Stretching is an important part of conditioning to be fitter and healthier. Do you really need more reasons than that to stretch regularly? If the answer is yes, consider this. Imagine if you could have a bath in WD40. It would seep into all your joints, restoring them to their full range of motion, lubricating every part until it was as new and dissolving away all your tension. What would […]
In kung fu and tai chi there are only two movements we can do that have any real power. One is transferring your weight from one leg to the other. The other one is twisting your body at the waist and hips. Transferring weight simply involves moving your weight from one leg to the other. But as with everything we teach how you do it can make a massive difference […]
The basic stance is a way of standing that keeps your body aligned with gravity, improves your posture and promotes relaxation. For most people, the way they stand is unbalanced. Tension in the muscles pulls their body in different directions 24 hours a day. Relearning how to stand has so many benefits considering what a simple change it can be. This is the stance we take before we begin any […]
One of the most common and debilitating places to hold onto pain and tension is in the neck and shoulders. Shoulder pain and tension is often associated with responsibility – literally carrying the world on your shoulders. It is so common that I can state with confidence that you too are carrying your shoulders too high. It is as if we need to suspend our arms from our shoulders instead […]
The world is full of competing forces – work pressures, family life, desires to conform yet stand out – yins and yangs that pull us this way and that. These create energy, and often turmoil in our lives. Taoists have spent many centuries exploring the interplay of forces, the yin and yang throughout human life and nature and they always strive to find the middle path. Only through finding equilibrium can […]
Everybody carries far too much tension around with them. This tension drains them ofenergy, pulls their body apart and resists every move they make. We are so often told to relax but not many people realise that relaxation is a skill that needs to be learned. To find out why read my book “Stress Proof Your Body”. The first and most important principle in everything I teach is ‘Relax Down’. […]
Virtually all negative emotions are based on fear. Fear is our most primal emotion and one that a great many people feel, to a greater or lesser extent, every single day. We have around 30 names for different types of fear, and many more slang words: anxiety, dread, panic, alarm, terror, dismay and so on. Two types of fear However, there really are only two types of fear you need […]
As mentioned in my book ‘Stress Proof Your Body’, one of the most popular relaxation exercises is called progressive muscle relaxation. A more efficient and powerful way to achieve the same level of relaxation, is not to tense then relax the muscles but to send a message from the brain for the muscle to lengthen. In this way you gradually train your muscles to relax at will and so defeat the […]
In kung fu and tai chi, we always aim to make our movements balanced, efficient and powerful. A balanced movement is one where the forces involved are balanced throughout the body. At no point is the individual out of balance and vulnerable to counter-attacks. An efficient movement is one which uses only the necessary muscles and doesn’t hold onto unneeded tension anywhere in the body. We all know what a […]
Raising and lowering your arms Every day we raise and lower our arms hundreds of times. Whether we’re picking thingsup, drinking a cup of tea, using a computer or driving a lot of our activities involve ourarms. Changing the way we raise and lower our arms can save us a lot of energy andmake the movements far easier and more powerful. Raising and lowering your arms are really two different […]
The single most important thing you do every second of every minute of every day is breathe. Your breath powers every cell in your body. It is intimately tied in to your emotional states and energy levels. The health of every single part of your body is utterly dependant on it. So why on earth aren’t Doctors taught about the power of breath to change your physiology? Learning to breathe […]
Tai chi is a profound martial art and exercise system that has become universally popular because tai chi health benefits are so wide-ranging. What’s more ongoing research is constantly showing new areas where tai chi is beneficial. One year it is in the news for treating anxiety and the next year for helping hugely with fibromyalgia. So what makes it so beneficial for such a wide range of physical and […]