Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Tuesday, March 25, 2014,
A friend of mine in hospital asked me if tai chi could be done without standing up. Although asked as a joke, this is actually what I do with some of my clients.... Certain clients have mobility issues and others feel like sitting down is where they're at.
For such clients, I've devised a routine that's a combination of tai chi breathing exercises (chi kung) and tai chi massage, which they feel happy to try out and persevere at. With one such group, I've been doing this for 3 months or so and...
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Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Sunday, March 2, 2014,
I've finally finished the draft text for my book on teaching children tai chi. Now to get others to read and comment on it, then to have more photos of kids taken, then finally to have my webmeister (see links page) turn it into the format needed for an ebook.
Having an extended support team has made the process all much easier - people to take photos, people to read through, people to webify it, etc etc. Indeed this whole website relies on their very practical support and encouragement - t...
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Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Tuesday, December 24, 2013,
Rarely do I give dietary advice... but today it seems appropriate:) I have every intention of stuffing myself to the gills with the lovingly cooked food prepared by my almost-in-laws tomorrow! IMO the best thing is to eat healthily most of the time, then enjoy those occasional lapses and festive feastings as they come round.... particularly if someone else is doing the cooking! :)
Normally, I prepare loads of fresh veggies with spices and freeze around 16-20 portions of mixed veg in ice cre...
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Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Friday, November 29, 2013,
Everywhere I've been this week, I've seen people with broken wrists from falls. Undoubtedly due to lots of wet leaves and such, but there are things you can do to help yourself - both prevention of falls and mitigation of the effects of falling:
First off, do plenty of tai chi walking - this will not only help you improve your awareness of where your weight is, but will also help you walk around with slightly bent knees as your default in everyday life. Straight locked knees are just asking fo...
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Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Monday, September 30, 2013,
It's easy enough to get into investigating and improving your posture while you're static, but moving around is when it becomes critical. To address this, your instructor will show you "tai chi walking". This looks totally strange, but it really sorts out your posture, your balance, your awareness of where your weight is, your awareness of how you move and how to improve how you move.
You absolutely need an instructor for this. Most people are very unaware of how they move and how they walk -...
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Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Tuesday, May 14, 2013,
Tai chi is the middle way - you should never push yourself to extremes. If it hurts, stop doing it. Tai chi shouldn't hurt, if you're doing it correctly. If you feel tired, have a rest. It's ok to have time out - you can always start again, when you feel up to it.
When I started tai chi, I had been a couch potato for many years and was extremely unfit. Everything was an effort, especially as I had put on weight through inactivity and unhealthy eating. So I had less muscles to move around more ...
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Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Monday, May 13, 2013,
In learning chi kung, you will experience much deeper breathing than normal. Most people are shallow breathers, only breathing in/out from the top of their lungs. This leaves the air at the bottom of their lungs to become stale. By breathing longer and deeper, the air all through your lungs right down to the bottom gets changed, so that the stale air is exchanged for fresh air and you get healthier more oxygenated air into your bloodstream.
This has effects not only on your physical health, b...
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Posted by Fiona Anderson. on Sunday, May 5, 2013,
Welcome to our new blog page.
This past month has been an exciting one, with 2 major events : one for Teaching Leaders and one for Energise You. More details will appear on our Events page, when the photos for each arrive...
Next month promises to be even more exciting with the London Competition for Traditional Tai Chi Chuan taking place on June 2nd in the Queensbridge Sports Centre, Hackney, with competitors from Europe and the UK. Details of how to join can be found by going to our Links p...
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