You breathe (hopefully).  Maybe you breathe efficiently, maybe you don’t, but in order to live you obviously need both an ‘in’ and an ‘out’

In both in taiji and in qigong there is often the need to raise the knee, either to kick, or perhaps as an exercise for the pelvis, or ...

How do you get your pelvis to tilt? I’ve found that for most people, it’s very difficult to move the pelvis (other than turning it to ...

Don’t think about it…  Try lifting your arm sideways. Almost everyone will involve both the shoulder & neck.  Alexander Technique calls ...

Whilst teaching, I’ve noticed that people do a number of unusual things when turning their heads. Some tilt one ear nearer the shoulder ...

Energy is flow; without flow there is no energy.  A shortage of energy is therefore partly about a lack of flow … i.e. partial stagnation.

In the majority of my classes I teach some qigong as a warm-up. I do this for a number of reasons:- 1. to introduce the various different...

From a standing position: 1) Suck in your abdominal muscles, (thereby connecting the upper thigh to the torso). 2) When you can, draw...

Focus of the eyes. The eyes signify the intention (Yi) of a movement.  During the postures, focus wherever your intention is; the eyes ...

Balancing the body When performing tai chi and qigong, you need to organise your body so that it feels as though all aspects of the body...

I don’t expect people to practise the material we cover in the classes, but when they do, it’s a huge bonus. When they practise, progression

I first started teaching tai chi & qigong in about 1990.  Back then, not so many people knew what tai chi was, and even fewer knew anything

I’ve often noticed when teaching the Yang 24 that balance in certain movements often causes a problem for students – incidentally, this isn’

Sinking to Move (1) was about sinking the qi from the waist downwards. Sinking to Move (2) is about connecting the upper body to the lower

Often in both tai chi and qigong it is necessary to ‘grip the floor’ – part of rooting and making the body more stable. This is particularl

The classics say: “Head upright to let the shen [spirit of vitality] rise to the top of the head. Don’t use Li [external strength], or ...

‘Balance’ in taiji One of the aspect of taiji is to allow ‘freedom of movement’, so that the body never inhibits itself. ‘Freedom of move...

In order to be able to move with ease, it is necessary to relax just prior to the movement. Ideally you are looking for body movement to ...

When you are standing with one leg in front of you and the other behind (i.e. in an Empty stance) and, using only your chest, you push somet

‘Open’ (Kai, pron. ‘Kigh’, as in ‘High‘) & ‘Close’ (He, pron. as in Her) is one of the keystones to the internal aspect of taiji...