Water Method Blog

Qigong, tai chi, hsing-i and bagua target the qi (or chi) that powers the physical body to create health, vitality and longevity.

By Krystle Menendez

If you’re like many people, you are interested in and desperate for wellness, but don’t have a clear idea where to start on your path to achieving it. Western culture doesn’t exactly lend itself to this idea, after all–most of us have to work long weeks, take care of children ...

(Photo of Jackie Smith by Jub Davis, Scotland, 2021)

The Ultimate Healing Journey

By Paul Cavel

See Part 2

In the world we live in, we never know what is coming around the corner — or out of the sky — as I was reminded back in 2011. I returned home after a teaching tour in Germany to learn tha...

By Paul Cavel

This article covers:

• How to start a personal practice
• My five-year curriculum

How to Learn Taoist Energy Arts

Many people are surprised to learn that beginners learn almost exactly the same material as experienced practitioners. This may sound counterintuitive, but con...

Foreword by Dr. Michael Mettner

“Metaphors, images and symbols are the language of our subconscious minds. They help to convey meaning to our consciousness and hence store in the memory quite easily and naturally. If they are chosen well, they are able to penetrate the deeper layers of our con...

In this talk with Chris Cinnamon of Chicago Tai Chi, I discuss the Taoist Water Method, including how to:

* Develop your qi

* Open up and balance your body

* Avoid injury and maintain your practice over long periods of time.

I also discuss the difference between qigong and the 16 neigong as a...

Stop lifting weights to tone your body! You can tone your muscles through the relaxation-based movement of qigong, tai chi and Circle Walking.

The health benefits of walking are well-documented. When adding internal techniques, you can open up your vascular system before you elevate your heart rate to keep training safe and productive. Circle Walking has an edge over other internal exercises like qigong and tai chi because it brings in ...

Artikel: Paul Cavel

Übersetzung: Sebastian Heyer und Cindy Roch

Der chinesische Begriff „Sung“ wird oft mit „entspannt“ übersetzt, einer starken Vereinfachung des tatsächlich Beschriebenen. Eine genauere Übersetzung wäre „Ungebunden“, ein Körperzustand ohne unnötige Bindungen, Widerstände und...

Auteur : Paul Cavel 

Traduction : Xavier Benard

Beaucoup de gens méditent, mais, comme le fait remarquer mon professeur Bruce, cela ne vous dit pas vraiment ce qu'ils font. De même, la pratique du tai chi et du qi gong est en pleine croissance depuis un an, car l'accès aux enseignements n'a j...

By TTCS Senior Instructor Jackie Smith

When I first saw titles like this one, I thought, “Sign me up for some of that”! Now though, I can’t even remember how long I’ve been  attempting to wrap my brain cell around the concept and training to embody these simple yet profound words. There are in...

I’m pleased to have teamed up with MysticMag to discuss physical and mental well-being in this age of anxiety, depression and chronic pain. I hope you find the post useful: click here to read.

By Paul Cavel

In a previous post I offered exercises for opening up the musculoskeletal frame in a coordinated fashion to create space in your body. As you begin to feel a sense of more space, you want to transition your focus from the muscles to the nerves.

In order to target nerve flow, you w...

By Paul Cavel

When learning any internal energy art, such as qigong, tai chi or bagua, there is a major hurdle that must be over­come to create sustainable, long-term training results: feeling instead of visual­ising. I’ve watched how this has become more and more difficult for students over the ...

In this video, I meet with my friend and fellow Water Method teacher Jason Roberts to discuss how to practise to cultivate qi and manifest the energies of the Five Elements.

We discuss:

• Where to put your focus and strategies for practising the Water Method as it is comprised of five neigong

  ...

In this video, I discuss bending-and-stretching neigong and lengthening neigong, and how they become one.

Wu wei is often translated literally, based on the Chinese characters. But Water Method practitioners have a much different understanding of the Taoist concept of wu wei. Following the principles of water, it starts with the physical body and goes through the Three Treasures, the Taoist path of a...

In this video I discuss how to develop your awareness.

 By Paul Cavel

See Part 1

PART 2: What Is Wu Wei? 

Wu wei is often described as “doing without doing”, but what does that really mean? How can you do something without doing it? This misunderstanding is generally due to scholars outside the tradition translating Chinese characters into English,...

By Paul Cavel

You are being bombarded by noise – unrelenting distractions in the form of notifications, news and marketing – that diminish peace of mind. It’s no wonder why stress is the number one cause of disease with 90 percent of illnesses and diseases being linked to chronic stress (accor...

 By Paul Cavel

In ancient times, internal arts training often started just before dawn and was usually done outside. Taoists found that morning practice not only warms up the body’s systems by circulating blood and chi, but also wakes up the intuitive aspects of the mind. Starting the day on soli...

The Yang style tai chi form that I teach is derived from that of Yang Cheng Fu, a direct descendant of the Yang family, as I consider it a superb balance between ease of learning and depth of internals, making it a practice well-suited to both new and existing students alike.

The internal techni...