Album Notes

Over the decades I have been trained in an enormous variety of Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong exercises. Many of the sets are so extensive that I rarely have a chance to practice more than two or three exercises from the set in a giving training session. As a result I have learned, sometimes with deliberation and sometimes haphazardly, that many of these exercises mix together to provide unanticipated results that are quite useful. Some of these results have found their way into my teaching of Tai Chi Chuan. So it is with the exercises on this CD and future CDs to come.

Both the standing and sitting meditations presented here are fundamentally simple to learn; but with deliberative and regular practice you can find profound levels of depth to explore. Often we find it difficult to achieve the goal of balance in movement, so we start in complete stillness, and work outward from there.

Standing Post Meditation is commonly taught by Chen style taijiquan teachers, but less so by other stylists. As a result I came to it late in my training, to my regret. Standing Post provides the foundation for exploring our centers of tension, layers of relaxation, sinking, and rooting. It is useful as physical therapy for those with disabiities that make movement difficult. To this I have added deep breathing, which allows us to expand our lung capacity without high-impact exercise, and to further refine our relaxation and energy flow. I now begin all of my Tai Chi classes, from beginner to advanced, with one of many standing meditations. My primary source for this material is Master Lam Kam Chuen, with additional information from Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming and my primary teacher, Master George Hu.

Six Healing Sounds is a sitting meditation popular throughout China. Based on Five Element Theory, it uses that paradigm to associate emotions with seasons, elements, colors, and sounds. The goal is to purge negative emotions from our mind, and correspondingly purge our body of negative energy that damages the health of our internal organs. Thus we associate autumn with metal; lungs; the color white; negative emotions of grief and sadness; and positive emotions of courage and righteousness; and a sound like SSSSSSSSS. The season in which this CD is released, summer, is associated with the heart and the color red, negative emotions of arrogrance and hastiness; positive emotions of joy; and a sound like HAAAAAAA. For a chart of all the Five Element associations, visit my school's website at Elemental Tai Chi, under the Class Material link. Although it is good for balance to practice the entire set, it is common for a person with disease in a particular organ to practice the exercise associated with that organ, extensively if necessary. My primary source for this material is Master Mantak Chia, as taught to me by his senior instructor, Dr. Jampa Mackenzie Stewart.