The Taichi and Qigong Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In the previous episodes we went through the Dan Tian, Center of Mass, joints arrangement, muscles/tendons/ligaments and elastic force expression. All of this can be produce by your internal practice. In this episode we see how Pushing Hands (Tui Shou) and Fajing developed in very peculiar practices of the Taijiquan tradition.

And remember, big guys will always have the lead when it comes to pushing or being pushed. Let them have it, and mind your own development.

In this third episode on the relationship between muscles, force and Internal Arts, we clarify the path that brings from Dantian through relaxation to Dantian through force, and we also clarify a bunch of other issues.

Meditation is not a therapy for the Self, the Ego is not the Nature of Mind, what was going on in your childhood is of no interest for your practice, and practice itself is not supposed to generate Love.

The Financial Times has recently launched a new investigative podcast, Untold, and the first serie is about the damages that intensive meditation practice can bring: "The Retreat".

This episode encourages you to listen to The Retreat podcast and learn how intensive meditation can damage you psyche.

Resources to help people who struggle with meditation's damages:

https://www.cheetahhouse.org/

https://miguelfarias.co.uk/

In our societies "Wellness" has become a key marketing word, and it is supposed to be one of the main objectives of the Internal Practice. Is it truly so?

Also, the second video on Wuji practice has been released here

As when looking for a good physician, we do not go after nice personalities or beautiful smiles when we look for a Taichi, Qigong, Meditation or Yoga teacher, or at least we should not. High quality practices are often associated with high pressure on the self, and high level practitioners are seldom the kind the smiles beautifully and greet you with a bow. Let's see why.

Also, here on youtube a video on Wuji practice: Wuji #1

Can modern Yoga be seen as an Internal Art, the same way Taichi & Qigong are? Can the Western circus tradition be seen as an Internal Art? Moving the body, breathing in and out, thinking about peace in the world, is this an Internal Art. For us, the answer is "no".

One of the main practices of Taijiquan is the the Taichi Form. It is often the Taichi Form that encapsulates the outer signs of that lineage or that school. All the main 5 classic styles (Chen, Yang, Wu-Hao, Wu and Sun) have similarities and differences, and in every lienage you have one different Taichi for every teacher (yi ren yi taiji - one Taichi for each Teacher). So how important is the sequence in Taichi and how much is important to find a new teacher that teaches the sequence you have been previously taught?

Meditation has been, along with other East Asian traditions, acquired in the modern mega-culture and shaped it along with terms as "Yoga", "Zen" and "Kung-fu". But which are the roots of the ancient meditative traditions, how have they developed till today, and how big a pie of this cake may we realistically hope to eat up?

In all realms of human knowledge, tradition and access to it is a key factor of success. The more we are able to access sources of traditional knowledge, the less time we will need to reach low hanging fruits and the higher is the possibility that we may one day access the more precious aspects of the art. Let's see why.