Fixing Imbalances in the Body with Qigong, Tai Chi + Bagua
A few months back I posted some how-to videos to help you balance your body in your qigong, tai chi and bagua practice, which I elaborated on in a course I offered on Tai Chi Circling Hands and Gods Qigong in Crete last year (see below). 3 Steps to Addressing Imbalances in the Body First of all, many people are unaware of just how imbalanced their body may be. It could be that one side (left-right) or one half (upper or lower) of the body is more bound, less flexible or has a limited range of motion, or is generally less comfortable than the...
read moreRemember Tibet!
This festive season, it’s a good time to give pause and remember those less fortunate than ourselves. Of course, it’s even better if we can become co-creators in making the changes we would like to see in the world. Some organisations make that easier for those of us with busy lives who aren’t sure where best to focus our efforts. Four Corners Foundation is one such orgnaisation. Founded in 1976 to help preserve the unbroken transmission of the Vajrayana tradition, the people involved work tirelessly to help Tibetan people in...
read moreGuided Breathing Practice
The following 10-minute breathing practice was recorded while on retreat in Crete earlier this year. It’s an easy breathing practice, particularly good for beginners to the Energy Arts System, that covers some of the primary points you want to focus on when you come to sit. To learn more about the theory that underliesLongevity Breathing techniques, click here. Happy practising, Paul To learn more about Paul’s next Longevity Breathing course in Kentish Town, click here! © 2011 Paul Cavel—All rights reserved. Links are...
read morePartner Exercises: Getting Real about Your Internal Arts Practice
The video snippet below was filmed on Crete earlier this year as part of my Five Elements in Qigong retreat. The discussion was focused on ways to restore balance in and revitalise the body. One method for fretting out imbalances and getting real about your practice is training with a partner. Partner exercises accomplish three important goals: Engages the Part of Your Mind that Wants to Achieve The observer effect dictates that the sheer act of observation will influence the phenomenon being observed (Wikipedia). This is true for science and...
read moreQigong, Tai Chi + Bagua for Beginners
How Much Practice Is Appropriate for a Beginner? Okay, I’m going to make this short and sweet because this has got to be one of the most popular email questions of the year: I advise new students to mind their 70% of effort in mind-body-chi, and save 45-minute to hour-long practices for many months (or even years) down the line, once you have a solid foundation in neigong. Otherwise, you may injure yourself or build up too much internal resistance and stop practising. Go with the flow and do whatever “clicks” for you yet try to build...
read moreWhat Beginners Learn at Qigong, Tai Chi + Bagua Classes
After 16 years of teaching the Energy Arts System of courses, I’ve learned that it can actually be quite difficult for a beginner to get in the game because there is just so much material and practices from which to choose. Also, it can be difficult to understand which classes are appropriate for beginners, and how a new student might join an on-going class or jump into training a subject matter that advanced students are also studying. Paradox of the System Although it may sound counter-intuitive, new students learn almost exactly the...
read moreTai Chi: The Softer Side of the Internal Martial Arts
Last month, I wrote a blog on tai chi’s softness, but is it possible to ever say enough about the form’s yielding nature? Even though tai chi is the youngest of the internal martial arts, it has a quality that is absolutely unique unto itself. The intrinsic yin nature of tai chi allows deep healing to occur while the practitioner executes the form in the most gentle of ways. It is this hyper focus on the soft quality that often leads tai chi practitioners astray. Relaxed Doesn’t Mean Collapsed The Asian concept of softness...
read moreTai Chi Classes, London WC1
6 October-8 December 2012 | Camden, London WC1, Saturdays 11 am-6 pm. Senior Energy Arts Tai Chi Instructor Paul Cavel—I will teach a core group of 16 people the 27-step Wu Style Tai Chi Short Form in four sessions over three months. Wu style tai chi starts with a short 27-step form containing the essence of tai chi. This form was developed by Tai Chi Lineage Holder Bruce Frantzis after encouragement from his teacher, Tai Chi Grandmaster Liu Hung Chieh. Learn more about tai chi by clicking here. 4 Tai Chi Formwork Saturdays 5.5...
read moreTai Chi: The Art of Softness
Tai chi is a yin art, which is why it often gets disregarded as useless or only being good for the elderly and young girls. But in fact, the soft nature of tai chi is exactly why it is so effective as a means for developing chi power—whether for health, healing, meditation or martial prowess. First and foremost, exercise done in a soft way can prevent you from embedding existing, superficial tension deeper within the body. Tai chi is a superior exercise system for releasing the nerves, which in turn releases all soft tissues. This process...
read moreInternal Energy Exercise to Contact the Subtle Energy Anatomy
(Part 2 of 2) Re-educating Your Body The first step to living pain-free or improving your health is re-educating your body about how to move and perform even minor daily tasks, such as typing on a keyboard. In fact, most people have never received health or physical education that includes information about correct and sustainable body alignments and movements. Internal energy exercises are designed to provide you with an experiential physical education so you learn how to align your body and refine your movements. This will not only prevent...
read moreInternal Energy Exercises for a Healthy Back, Neck and Spine
(Part 1 of 2) Most people will experience back, neck, spinal or repetitive strain injuries at some point in their lives. For many, it will limit the mobility they experience for the rest of their life. Learning what you can do now will help you prevent needless suffering from chronic aches and pains. Startling Health Statistics An EU-wide study (by The Work Foundation www.theworkfoundation.org, reported by www.backpain.org.uk on 13 February 2010) found that musculoskeletal disorders, such as back pain, neck pain and...
read moreLearn Gods Qigong
Gods Playing in the Clouds Qigong Gods Qigong is from Lao Tse’s school in ancient China, offering a unique feature not found in other qigong systems. Typically qigong sets are practised with the purpose of learning particular strands of neigong, each with a distinct flavour, which can then be applied in deeper practices, e.g. bagua and tai chi. However, Gods serves as a container for all 16 neigong where practitioners can unify the internal power grid into one coherent whole. A supreme movement art, skillful Gods training can evolve qigong...
read moreCircling Hands Qigong Video: A Guided Practice Lesson
Hiya, You can watch and follow along to the Circling Hands video below. It’s a great practice for deepening neigong and improving your qigong, tai chi and bagua forms. In Circling Hands, kwa exercises go deep into the body to create a powerful massage for the internal organs and further increase blood and fluid activation. In combination with the C-curve, kwa exercises generate strong hydraulic activity, so you can get a good workout while remaining extremely relaxed. Make gentle, smaller circles to help release your nerves, allowing the...
read morePulsing the Body’s Cavities in Qigong, Tai Chi & Bagua Circle Walking
My last blog introduced the concept of pulsing, and provided an overview of how to pulse the joints in qigong, tai chi and bagua for health benefits. However, the more dramatic, broad-ranging and long-lasting results come after the tuning in period, when you can go deeper than only pulsing the joints and gain some faculty in opening and closing the body’s cavities. Pulsing the Joints: The Middle Ground Activating the joints is only the beginning stage. Whether you only pulse the joints in the limbs (arms and legs) or the entire skeletal...
read moreQigong, Tai Chi & Bagua Teachers
My friend and fellow tai chi instructor, Dan Kleiman, wrote the following blog. It has some great pointers for teachers and students alike, so I thought I’d share it with you… So You Think You Can Teach? By Tai Chi Instructor Dan Kleiman The desire to teach and share what you’ve learned over time is a natural outgrowth of your own personal practice. In fact, being able to articulate principles you feel in your own body by explaining them to someone else can be a really important learning stage for you. Every time I have the...
read morePulsing the Joints of the Body in Qigong, Tai Chi & Bagua
This article is Part 2; see Part 1 on Essential Neigong Exercises. Pulsing is a naturally occurring phenomenon replicated time and again throughout the universe as an essential aspect of every living organism, including human beings. Pulsing (also known as “opening and closing”) is little more than a synchronised, alternating rhythm of expanding and condensing energy. Paul Cavel Teaches Pulsing in Qigong In terms of qigong, tai chi and bagua, the concept of pulsing is simple: You want your entire body and its energy to pulse as one...
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