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Stepping – Putting a Foot Forward

Feb 1
4 min

Stepping – Putting a Foot Forward

When learning tai chi and qigong, one of the first problems encountered is learning how to step correctly. Most beginners ‘fall’ into a step, without controlling how or where they step. Because they are reluctant to bend the supporting leg (i.e. the one they are going to leave on the floor whilst moving the other one), the stepping leg won’t reach the floor unless they do a ‘controlled’ loss of balance and fall on to it. This reluctance becomes noticeably more extreme as pe

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What is ‘Hollowing the Chest’ in Tai Chi & Qigong?

Mar 14, 2020
2 min

What is ‘Hollowing the Chest’ in Tai Chi & Qigong?

Connecting movements in tai chi & qigong. Sitting back. Moving your energy. Try jumping! This is easily tested: Try jumping off the floor, but before doing so, hunch your shoulders firmly up by your ears and leave them there whilst jumping. You can still do the jump, but it’s not nearly so effective. Then try doing the same but relax your shoulders. We do this every time we walk: When placing a foot ahead of us to walk and moving the weight on to it, the pelvis sinks into

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Revolving Doors

Aug 3, 2019
1 min

Revolving Doors

Revolving doors work because they have perfect central equilibrium, and therefore use minimum energy. In movement, we are aiming, as far as possible, to emulate that feeling, noticing that when one side of us turns one way, the other side turns the other way, and that each side of us is perfectly balanced. In other words, we are trying to feel the whole of our personal universe revolving in space whilst being subject to gravity. “For every action there is …” Getting it. And

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Song Yao / Kai Kua

Apr 2, 2019
1 min

Song Yao / Kai Kua

Further to the previous blog… “Song Yao” = Release the waist (see previous blog on ‘Song’). “Kai Kua” = Open the Kua, or inguinal region on the front of the pelvis. Open the knees (or Kua). The under-rotation of the pelvis cannot work very effectively without the Kua opening. This is easy to feel if you try the opposite… Try tucking the tip of your tailbone (coccyx) further under, but simultaneously squeeze your knees together. Once you’ve felt how awkward that is, you k

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Tucking Under… Don’t FORCE it.

Mar 17, 2019
1 min

Tucking Under… Don’t FORCE it.

The mechanics. When you sit down on to a chair, you automatically, and without forcing it, do a pelvic tilt. If you don’t, you run the slight risk of hurting your spine. The same thing should be true in tai chi and qigong when you move your weight from the front leg to the rear leg of a Bow stance; you need to do a pelvic tilt (see previous blog). Forcing it. Without repeating the previous blog, I’ve noticed that quite a few people force the pelvis under Stretching or rel

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The Breathing of Movement in Tai Chi & Qigong.

Mar 11, 2019
2 min

The Breathing of Movement in Tai Chi & Qigong.

Walking & ‘Open/Close’. If you picture your body as a mobile vertical line, what allows you to be mobile is your ability to split that line at the base – in other words, you have legs. You can move a leg forwards or backwards thereby temporarily fraying the vertical line from the pelvis downwards. The arms when walking & ‘Open/Close’. The arms do the same thing; they swing forwards and backwards as you walk. Usually this is unconscious although it obviously doesn’t have t

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Flapping Around in Tai Chi & Qigong.

Feb 16, 2019
2 min

Flapping Around in Tai Chi & Qigong.

Copying movements. When seeing Tai Chi or Qigong for the first time, it appears that all those graceful movements are the result of moving our limbs into the ‘correct’ position. So in order to learn those arts, we attempt to emulate the movements as precisely as possible. The art of precision. I know this because I spent many years being an exponent of this way of learning as precisely as possible: Once upon a time… Approaching the matter. About 8 years ago, I had a stude

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Qigong – Why all the Stretching & Twisting?

Jan 26, 2019
2 min

Qigong – Why all the Stretching & Twisting?

Leaving aside ‘Standing’ qigong (aka Zhan Zhuang, Standing Pole, Standing Like a Tree , etc.), there are many types of Qigong which are not unlike very short and repetitive Tai Chi Forms. These exercises quite simply move the body from a static, usually feet-together position, into a particular posture, and then out if it again, not unlike some yoga exercises. Professor Zhang Guangde’s qigong ‘sets’. Digestive system qigong. The purpose of Daoyin YangSheng Gong. Because the

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Pulling up Your Undercarriage.

Jan 9, 2019
2 min

Pulling up Your Undercarriage.

Feeling it. If you are unsure where it is, it’s the same muscle you use when trying to stop urination in mid-flow, as well as the one that women practise using both pre- and then postnatally to help the recovery of the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor’s function. It’s function is to hold the bowel, digestive, and reproductive organs in position (intestines, womb, uterus, bladder). Without it, gravity would allow those organs to drop between the thighs. It’s the bottom of t

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Pelvic Tilting and your Health.

Dec 12, 2018
2 min

Pelvic Tilting and your Health.

What is a pelvic tilt? How does it affect you? Amongst other things: More flexibility in the lower (lumbar) spine. Ultimately, less discomfort, as well as less risk of injury. Improved abdominal activity; the intestines get an internal massage and function more efficiently. Strengthened abdominal muscles; less risk of hernias. Has a knock-on effect on the neck. Because the lower back starts to free up, over time the neck also changes. When you start to strengthen and opera

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Sinking your Boat: (4) Results.

Nov 20, 2018
1 min

Sinking your Boat: (4) Results.

Posture. If you constantly try to sink your boat, your posture will improve, and if you have back problems, sinking your hull will almost definitely help relieve those problems. Why? Because, when you sink your boat, your pelvis releases and softens, ⇒ which means that the angle of your pelvis alters, ⇒ which means that the alignment of your spine alters, ⇒ which means that your lumbar spine changes position and your vertebrae cease compressing and open slightly, and

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Sinking your Boat: (3) Practising Scuttling.

Nov 4, 2018
1 min

Sinking your Boat: (3) Practising Scuttling.

Practising. Practising the art of sinking is essential; it’s not going to happen on its own. When? The good thing is that you can practise it all the time, whilst doing anything – lying down, standing, walking, cooking, sitting, gardening… etc. Walking. Walking is a very good way to practise it, the knack is not to try it every step you take. At first try doing it with only one foot, or for example, every 4th step. Practising boat scuttling. Step forward, and as you put

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Sinking your Boat: (2) Above the Waterline.

Oct 27, 2018
1 min

Sinking your Boat: (2) Above the Waterline.

Above the hull is the equipment that makes the sailing boat functional – mast & boom, shrouds & sails, sheets & cleats, and a burgee if you have one. This is your upper torso. The rigging The mast (spine) supports most of these bits of above-deck equipment – the shrouds (arms), the burgee (tiny head!), the sails, (torso – chest/back/rib cage); and the spreader (in the diagram) is a little like your shoulders running from port to starboard. The boat in the picture even has

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Sinking your Boat: (1) The Hull.

Oct 12, 2018
1 min

Sinking your Boat: (1) The Hull.

Behaving like a boat. Your body has a keel and a mast. The question is, how do you experience it? The hull & keel. CONTACTS: http://www.taiji.co.uk http://www.qigonghealth.co.uk Email: taijiandqigong@gmail.com Phone: 07836-710281 or 020-8883 3308 _______________________________________________________________________________________________ #qigong #grounding #tension #jamesdrewe #taiji #gravity #balance #taijiquan #pelvis #posture #taichi #relaxation #relax #sinking

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Putting Backbone Into It (Shadow Boxing)

Jul 15, 2018
3 min

Putting Backbone Into It (Shadow Boxing)

Crown of head (not to be confused with the hair whorl) Perineum (muscle between genitals & anus) Point directly on the line between your 2 feet (variable if moving your weight back/forward between the feet). The Spinal Line (when pushing an object/person). To continue the water analogy, it’s the pressure of the water behind your tap that causes the flow, not the water itself. So, for example, when shifting a piece of heavy furniture, if you overuse the arms, you can strain t

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Playing with your Spine.

Jun 30, 2018
2 min

Playing with your Spine.

From head to foot. When practicing taiji and qigong, we are often conscious of the forwards/backwards and the left/right of the movements, but it’s easy to forget the crown to feet expansion/contraction. When doing Tai Chi & Qigong, it’s important to keep that structural line intact. Intact? By this I mean that any forces that the spine is dealing with are evenly spread over its length; i.e. no part of the spine is taking more force than any other part. (I do not mean tha

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