Circling 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...
read moreEssential Neigong Exercises
The system of internal power for generating health, healing and an overriding feeling of well-being that has existed in China for at least 4,000 years is driven by 16 neigong components. Each one represents cosmic potential for developing your body, mind and chi—capable of producing seemingly mysterious and enigmatic results. Wherever it may take you, the neigong system is rooted in extremely concrete, tangible and specific training techniques that start with the physical body. Two introductory methods that can take the average human being...
read moreBagua Balancing Exercises: Balancing the Legs, Part 2
Balancing Exercises Video Lesson 6 Now that you’ve reviewed the basics of balancing the legs, let’s look at how to balance the legs whilst in a forward-weighted stance. Many practitioners find that when assuming tai chi or other postures where the front leg carries the body’s weight, that the legs, especially the knees, become compressed. You definitely don’t want to programme this position into your body memory because, over time, you will cause more harm than good. So start by focusing on keeping your spine erect....
read moreTai Chi~Qigong | Crete
5 Elements in Qigong & Tai Chi: Choose the Tai Chi Circling Hands Group or Gods Healing Qigong Group 1-6 May 2011 (Sunday-Friday, bank holiday Monday) 5 Elements in Qigong & Tai Chi The Five Elements (Water, Wood, Fire, Metal and Earth) are the medium through which manifestation occurs and therefore govern all systems of the body (e.g., muscular, skeletal, nervous, cardiovascular, lymph, cerebrospinal). Gaining access to these bodily systems within your form (whether qigong, bagua or tai chi) is what makes your practice truly ...
read moreQigong + Bagua, Brighton
9-12 August 2012 Energy Arts Qigong + Bagua Zhang Palm Changes Courses. Senior Energy Arts Bagua Teacher, Paul Cavel—I will teach Qigong on Thursday and Friday evenings from 7-10 pm (6 hours) and Bagua Zhang Circle Walking Meditation on the weekend, Saturday and Sunday (10 hours). Heaven + Earth Qigong Energetics Heaven + Earth Qigong consists of a single external movement that stretches all the muscles, tendons, ligaments and fascia, opening your body from the inside out. In this qigong exercise set, the pulse (open and close) is also...
read moreTai Chi | York
Pulling Silk in Tai Chi + Tai Chi Circling Hands, 3-5 August 2012 By Senior Energy Arts Tai Chi Instructor Paul Cavel–I will teach methods for manifesting incredibly light yet powerful chi flow in your tai chi form. Beginners are welcome too, and will learn Tai Chi Circling Hands, an adjunct tai chi practice with repetitive, gentle motion that will allow you to embody internal techniques. Learn more about Tai Chi Circling Hands by clicking here. Venue Seminars will be in the Main Hall at Fishergate Primary School Fishergate, York, YO10...
read moreBagua Exercises: Balancing the Legs
Balancing Exercises Video Lesson 5 In the last lessons, we’ve balanced the arms in symmetrical and asymmetrical postures as well as while turning the body. Now we will look at balancing the legs. The three primary points to balancing the legs are: Keeping the pelvis level. Maintaining an even stretch through both legs. Not compressing the knees. Start by aligning the knees, move up to leveling the pelvis and then sink the tailbone. Stretch the knees without allowing the body to go down in height. The spine must stay erect. When you...
read moreTurning Exercises in Qigong, Bagua & Tai Chi
Balancing Exercises Video Lesson 2 In this lesson, we continue our balancing exercises by looking at turning in the internal energy arts. Turning is a component of most qigong sets and all bagua and tai chi styles. So stabilising and equalising your turn (and weight shift into either leg) is a fundamental prerequisite to achieving a truly internal practice and the benefits that come from it. Many internal arts practitioners have greater flexibility and range of motion on one side of their body and they reinforce this imbalance by playing up...
read moreBalancing Exercises in Tai Chi, Qigong & Bagua
Balancing Exercises Video Lesson 1 In this video lesson, I’ll give you some balancing exercises for your qigong, bagua or tai chi practice. Keeping both sides of your body equally strong is important to maintaining optimal health and well-being. Happy practising, Paul Any physical and/or energetic exercise can carry risks. Do not attempt these exercises if you have any physical, emotional or mental conditions that may make you susceptible to injury. © 2011 Paul Cavel—All rights reserved. Copying or distributing any ...
read moreBreathing Therapy: Engaging and Balancing the Sphere
December Breathing Techniques Tip Photo by Em Morley Photography Completing the Breath Over the last three months, we’ve deconstructed whole-body breathing to activate various parts of the body. If you’ve been practising, it’s now time to integrate everything into one whole, spherical breath. (Review the series, starting in September 2011, by clicking here.) Activating the Top of the Lungs Most people only breathe into the middle/front of their lungs and therefore have a very restricted breath. That’s why we spent the last three months...
read moreDragon & Tiger Medical Qigong
Dragon & Tiger Qigong Video, France 2010 Dragon & Tiger medical Qigong, a 1,500-year-old healing qigong system from China. Dragon & Tiger Qigong is renowned for its ability to help people quickly learn to feel their chi and heal a wide variety of illnesses and injuries. I’m certified by my teacher, Master Bruce Frantzis, to teach Dragon & Tiger Level 3. In 1985, Bruce learned Dragon & Tiger Qigong from Zhang Jia Hua, a doctor of Chinese medicine and the former Vice President of the All China Qigong...
read moreTai Chi Circling Hands
Watch two Tai Chi Circling Hands videos shot in France at my 2010 summer retreats (below). I learned Tai Chi Circling Hands from my teacher, Wu and Yang Style Tai Chi Lineage Holder Bruce Frantzis. I designed this set to balance the body on both sides and work the circle from different planes of motion. Many students practice with their “favourite” foot forward or only on a particular plane of motion. Often times, this plays to imbalances in the body, making the more dominant side stronger. This leaves the weaker side to become...
read moreBreathing to Engage the Kidneys and Heart
November 2010 Breathing Tip Deep internal breathing has many aspects and benefits as I hope you’re beginning to discover from my tips (if you didn’t think about it before). This month, we’ll directly target the kidneys and upper back. Everything you’ve learned so far remains in the programme. With the diaphragm, belly and sides of the body active, we’ll include a nice massage for the kidneys and back of the heart. Breathing Theory The lungs and the heart comprise the bulk of the thoracic cavity with the lungs sitting directly on top...
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