Spatial awareness is an interesting concept to me. I am often amazed at the complete lack of awareness people have of their own bodies, their inability to coordinate limbs or hand-eye requirements, and how they move about in their environment. Another point of interest I...
Why a Daily Practice Part II – in a recent newsletter I talked about the importance of practising daily to reap the ultimate rewards of the arts we practice – Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Qigong, Stretch Therapy, etc. This is all well and good when...
As the seasons change so to should our lifestyle habits. During Winter our Qi moves deeper inside the body and has less of an inkling to rise to surface and communicate through our pores with the environmental Qi of Heaven and Earth. We should cover...
There are just over two months until our next Camp where we will be focusing on developing a relationship with our Qi. This will include stretching the channels that carry our Qi, releasing tension to aid Qi flow, integrating whole body movement to stimulate...
When we are young we take the mobility, energy levels, strength and flexibility of our body for granted. We don't think much about it and often feel we are immortal. But after 40 (and maybe before that in modern lifestyles) we certainly notice losses in...
Much of traditional East Asian medicine is based around the ancient philosophy of Yin and Yang. Heaven and Earth are represented by Yin (Earth) and Yang (Heaven), as are the seasons, night and day, masculine and feminine, fire and water, Qi and Blood, and so...
In a recent conversation with a long term student, they relayed to me the surprise they felt when advising a fellow student that practising at home between classes was a good idea, and then the fellow student stated they had never thought of that! If...
When our physical body dies what happens to our lifetime of learning, our experiences and discoveries, our intelligence? I have had two teachers from different vocations describe very similar beliefs on this question. The first was Masakazu Ikeda Sensei, a Japanese acupuncturist. In 1997, when...
I was recently asked to take part in an event for the Bleach Festival where I would perform Tai Chi. We were to arrive at 4pm, the event would start at 5:30pm and I was 9th out of 12 performers. So I had a wait...
Travelling away by car for Easter gives me a rare opportunity to do something I did a lot of while growing up - reading. I read for knowledge and for pleasure. Now that past reading time is invested in teaching, training, and family. And probably...