TAIJI (ALSO WRITTEN AS TAI CHI!)
Come back to the centered, balance place of your spirit.
The practice of taiji and qigong will bring you home.
Stress, Taiji And Balance
Stress and anxiety fragments life. As much as we think a body can handle a schedule that runs from one moment to the next, it can't.
When we're stressed here's how the body reacts: increased heart rate, high blood pressure, increased blood glucose, and increased cholesterol in the blood.
Over time, these symptoms become the leading health issues humans face: hypertension, cardiac issues, stroke, diabetes, and fall-related injuries.
They aren't the top killers: stress and anxiety are.
That is not a life in balance.
A Call To Being
Begin taiji in your time. We have online courses in taiji that go deep into the practice with no pressure. Learn more here.
Taiji and Balance
Taiji For Balance brings us back to being whole.
Taiji is known to prevent falls that can cause tremendous life changes. It does this by moving in ways that challenge balance, posture and coordination. These techniques reconnect neuropathways from the brain to the body much more effectively than other forms of movement.
But this form goes much deeper by honoring how emotional and mental stress contribute to the overall imbalance that leads to illness and disease.
Meditations are threaded through Taiji for Balance to train lowering your heart rate and blood pressure, and to take the felt sense of the practice with you to help in real life situations.
I also dive into the rich philosophy that guides us back to being calm, centered adults - but in an age where immediacy is king. Yes, it's possible.
Taiji Brings Us Back
Taiji is not just a series of movements. It is a lifestyle that not only strengthens the body, but the mind and heart.
It is an ancient art that doesn't shy away from the fact that we need balance in all areas of our lives: mental, emotional and physical.
Taiji For Balance highlights these practices which highlight the true health benefits to those who practice it.
More about Yin and Yang.
Taiji or Yin/yang divides the world into balanced opposites: Up/down, hot/cold, in/out, male/female, good/bad. The reason it does this is so we can get our minds around "all that is." Because that's a lot to understand all at once!
The beauty of this theory of life is that these opposites need each other or they wouldn't exist. How could we only have hot? We wouldn't know hot, unless we had something else to experience to help define "hot."
Here's the other beauty of this theory: the symbol of these balanced opposites (black/white) are always in fluctuation. We don't live in the extremes.
If you look at the image you'll notice a couple of things:
1. The black and white sections are in constant flow and movement. So nothing is statically bad or good, right or wrong.
2. The black and white sections contain a circle of their opposite within them. So nothing is ever fully good or bad, right or wrong. (Even though we'd like to sometimes think that.)
There is deep, wonderful wisdom in this simple image. And there are deep, wonderful lessons to unfold and observe in our own lives.
The practice of taiji exposes those lessons. And in my experience, has helped build equanimity, resilience and deep, deep peace.
