The Dragon's Head Blog
Health Benefits
Arthritis Awareness
My arthritis is called ankylosing spondylitis and it affects my spine. When the inflammation is happening, it’s very painful.
I’ve been doing Taoist Tai Chi® arts ever since I was first diagnosed, and that’s what I mostly use to manage the pain. It keeps me moving … and if I don’t move, I seize up. My […]
Posture
When I prepare meals, I apply the principles taught in the Taoist Tai Chi® practice. I keep my posture aligned, allowing my chest to be open and my shoulders to be relaxed. This simple detail makes my back pain disappear. ~Christine
Finding Harmony 2
“Wherever you are, you can find a danyu bar.” – Rich P. of Dunedin, FL, doing assisted danyus at Lobster Buoy campsite in South Thomaston, Maine Please send images of your self practice—ideally with a local landmark or other indication of your location —along with your name, branch, location, and permission to publish to blog.usa@taoist.org. We […]
Taoist Tai Chi® practice and weightlifting
I have been practicing Taoist Tai Chi® arts consistently since I turned 28. Now 22 years later and through many years of competing nationally and internationally as an Olympic-style weightlifter and powerlifter, I find that Taoist Tai Chi® practice is an integral part of my physical, mental and spiritual health. I am proud of my history as an […]
Finding Harmony
Brendan F. of Buffalo, NY, takes Taoist Tai Chi® arts to new heights at the Grand Canyon. Please send images of your self practice—ideally with a local landmark or other indication of your location —along with your name, branch, location, and permission to publish to blog.usa@taoist.org. We cannot guarantee publication, but we will try our […]
Increased Energy
I take prescription medication that suppresses central nervous system activity, making it hard for me to get up in the morning. In BC, the online chanting and Board of Directors discussions take place on Saturday mornings at 6:30 am. When the suspension of in-person activities happened, I was excited to have the opportunity to chant […]
Working in Harmony
“When I’m playing, everything is working in harmony. Mind, body, music. Harmony and dissonance are so important in music. Taoist Tai Chi® practice has enriched my idea of harmony and everything working together. I can feel when it’s all coming together.” ~Oren, NYC
World MS Day
I have MS and was getting petrifying attacks of paralysis. Within four months of beginning Taoist Tai Chi® arts, I could move again and my balance had improved. Taoist Tai Chi® practice is the greatest thing you can do for yourself. ~Sylvia
My asthma with the practice of Taoist Tai Chi® arts
I was very young when I started suffering from allergic asthma, particularly severe during spring. So, it is years that I need to check the Oxygen blood saturation (pO2) regularly, with an oxymeter: until recently, I have been finding it around 90/92 %, which doctors found acceptable. With the practice of Taoist Tai Chi® arts […]
Heart to Heart
When I started my Taoist Tai Chi® practice in 1998, I was just like every other beginner. I was eager to learn this shiny new thing. I knew nothing. With every class I attended, my confidence grew. Before I knew it, I was doing the whole set with everyone else. When the next beginner class started, I […]
Aging with my Taoist Tai Chi® practice
I believe that my Taoist Tai Chi® practice has helped to hold off the brittleness of aging. I think that it has restored my sense of balance that was beginning to decline some, and improved my peripheral vision. The awareness of others around me doing the same moves enhances the energy field. I feel like […]
A Long Life with Parkinson’s Disease
“My name is Assunta and I’ve had Parkinson’s disease for almost 40 years. I have been practicing Taoist Tai Chi® arts for almost as long. I knew after my first class that the Taoist Tai Chi® arts were helping me. I first became stronger emotionally and then physically. Everything improved and I was better able to tolerate medications. I […]
What have the Taoist Tai Chi® arts meant to me in the last year?
The news of the Pandemic, like it did for most people, came to me like a bucket of cold water. I am a very stressed and worried person and since my daughters are living in a country where the number of infections was overwhelming from the beginning, I was filled with anguish and concern. Faced […]
We Are All Our Own Instructors
When it was announced a year ago that we would be canceling Taoist Tai Chi® classes for the indefinite future I assumed I would continue to practice the 3 or 4 times a week I had been practicing when I went to classes. But where would the instruction come from? I had never thought about […]
Feeling more connected
Lockdown arrived so no classes, all usual routine was gone. I felt all at sea. Practicing sets daily as usual, but I found that by the end of a set I had tears streaming down my face, even though I did feel calm. It was troubling. What to do? I decided to stop the sets […]
From grief to joy in a moment
I have found this 3rd lockdown in England very difficult and felt bowed down with grief for our son who died 18 months ago. It’s been a struggle to do my daily practice. However, I have forced myself to join the chanting on Saturdays and Mondays to bring some structure into my life. During the last […]
From the heart
I have come to realize more that the core of our learning path can be traced back to the heart. Often I know things but sometimes I can feel it. [...]
Chanting together
Four meetings on Zoom have become a permanent part of my weekly schedule. When I announce at home that it is time to meet, my daughter asks me: are you singing today? On Wednesday and Saturday I say – yes, why are you asking? She replies –because I would like to be with you. Therefore, […]
What does Chanting give me?
Before starting a chanting session, a feeling of stillness and calm invades me. This feeling of tranquility, but at the same time of strength, remains afterwards. I usually practice on my knees. This position helps me release my hips (in the sitting position is where I get the most pain from trochanteritis) and I have […]
Already eleven months and always present!
Confined but not suffocated or isolated! Our instructors have never stopped repeating to us, without ever getting tired: “Do some foundation movements, a little, every day…” At first, my practise was very limited, often in the early morning. I found it easy to start but harder to continue. There is always some distraction ready to […]
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