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Taiji​​ and Qigong

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​Tai Chi and Qigong in London and Kent

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07836-710281

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    Our Perspective of Time
    James Drewe
    • Mar 11
    • 4 min

    Our Perspective of Time

    Who is Moving? Most of us think of ourselves ‘travelling through time’ – we start the day, the sun has risen; we finish the day, the sun has set. It’s as though we’re in a car and moving from A to B – starting the journey, passing various sights and events along the way, and arriving. The road stayed where it was, and we moved along it, and, in doing so, other things changed simultaneously… e.g. we passed a variety of sights, we stopped for a coffee, it rained, and so on. H
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    What is ‘Hollowing the Chest’ in Tai Chi & Qigong?
    James Drewe
    • 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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    Ting (listening) in Tai Chi & Qigong.
    James Drewe
    • Mar 1, 2020
    • 2 min

    Ting (listening) in Tai Chi & Qigong.

    What is ‘listening’ in tai chi & qigong? Ideally, listening is very light; it is being able to sense and respond to the gentlest of touches.  If the pressure of one hair were placed against your skin, you would feel its direction and give way. Setting up how to feel it… Listening is most easily felt when you are working with a partner, but in a different way it also applies to solo tai chi practice. To feel it, it is necessary to have a partner to help you:- 1) Hold your a
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    Change in Taiji & Qigong
    James Drewe
    • Oct 31, 2019
    • 5 min

    Change in Taiji & Qigong

    Going with the ups & the downs. How do you ‘convert’ one movement to another in Tai Chi or Qigong? Perhaps, if I can understand these changes, for example, when the body starts to move back when it’s been going forwards, or turns left when it’s been turning right, I’ll be able to use it as a tool to understand the way in which I deal with change in my everyday life.  So, if I can make sense of that transition in Tai Chi and understand how to make it feel unforced and comfor
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    Stress.
    James Drewe
    • Jun 16, 2019
    • 2 min

    Stress.

    Stress. There are many reasons for stress.  What stresses one person might to another be a positive drive to action. And after the emergency… The problems begin when the sympathetic nervous system, having dealt with the emergency, doesn’t settle down again and continues to over-function; this could be because of problems at work, at home, or with life generally.  When this happens, the ‘temporary’ boost of glucose and the shutting down of part of your system becomes more th
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    How on Earth do you ‘Relax’?
    James Drewe
    • May 12, 2019
    • 2 min

    How on Earth do you ‘Relax’?

    Relaxation v. De-stressing. You might think that relaxation is the same thing as de-stressing,  but there’s a difference.  De-stressing can use a variety of techniques that don’t necessarily involve relaxation of muscles. It’s relative. How relaxed you are is a relative matter; perhaps there’s an ultimate, but it’s always in comparison to either how you were before, or to how someone else is. How is ‘relax’ defined? The state of body and mind being free from tension and anx
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    Tucking Under… Don’t FORCE it.
    James Drewe
    • 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.
    James Drewe
    • 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.
    James Drewe
    • 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?
    James Drewe
    • 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.
    James Drewe
    • 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.
    James Drewe
    • 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.
    James Drewe
    • 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.
    James Drewe
    • 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: (1) The Hull.
    James Drewe
    • 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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    Qigong – is it Yoga?
    James Drewe
    • Aug 29, 2018
    • 2 min

    Qigong – is it Yoga?

    One of the aspects of both yoga and qigong is to enhance your potential.  If we always move in ways in which we are ‘comfortable’, certain parts of us remain static whilst other parts of us elasticate and ‘grow’, or at least remain more fluid. Perhaps that’s a bit like only oiling the engine on the car but not bothering to grease the bearings?  If the engine works too well, it might be at the expense of the bearings which can’t take the strain. Enhancing your potential appl
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    Putting Backbone Into It (Shadow Boxing)
    James Drewe
    • 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.
    James Drewe
    • 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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