SESSION 30 JAN 2020 - CLEARING AND STRENGTHENING

Clearing and Strengthening with Tai Chi and Chi Kung

This is a video of Cheng Man-Ch'ing performing his own short form of Tai Chi. It's the form I learned myself and I wanted to let people see it partly because it's lovely to watch his gently controlled mastery (check out his "Snake Creeps Down" movement at about 3.45) but also because there's a couple of movements in it which I find really helpful for clearing and for revitalising.
REVITALISING, STRENGTHENING
Right at the start of the video, 0.06 to 014, there's a movement called "Lifting Water", simply lifting the hands gently up and down in front of you. It looks nothing at all at first glance but if you practise it slowly a few times while focusing on your energy centres in turn as I suggest for tuning in, using your hands to help you to focus on each one in turn, it can be come a very gentle but powerful movement.
CLEARING
There's a lot of movements in this form which are basically pushing, or pushing and deflecting. If you practise these with the intention of clearing unhelpful energy from your personal field or returning, dissipating or deflecting unhelpful energy that has been directed towards you, these can be very helpful in everyday life. If you practise you'll find that just imagining yourself doing these movements with that intention in a difficult situation can be surprisingly helpful...
TAI CHI AND CHI KUNG
Tai Chi, or Infinite Ultimate fighting system, is a martial art, Chi Kung, or energy development, gives its movements their power. Martial arts are not ultimately about fighting, if you see a situation as a fight you've already lost. The ultimate goal is peace, for the two parties to find a deeper understanding and a cooperative way together.
SESSION TODAY
If you can join in the session today why not try following some of these movements first - have a great session!

REMOTE GROUP SESSION 24TH OCTOBER - SCIATICA TWO

We focused on Sciatica in last Thursday's remote group session and it's such a common problem that I'm going to stay with it for this next one on the 24th October - more about the remote group and how to join in here.
Sciatica, and lower back pain, has always been one of the chief reasons people seek out help from complementary therapists like me. I've always encouraged patients to research as much as they can themselves and to look at all aspects of their own health care, from diet and exercise, such as stretching and Pilates, along with getting regular holistic treatment. I often find that when patients' sciatica or back pain has eased they continue to come for CranioSacral Therapy as it can have such a positive effect on their health generally. So here's a bit more detail:

It's the largest nerve in our bodies, as thick as your thumb

The roots of the sciatic nerve fanning out from the lower spinal levels.

Some of the various disc and vertebral problems which can cause nerve compression.

The joints between the vertebrae themselves are often overlooked and can cause problems too.

One of the chief sciatic rascals, the piriformis muscle - easy to see how tension/spasm here can be pressing on that nerve. The good news is that tension here can often be easily treated and giving relief to pain.

Then there's often an emotional component to this, or any other, concern. Money worries and support issues often hide away down here. The CranioSacral approach can help people to explore this and learn wonderfully helpful life lessons by listening to our bodies' inner wisdom.
Have a great session if you're tuning in!
Stretch for the piriformis muscle here.
Pelvic tilt for lower back here.