its attention on the hip joint/inguinal area. ...

The ability of people to use the internet to expand their knowledge of the world around them is simply astounding. YouTube is a literal library of video tutorials, buried among the blooper and cat videos. These videos are one of the main reasons for the increasing number of people in the west moving into practicing many eastern exercise and health programs. One set of excellent, and free, Qigong videos was produced by Master Lam Kam Chuen especially for YouTube viewers. ...

The Western medical community has, for the last two decades, begun to integrate Eastern medical treatment paradigms with western routines and have been getting some amazing results. Not only are movement arts like Tai Chi and Qigong working to relieve stress and rehabilitate injuries, it is now being used to treat much deeper conditions like Parkinson´s Disease. There have been several studies that have indicated that the slow controlled movements of Tai Chi significantly improve balance and stability in Parkinson´s patients. ...

The practice of meditation, even in the west, is hardly new. Not only is meditation used in most religions (prayer is a form of meditation), but many athletes also use it regularly, before, during and after events. In today´s fast paced business world many corporations put time aside during the work day for employees to use mediation and movement arts routines and have found that this small expenditure of time improves productivity a great deal. Taoist mediation is being used more and more frequently in many different settings because of the effect that it has on the central nervous system. As we move through our days both physical and emotional stress slowly builds throughout our bodies. Filling your body with adrenalin or endorphins relieves the symptoms, sometimes, but never addresses the cause. Regular Taoist meditation attacks the problems at their root by teaching students to recognize their chi sensations. The following is an example of the process: Stages of Tai Chi Meditation • In some cases students will need to begin with sitting meditation. This involves sitting erect, smoothing breathing patterns and calming the mind. • The student should move slowly into a standing position, erect but relaxed, arms at sides and shoulders relaxed feet shoulder-width apart. • New students will more than likely have to regain focus after moving into a standing position. There is no rush however. The object is to harmonize thought with action. • When focus and harmony are again regained students can begin moving through the set. ...

It would be rare in today's world to find someone that has not seen the smooth gentle movements of Tai Chi, either on television or walking in the park on a sunny afternoon. While many observers see what appears to be Jackie Chan in slow motion, the movements being made are actually a form of meditation, much like Hatha Yoga, but with a different focus. "Stillness in motion" is the best way to describe someone moving through Tai Chi sets. ...

The meaning of relaxation in a Tai Chi context is often confused with the same kind of limp, collapsed, let-go feeling you get from flopping on to the couch after a long day. In fact, there’s a very different sense of “song” or relaxation in Tai Chi, which is at once easy and loose, but also energized and alert. In his translator’s introduction to Mastering Yang Style Taijiquan, Louis Swaim nails the nuance of the concept. ...

Beginning Qigong students often have a problem understanding the Qigong Sitting Posture. The questions usually come when students think hear that Qigong is a "movement art". There are two ways to answer this question. In the first place Qigong truly has exercises for everyone. A person struggling to recover from a serious injury or illness might not be able to summon the strength or balance to stand and move. Qigong gives these students a starting posture that will help train them in the basics of matching their movements to their breathing and learning the principles of meditative movements. The second reason why Qigong Sitting Postures are important is that one must learn to crawl before learning to walk and run. Sitting postures is also one of the best ways to improve your qi circulations and correct uneven posture. Sitting posture allows you to focus your attention on one half of the body at a time, observing the difference in symmetry between a standing and sitting posture. ...