A blog dedicated to learning and practicing tai chi and qigong
Tai chi is a tool for adapting to changing conditions. Change prevails wherever you look. The weather changes. The wind blows, doesn't blow, blows hard, then is a breeze. The temperature is hot, cool, cold. It's raining or it's dry. Grass is green and moist, or brown and maybe tinder dry. A tree never stops… Continue reading Adapt to change with tai chi
Know where your central equilibrium is. Move around it, up and down its length. Forward and back. Straight, strong, alive, flexible, always regenerating.
It is said that we are born with a finite amount of energy and that is all we have to make it through life. As life progresses that supply of energy is depleted through living: events, act, thoughts, points of view. It takes energy to live. Less of our original life force becomes available to… Continue reading Tai chi and getting some energy back
Taiji is about moving differently. To move in a new way requires a fresh perspective. Start with gaining clarity of a habituated movement pattern. Habitual patterns are most difficult to see because they become “transparent” or invisible to us over time. So train your mind’s ability to focus and concentrate on the move. The eventual… Continue reading Integrating new movement to internalize it
One of the first things you’re asked to do in tai chi is to relax. Not easy for many beginners, who seldom can relax on command. Actually, most of us forgot how, or even define what relaxing is for ourselves. Life is like that. Tai chi offers a strategy for relaxing. My own approach is… Continue reading Tai chi as a strategy to relax
I was talking with an alpine climber friend the other day. He spent some time in Switzerland as a guide and teacher. Mountain climbing, at least the way he describes it, sounds very familiar to tai chi. He was describing to me some of the things he would say when interacting with clients or students.… Continue reading Tai chi and alpine climbing similiarites
Here is a brief exchange over email between a DTC member and myself that reveals our thinking about a subject central to learning tai chi. I welcome questions and comments because it stimulates concrete conversation which serves as a knowledge-building activity. Background: I returned after 10 days training retreat and exposed practice partners to using… Continue reading A conversation between teacher and learner
