This one’s for you, Dr. Miguel!

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 ...

By Paul Cavel

Although people who train the internal arts of qigong, tai chi and bagua do so for a variety of reasons, all motivations can be classified into three general categories: health/healing, martial arts and spiritual development. In reality, everyone trains for health because, at the...

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...

 By Paul Cavel

I began studying the Taoist Water tradition in the late 1980s and quickly dedicated myself to my training because of life-debilitating injuries I needed to address to maintain any decent quality of life. At that time, I felt as though I had looked everywhere for answers, but nothin...

By Paul Cavel

Part 1: Origins of the Water Method

The Water Method, first coined by Lao Tzu, author of the Tao Te Ching, twenty-five hundred years ago, comes from the teachings of the Taoist oral tradition and has existed for many millennia. For this reason, I like to refer to it as “Old Taoism...

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...

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 most advanced of the Taoist neigong systems, Gods Playing in the Clouds Qigong is recommended for students who already have experience training the Taoist Neigong set, Dragon & Tiger Medical Qigong and/or Heaven & Earth Qigong. The Gods form can serve as a container that makes it possible to ...

By Paul Cavel

Soft living, which rejects the notion that life has to be work-centered and approached as a competition, is gaining traction worldwide. Primarily Millennial advocates have taken a good look around and decided self-sacrifice to overcome endless trials and tribulations doesn’t lead to...

By Paul Cavel

In my previous post, I introduced The Rule of Thirds — a primary principle of the Water Method that promotes the conservation of energy that leads to personal growth in body, mind and qi. Below I answer the question of why the Rule of Thirds is important to implement in our lives...

By Paul Cavel

The Rule of Thirds is so fundamental to all Water Method training that it is one of the Five Primary Principles. However, it’s also by far the most elusive of all the principles to target because your intent, your aim, is always moving, absolutely requiring you to cultivate a good r...