“When I flared for the first time, it was a really stressful time in my life. There was a lot going on and I was really upset, and I was really angry, and then that M.S. flare happened.”

That’s a quote from Carol, a longtime qigong student at Toward Harmony. She was talking about her first experience of symptoms that led to her being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.

On Wednesday morning, I was on the local lifestyle show Mass Appeal, on WWLP 22 News. They wanted to do a segment on qigong for relaxation, and I suggested we focus on The 70% Principle.

This is a key practice principle of the Taoist Water Tradition. It’s a rich subject, and at some point I will circle back around and cover it in greater depth on this blog. On the show, we discussed how it can be used to facilitate relaxation, and we explored this in a movement from Dragon & Tiger qigong.

Caroline Ruderman is a reiki practitioner who works across the hall from Toward Harmony. She recently invited me to appear on her radio show Energy Matters, which airs every Friday at 4pm on Valley Free Radio, WXOJ 103.3 FM. On the show, Caroline interviews local practitioners of various healing arts and modalities. She is an excellent host and interviewer, and we had a great conversation.

Many of our students have told us that qigong and tai chi have helped them to deal with anxiety - especially the anxiety around having a major medical issue. Some of our students have mentioned this as one of the greatest benefits they’ve found in their practice. 

I can identify with this. Though I have not experienced severe clinical anxiety, I have struggled with anxiety throughout my life, and qigong and tai chi have helped tremendously. In addition to providing much relief, the practices have helped me to develop the internal awareness to be more present with uncomfortable feelings and identify when I am experiencing anxiety.

NPR recently ran a piece about how bending from the hips, rather than the waist can help people avoid straining their backs. If you google ‘hip-hinge,’ you’ll see that a lot of people in the fitness world have been writing about it as well. 

This a fundamental skill in tai chi and qigong. We call it 'folding from the kwa,’ and we teach it with an emphasis on relaxation and healthy postural alignment. 

Kwa is a Chinese term that refers to an area of the body that extends from the inguinal groove (the crease in the front of your body where each leg meets your torso) through the inside of the body to the crest of the pelvis. It includes the hip joint, the iliopsoas and adductor muscle groups, and other structures in and around this area, including the largest collection of lymph nodes in the body. 

When the kwa is supple and well integrated into the movements of your body, it facilitates the smooth transfer of power from the legs through the spine and upper body. When the kwa is tight or not being used well, a multitude of problems can arise, including undue pressure on the knees and spine.

Stress happens. Fortunately, you can learn to deal with stress more effectively. Tai chi and qigong are excellent tools for this purpose.

What is stress, really? There are many definitions out there, but stress is commonly defined as strain or tension in response to a challenge.

The predominant model of a healthy body today, at least in western culture, is based on having strong muscles. Having a tight, hard, muscular body is associated with health and fitness.

Yet the ancient Chinese who developed qigong - and much later, tai chi - used the young child’s body as a model for health and movement.

One of the greatest things about tai chi and qigong is that they bring together people of different generations. People of all ages, from small children to centenarians, do tai chi and qigong.

Brookline Tai Chi recently held their Immersion Week. This is a week of intensive tai chi and qigong workshops. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend part of the event.

The workshop I participated in was taught by Craig Barnes, and the subject was Wu Style Tai Chi Long Form Refinements.

I recently spent a weekend in Chicago with Taoist Lineage Holder Bruce Frantzis. Bruce is the teacher of my teachers, Kathryn and Bill. Since 2010 I have been studying the material that he has passed on to them, reading his books and watching his videos. So you can imagine how excited I was to meet him and learn from him in person.

It was one of those days, and I was trying to fight my way through the movements of the short form when Bill appeared next to me and asked how I was doing. When I told him what was going on, he suggested that I try put half as much effort into doing the form, and see if it felt better.

I followed his instruction as best I could, and as I was finishing the form he came around again and said, “that’s good, now try half as hard as that. Don’t worry about getting the shape of the movements right.”

One of our students showed me this video. It is an excellent demonstration of what my teacher Bill Ryan calls the “two-year-old dancing at a wedding,” or the “two-year-old bounce.” He uses this move to help new qigong and tai chi students begin to feel the natural springiness of their joints.

When I first wandered into Toward Harmony for a free demonstration, I was scared. I had back pain that had become more serious over several years. I had been to doctors and physical therapists, and performed the prescribed exercises religiously. Still, back pain was making it difficult for me to hold down a job and to do the things that I liked to do. I was terrified of what life might be like if I didn't get better. I was 25 years old.