Tai chi and energy working

[mythril]

Hi.

Does anyone here practice tai chi?
I do and it is one of the best hobbies i have every taken up.

Any way , anyone like to share their experiences with tai chi or any other energy working?

[Niamh]

I don't practice tai chi. It's one of those things that I keep telling myself I will study and look into, and it always gets thrown on the back burner. Can you tell me a little bit about it?

[Kaylara]

I learned a little about Tai Chi in my High School Psychology class, and I can tell you that it is a wonderful practice. I am also looking into it at the monment (for more info). But I would love to get a discussion going about energy work.

Kaylara

[Sephiroth]

i practice Koga- ryu Ninjutsu a highly advanced martail arts style

[Niamh]

There are many martial and eastern arts that I would love to practice and learn, but I have a bum hip. I think it would inhibit my skills. I have a friend who is a black belt in karate, and he said I would have problems. So I'm looking for something that won't require a round house kick!

[Sephiroth]

actually ninjutsu is more of a graceful art yes that hip will slow u down but it wont stop u. i have a friend who has a bum hip too and shes at 3rd degree brown belt because in the art they work with u makeing u stronger they will work with that hip. kicks arent important in ninjutsu its the mind, body, spirit and honor if u have thoughs u can destroy an intire army ppl learn advanced sword manship in that art my friend can do flips i cant i feel so a shamed. and my friend just had i kid too yeah shes a chick.

but koga-ryu is a hard art to find not that many ppl teach it ninjtsu is the art of the koga ninja im a 4th degree black belt at the age of 18 tells u alot on how the style works im not a licensed teacher but i teach anyway

[Earth Walker]

:smash: I practice the Art of Aikido, and I work out
everyday to keep in shape/practice. :bad:

[Ari]

I do Aikido as well, and have the most wonderful energy-high after each training session. Niamh - I don't think Aikido would be a problem for your hip; if any of the movements are hard work on your muscles or joints, then you're not doing them right ;) There's a large amount of energy work in it too, for the first grading you have to pass a Ki test which is essentially a test in grounding and centering (which we should all be fairly decent at!).

[ELM]

I have done a bit of tai chi, but mainly I do yoga and ritual dancing, I have also done some martial arts like Capoeira and Kalaripyattue. All of these things have been amazing in helping me to attain a greater awarness of the energy within me and without me, and indeed in being able to read the energy of other people. Things such as trance dancing allow us to access personal visions, which are great life guides. I think there is a lot to be said for this kind of physical and meditative exercise, it is very helpful on this path, but sadly little talked about.

[Niamh]

Thanks for reminding me about Aikido! I had forgotten. I have a friend who used to do it, and he has one fake leg! If he didn't have problems, I certainly won't! I"m going to have to look and see if there are places nearby that I can look into.

[mythril]

Well, tai chi is a meditation art in itself.
There are two parts to tai chi, the ying and yang.
ying being the accumulation of the "chi" in the body system and storing it in the lower dantian ("solar plexus"). A good flow of this energy nouirishes the bones and vital organs creating "good strong bones and teeth" :).
The yang part comes later as one must first master the forms and be able to ground and move the energy to any part of the body, once this is mastered which usually happens after many years of study, then the yang or jian training can begin (this is the self defence part).

is that enough info for u Niamh ?

[Niamh]

Thanks! :)

[Sylvia Sims]

Started with Tai Chi, which is very grounding and centering, then moved on to Kenpo Karate at the age of 68, believe it or not! It is helping me retain flexibility as well as gaining dicipline, respect for my teachers and fellow students and spiritual insight into myself.
Blessed Be!

[mythril]

I have learnt the yang style, all short and long forms , have also learnt straight sword, straight sword long form , the fan and am now bussy on broad sword and hopefully will learn the flute afterwards .

[Sylvia Sims]

Finally managed to access this site. Thanks for replies and I want to encourage anyone whether old, disabled, with bum hips, whatever, to take up martial arts. Tai Chi is gentle on the body and superb physical and spiritual discipline. Is it allowed here to recommend books? "Wiccan Warrior—Walking a Spiritual Path in a Sometimes Hostile World" by Kerr Cuhulain is terrific, and so is "Zen in the Martial Arts," by Joe Hyams.
Mystic Wicks is a great find for me and I hope to learn a lot.
Blessed Be.
Sylvia

[mythril]

Welcome Sylvia :)

Always nice to meet new people.
Thanks for the book recomendation, i have seen "the wiccan warrior" book and have always wondered what it is about, perhaps i will give it a try.

[Sylvia Sims]

It is by one of the few "out" wiccan police officers, Kerr Cuhulain, who also wrote "The Law Enforcement Guide to Wicca," which I haven't read. He's in Vancouver, Canada
Bright Blessing to all
Sylvia

[mythril]

Does anyone here know any form of chi kung?.
We have studdied some of it with tai chi.

[Mariposa De La Luna]

Sorry Mythril I haven't heard of chi kung. I heard Tai Chi is good for cleaning out the chakras, have you studied this in your classes? I have always been interested in it and would love to learn. Are there any questions to ask of a teacher to find if they are a good one or should you go by references?

[Lilu]

I did Tai Kwan Do for a while as a teen, but the teacher moved so I wasn't able to continue with the classes, I really liked it though. I have a video on chi kung - it seems to lower impact than Tai Chi - but I haven't really gotten into it. I find I learn better in a class, but I live in the middle of nowhere and that's not an option right now. Just found out there's a fencing club in a town nearby, was thinking about joining up to that one day! hehe

BB
Lilu

[mythril]

SAHM:

Well i found my teacher by pure luck,
i wanted to practice tai chi and chi kung from a young age but i had no luck finding a centre offering it ,so i just kept on lookign and found a teacher that taught classes in a recreation centre near my house.
He is an amazing teacher, as he was taught my masters in japan or somewhere in the far east.
(he is half asian himself).
I gues the best way to determine if the teacher is good is by his attitude to the art, he/she should be verry patient and should have a real passion for the art.

other than that, it is really up to you. :)

[mythril]

lilu:
fencing is really nice, good excercise.

[idusty88]

To SAHM - Most teachers will let you sit in on a class or two before joining. That's a good way to know if you've found a good place for you to learn and fell comfortable.

To Lilu - Even if you live in the middle of nowhere, there may be a teacher around. Start asking. The reason I say that is because the one person I know who has studied Chi Kung found his teacher by starting a conversation with the owner of an oriental restaurant, who, it turned out, practiced there after closing with others and welcomed a new student.

To Sylvia Sims - Welcome! I hope you enjoy it here; and thanks for the info on the book, it sounds worthwhile.

To the topic of this thread - Energy working and consciousness training is at the core of the Wiccan/pagan path in my view. The martial arts mesh nicely with that purpose. Tai Chi, Chi Kung and Aikido are probably the most appropriate, from what I know.

[ladyrowan]

Just reading throught some old postings and found this one, and would like to ask a question.

Noticed that someone with a bad hip was helped by tai chi, and wondered if other injuries could be helped by it.

I fell down the stairs 16 years ago and have had back problems ever since. Can't go to gym any more but feel i need to try and strengthen my back before i get any older.
Do you think tai chi might help? Have been thinking about it for while, it looks so peaceful.

[Lavender]

Hi Ladyrowan, what about Yoga? I'm finding that it's really been good for my aches & pains. My hubby has just started doing yoga as well because of his back pains & finding it helpful. I know there has been a lot of doctors recomending yoga for their back pain patients.

[Myst]

I've done some yoga and more recently a bit of kick boxing.

Matthew (my fiance) is a brown belt in karate and teaches kids classes. Supplemented with daily gym visits every lunch hour he becomes quite the protector. I almost want to start fights with other people to see what happens.... :)

[Sunday's Child]

I really enjoy yoga. It's good for all sorts of stuff, inside and out. Kick boxing is fun too and a great work out!

[Myst]

I did this yoga tape for helping you relax at night and it almost broke me. Some stretches felt grrrreat and others were very painful. The kickboxing was much more fun. Now I just need a heavy bag and gloves...

[Sunday's Child]

I'm just like a cat. I cannot function unless I have my daily stretch, at least.

[ladyrowan]

Originally posted by Wildchild
Hi Ladyrowan, what about Yoga? I'm finding that it's really been good for my aches & pains. My hubby has just started doing yoga as well because of his back pains & finding it helpful. I know there has been a lot of doctors recomending yoga for their back pain patients.

I tried yoga a couple of years ago, but it aggravated my back. Thats why i thought of tai chi. Maybe i should've taken it a bit more slowly and not tried to do all the things the others could do, but i do find exercise kind of addictive!

love swimming, but can't resist playing around as well as swimming - and gives me a back-ache!

[mythril]

Now that everyone is talking about yoga, i have found a couple of chi kung exercises that are similar to yoga stretching.
I try find them and post them up here.

Anyone interested in posting up different exercises from what you have learn't over the years, or days .?:)