Thanks for signing up to learn more about Tai Chi for Healthy Aging. I will be launching the site in 2013. In the mean time, you may be interested in what our school, Brookline Tai Chi, does to bring health to thousands of people in the Boston area. I've also written about the latest Tai Chi research that supports the ancient wisdom of Chinese culture. ...
The slow movements of Tai Chi can help you become more physically fit and maintain your health. Busy people who find themselves full of stress at the end of the workday will want to try Tai Chi to grow calmer and develop a sense of inner peace. People from all walks of life and a variety of circumstances turn to Tai Chi to help them increase their flexibility, improve balance and boost strength. ...
Fuzhong Li, Ph.d, is a leading Tai Chi researcher, based at the Oregon Research Institute. Since 2001, he has studied the effects of exercise, especially Tai Chi, on balance and falls prevention in aging populations. Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance is the CDC-approved falls prevention program that Dr. Li has developed based on his research. When I visited him in Oregon recently, he showed me the refinements he’s made to his program, we visited one of his classes and we played with some of the equipment he uses in his lab for testing different components of balance (see how I did below!). ...
Recently, I received a question about qigong practices for spinal health. I am always looking for ways to keep my body healthy inside and out. I practice yoga, I do my daily cardio and some weight training. I am especially interested in keeping my spine healthy. I am 57 and am concerned about osteoporosis which runs in my family. Anything you could share with me would be greatly appreciated. There are some pretty sophisticated spinal health techniques in Qigong and Tai Chi, but the progression is basically this: ...
This winter, PBS is airing a special one-hour introduction to Tai Chi with David-Dorian Ross. I highly recommend watching the episode, whether you have a lot or a little Tai Chi experience. The way Ross presents basic concepts and teaches body alignment and choreography is simple and clear. Above all, he moves between classical explanations rooted in Chinese Medicine and Western, physiological-based explanations in an elegant and understandable manner. ...
One of the biggest puzzles when you learn Tai Chi is learning to feel the 4 main energies: Peng, Lu, Ji, and An. The question of how to manifest the energies has come up for my students again as they work on the Tai Chi Mastery Program and discuss commencement in our Inner Form training group. It’s hard enough for most of us, perpetually stuck in our heads, to reconnect to our bodily sensations by feel, to relax muscles, loosen joints, and release our nerves. ...
The Macrocosmic Orbit is a practical basis for healing chronic illness and awakening psychic awareness of energy external to the body. It has been described as both an advanced Qigong exercise for strengthening the body's energy field and as a fundamental step in Inner Alchemy toward the union of Self and Tao. Students first master the Microcosmic Orbit, which is a continuous flow of energy between the perineum and crown. Advanced practice extends this orbit to incorporate Earth chi. Some disciplines also draw upon cosmic energies, which provides the Chinese name for the practice as the "large heavenly round." ...
Standing meditation Qigong, also known as Chi Kung or Chi Gung, is one of many types of Qigong that originated in China approximately 4,000 years ago. Practiced by Chinese medical practitioners, martial arts enthusiasts and philosophers, the tradition involves adopting a pose of physical stillness while calming the mind and activating the flow of chi throughout the body. While some consider the art a form of exercise, others use the activity as an alternative healing medicine or purely for meditative purposes. ...
Have you ever seen someone in a park doing what looks like Kung Fu in slow motion? If you have you are already familiar with Tai Chi. Tai Chi is a traditional internally focused Chinese martial art that, while it is considered a self-defense system, is primarily practiced for the purpose of improving health and longevity. Historically there have been claims of Tai Chi practitioners developing near supernatural powers. Modern Tai Chi research at Harvard Medical School has confirmed that the art can provide substantial health benefits, but unfortunately Tai Chi research has yet to establish evidence of any supernatural abilities associated with the practice. ...
In this episode of Qigong Radio, Energy Arts Senior Instructor Eric Peters describes what it’s like to work with the energy of the spine, using Bend the Bow Spinal Qigong. Bend the Bow is an advanced qigong set that requires precise alignment and refined sensitivity, but it gives you access to a much deeper level of internal connection and coordination than standard ways of moving your body through space. Eric performing Bend the Bow Spinal Qigong: ...