Tai Chi & Qigong Online Classes

James Drewe
Jun 1
3 min read

Updated: 3 days ago

Online tai chi classes; the spine, pelvis, and sacrum

There's a lot to be said about the value of online classes. I've done something like 400 of them since 2020 although I now only do one session per week online, and the rest are face to face.

During lockdown, there were about 70 people per class which, right from the start, made watching everyone on my screen impossible; I therefore ran the class like a kind of one-man show - it became a daily (sometimes twice daily) TED talk.

Live but also recorded

I still run it this way - once a week on Tuesdays at midday, and it seems to work well for a lot of people. It's recorded so you can dip in and out, catching up later/revise the missed bits in your own time.

What does an online class consist of?

The class is a mixture of warm-ups, breathing exercises (reverse, abdominal, and other types), de-stressing techniques, stretch exercises, body awareness, energy building (e.g. microcosmic orbit), techniques for 'balancing' the body's health, as well as learning physically how to balance more effectively, and of course… Tai Chi & Qigong.

Online tai chi and qigong classes - acupuncture channels

Over the last few years we have done a number of Tai Chi Forms, nearly all of which will fit into a small space, and we have done many types of Qigong (sets for general health, as well as sets for the cardiovascular, digestive, respiratory, immune systems, the liver, the kidneys, and many more).

Online versus live classes

I've found it very exhilarating teaching online. I've been surprised at the astonishing amount that can be done via a screen, and because there is always the option to revisit the recording, you also have access to a practical guide when you'd like to follow a breathing or meditative technique several times over.

In this respect, it is better than face to face classes.

The videos

The videos are edited, beginning with an 'index' informing you of the times of the various exercises in the 55 minute video (sometimes longer when I get too involved).

E.g. It will say "2. Releasing the Spine: (6:55)", and "5. 10-Step (Forms 1-4): (28: 46)", etc.

This way you can easily jump to anywhere in the video that you like with ease.

Currently in the online classes

Currently I'm working on the Yang 10-Step Form in great detail.

This is the shortest set of movements in Yang style Tai Chi, and the more I teach it, the more I realise what a wonderfully designed Form it is, without the complexities of some of the much longer Forms, in which you spend much of the time trying to remember what comes next!

Having learnt the basic movements, you can easily delve into the subtleties of Tai Chi using this clever little set of movements as a platform, as it incorporates all the nuances, principles, and centre-work that you find in the longer Forms.

Classes take place on Tuesdays at 12:00, and you can pay £5 to try out any class.

James Drewe teaches Tai Chi and Qigong in both London and in Kent and online.Details of weekly classes both live and online can be found on the website, and there are classes for 2-person Tai Chi on one Saturday a month.