Water Method Blog
Taoist Philosophy, Neigong and Meditation, Medical Qigong, Tai Chi and Bagua
Â
What's Holding You Back?
In this follow-on talk with TTCS Instructor Javi Martinez, we discuss healing with Taoist neigong. Topics include:
- The benefits of training, such as better sleep, increased flexibility and growing a younger body
- Healing physical, energetic, emotional, mental and...
This is Part Three of the Water Method series with Mir Ali.
Start with Part One:
• What Defines Water Method Training
In this third video, Mir and I drill down into the question: What is the point of training? We also discuss the training progression as you develop skill with fundamental neigong...
The stress and pressure of life coupled with the constant comparing of ourselves to others creates competition. Only super athletes and the highest of high-performers can operate well under these conditions. It creates a push — in the body, in the mind — which ultimately leads to a glass ceiling,...
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
...
Audio from a recording in California, March 2024 on how to make practice effortless with a video of an evening tai chi practice in California, May 2024.
Javi Martinez teaches tai chi and qigong in London
Â
In this talk, I sit down again with Javi Martinez to discuss the three integrated streams of Taoist arts training: health/healing, martial arts and personal/spiritual development. Let us know in the comments which is your path... We can centre future discussions on the levels of practice you wish...
If you really want to be healthy, to feel freer, to become a better human being, you must first create balance. Taoist energy arts have been practised for millennia for these reasons, and many more.
Most popular is qigong (and younger tai chi), but in the Water Method, the focus is on neigong an...
In this video, I discuss bending-and-stretching neigong and lengthening neigong, and how they become one.
Â
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...
Â
Classically Taoist Meditation was done while sitting in the Emperor’s position. In this video, I’ll show you how to sit in a chair (or on a rock!) for meditation.
Â
I’ve trained the monastic bagua tradition (focusing on the Single Palm Change) AND the bagua zhang (martial) tradition — including learning all Eight Bagua Mother Palms — from my teacher, Bagua Master Bruce Frantzis, in private and public tuition since 1994.
Find a Bagua Course
Â
![]()
 By Paul Cavel
Most internal arts have a specific learning progression, which begins with a set of six or more movements in qigong, and up to 108 moves in tai chi. Then, as you practise the form over weeks, months and years, you sink into your body, mind and qi by adding layers of internal con...
Â
The kwa is essential to internal arts training as it powers all forms. In the this video, I’ll take you through the basic kwa squat to make sure you’re practising it correctly.
In my Taoist Neigong online classes, core Water Method training, we cover many layers of the kwa squat to help you r...
In this video I discuss how to develop your awareness.
Â
 This one’s for you, Dr. Miguel!
Â
Following the Path of Least Resistance
Following the path of least resistance is how you can heal your body from imbalances, injury, illness and other traumas. Overtime, you can accomplish more by making consistent, small changes than going for gold and then experiencing setbacks in the form of ...
Â
Bagua is a pure energy art originally practised by those interested in the I Ching or Taoism — having been derived as a physical manifestation to realise the teachings of the I Ching. In this way, bagua is an embodiment of the universal principles of change.
It is also a high-level martial ar...
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...
Â
Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body Qigong is the foundation of all Taoist meditation and energy arts practices, specifically developing the qualities of the Water Element. Water is all about clearing and cleansing the body and its qi, which ultimately affects the mind.
As an introductory q...
Â
Creating Circular Forms
The specialty of Tai Chi Circling Hands is developing circularity.
Circularity is a big deal in the internal arts and it gets talked about a lot. But when you go to practise your form, there’s a lot of complexity involved — not just with the choreography, but also nei...
The Wu style is considered by many to be the deepest style of tai chi. Initially designed to become a form of moving meditation, the Wu style serves as a container for all 16 Taoist neigong. This small-frame style is capable of driving neigong deep into the body, but requires the body to be relat...
Â
Heaven and Earth Qigong is a gift from the ancients, a self-healing practice that has a 3,000-year-old history. Traditionally being reserved only for disciples, this two-part exercise spans the first 12 of 16 internal (neigong) components.
Its many threads of internal (neigong) techniques are...
Follow The Tai Chi Space
... and join our growing TTCS community!