How I’m using qigong & Traditional Chinese Medicine to forgo total knee replacement If you attended any of our classes since November (it’s currently March 2024), you may have found me less than fully balanced. I even had to sit through several entire classes as I guided the lesson. “Modify as needed” is something I say in class and also adhere to myself. I’ve now reached the end of and gone beyond my 40 day, self-given qigong prescription for healing my knee and I’ve fully regained my balance and stability without Western medicine’s intervention. Here’s the short version of how you, my ch ..read more

In a culture where “toughness” is revered over sensitivity, tai chi practice can soften the hard edges of our hearts. Hopefully you don’t have the problem I struggle with: when people are mean to me, I put up emotional barriers to protect myself and sometimes those barriers express themselves as barb wire, cutting even those kind souls that want to lovingly connect. Fortunately, I know from experience that when I delve deeper into my practice, my hard edges soften and I become more sensitive to others again. Now there’s evidence that this is true for those who practice tai chi on a regular ba ..read more

The Year of the Dragon is considered particularly auspicious-worthy of celebration!  February 10, 2024 marks the start of the Lunar/Chinese Year of the Tree or Wood or Green Dragon. It’s a wonderful time to celebrate a shift in overall yearly energy to one of prosperity and living into one’s personal power. It’s also a good time to assess how the upcoming year may affect us. Reviewing how last year’s energy forecasts (Year of the Water Rabbit) affected us can help us understand our relationship to upcoming energetic shifts. “The work” from the Year of the Water Rabbit was using discernme ..read more

When I notice I haven’t been reading, I reprimanded myself with the shocking wisdom of Mark Twain when he said, “ Those who don’t read are no better off than those who can’t read.” Personally, I love reading. It provides a way to delve deeper into a subject AND engage my mind while learning instead of the one-way delivery system of video. The number of excellent books on tai chi, chi kung, Taoism, and Traditional Chinese Medicine is far beyond what I am capable of reading in my lifetime. But I’ve read enough good ones and bad ones that I can compile a respectable list of what’s helped me along ..read more

“Practice” tai chi is the key; not “try” tai chi. To take one class or even a month of classes isn’t enough for the alchemy of tai chi to settle into and affect the mindbody. Most people feel good after a session or two. Just like lifting weights to make muscles bigger, it takes a minimum of 6 weeks of regular practice for benefits to become visible. It is only the rare few who practice tai chi consistently that reap it’s full benefits. Those who practice daily will attain the strength of a warrior, the flexibility of a child and the wisdom of a sage. I read those words so many years ago I do ..read more

Like all students getting tested, I was nervous when my Master Trainer Pat watched me perform my tai chi sets, assessing my skills and accuracy to determine if I can continue to lead Tai Chi for Health Institute (TCHI) programs. In fact, I got nervous about an hour before our Zoom meeting started: just me and the Master Trainer, one-on-one for 90 minutes with her eyes on me alone the whole time, judging, nitpicking the details, watching every nuance of every movement. . . .nerve-racking!! That’s just one part of getting recertified to teach Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention parts 1 &a ..read more

Summer is reaching its height and the heat is on! It’s more crucial now than ever to understand why MOUTH BREATHING IS BAD! Using the mouth end of the digestive tract to breathe is the equivalent of living through summer in central Florida without using air conditioning. Yes, you can live like that, but what’s your quality of life when you don’t use the AC as the thermostat registers 90 degrees with 90% humidity and a heat index of 105? Life is HARD like that! It is uncomfortable like that! We cannot “breathe easy” under those circumstances. Using the nose to breathe is equivalent to using th ..read more

While not everyone will have the opportunity to attend author James Nestor’s week long Breath retreat in Costa Rica, his book is a must-read for anyone who wants to stay healthy or overcome health issues. Fortunately, I was one of the lucky few who got accepted into this year’s exclusive event that sold out in under 24 hours. And what an event it was! So many breathing techniques and the science behind them that I can only summarize just a little of what took place: Qigong Breathing, Buteyko Method, CO2 Tolerance Training, ladder breathing, Wim Hoff Method, Sleep Taping, Kundalini, Ice Baths ..read more

Alchemy is using a multi-layered process to ignite change for the better. Qi Gong is definitely alchemical no matter how it’s practiced because we always feel better for it. That is change for the better. Some qi gong is more alchemical and can be equated to medicine. This qi gong uses a specific multi-layered process to create specific changes. The multi-layered medical qigong process typically involves some or all of the following: 1) “chi transmission/transformation” by a qualified chi/qi/ki practitioner 2) specific moving and meditation exercises done in a particular order for a particula ..read more

When stress and challenges arise in my life I’ve always found healing in nature. Just by being out in it, I feel blessed. Because I feel blessed, I am grateful. Because I feel grateful, natural healing reaches me on a deeper, cellular level. My body relaxes more. My breath deepens first with a sigh of release then it naturally shifts into a slower rhythm than before. When I shut off my mind and feel the sheer pulse of life around me in the living, thriving impulse of nature to grow, my energy too is lifted up. About two months ago I allowed anxiety in and found myself in a shallow, panic breat ..read more