These exercises belong to a very large family of Chinese internal arts designed to cultivate and store vital energy (Qi), promote longevity, and improve health. Through the practice of these exercises you will learn the mechanisms and mechanics of relaxed balanced movement. I teach a variety of classes drawn from Taiji and Qigong. The links below will take you to a fuller description of each exercise.
Monday and Wednesday:
Mornings 8:30 to 10:00am
Evenings 5:30 to 7:00pm
At the Masonic Temple
1025 Sidney Ave.
Pay by the month: one class per week $36/month; two classes per week $70/month; three classes per week $100/month; four classes per week $130/month.
Monday and Wednesday: 8:30am and 5:30pm
At Givens Park (Tacoma & Kendall), $5 donation per class.
Tuesday and Thursday Mornings:
At the Peninsula College Center
Call 253.851.2424 for class schedule, fees and locations.
Private lessons are available by appointment at my office in Port Orchard. Call 360.876.1220 if you'd like to schedule a private lesson.
Yang style Taiji teaches you to move your body as a coherent unit by originating movements from the dan tian (belly) and spiraling this energy outward. Roger teachers the Yang style long form (composed of three sets of choreographed movement). This form is an encyclopedia of proper kinetic motion. It is also a repository of Taiji martial arts techniques.
Hua T'o (born 190 A.D.) was ancient China's greatest physician, acupuncturist and surgeon. He realized that the best way to prevent disease and to aid self healing was through movement.
This is the doctrine of T'ao-yin (Taoist Yoga).
The animal frolics are one of the oldest sets of movements recorded from China. Created by Hua T'o, the frolics consist of movements modeled after the crane, bear, monkey, deer and tiger.
The crane and bear are considered the oldest of the animal frolics and form the foundation of the others. They are yin and yang, fire and water, and have the strongest effect on the internal organs. The monkey, deer, and tiger have a greater effect on physical abilities; the monkey gives suppleness, deer grace, the tiger strength.
The frolics also align the frame of the body, much like a chiropractor keeps the spine in alignment. The crane lengthens and opens the spine and all the joints. Then starts loosening the pelvis. The bear, like the rest of the animals, continues to loosen the pelvis and moves up to work deep into the lumbar spine and even the neck. The monkey moves into the thoracic spine and continues the neck loosening.
The deer loosens and lengthens the neck and continues to loosen and stretch the rest. The tiger works the tendons, muscles, fascia, and power.
The animal frolics are the origin of Taiji movement
The Healing Sounds are one of the most famous forms of Qigong. Mantra-like syllables that vibrate, along with the movements stimulate and massage each of the major organs and their systems. They were basic training in the Taoist monasteries of China.
The Swimming Dragon is a self-contained exercise that is generally practiced by repeating a short cycle of movements in sessions lasting from five to twenty minutes. Each cycle of exercise takes about one minute or less. This form of Qigong massages the spine by taking it from side to side in and "S" shape, and stimulates the endocrine system by passing over the small organs with the hands, as you go through the Swimming Dragon exercise. The Dragon swims to the bottom of the sea, then all the way up to the Heavens, then sets back inside of your center.
Standing meditation is the foundation of qigong practice. The students learns to stand in meditative postures for a period of time in order to improve posture, deepen the breath, and increase the body's structural integrity and strength. In addition to learning standing techniques, students learn a system of balanced, meditative walking and two person exercises to develop peng jing (rounded, resilient energy). I learned this standing meditation system from Master Kenneth S. Cohen (www.qigonghealing.com).
Any movement you make is self massage. Any pressure you apply to yourself is self massage. Yes. On all levels. Taiji is self massage through moving, massaging, aligning, and balancing your body. The deepest massage you can get is when you move your own bones and muscles to massage your own deep tissues. For example, moving your abdominal muscles massages your colon and other organs, moving your bones massages the inside of your joints, and so on. You will learn many self massage techniques during private appointments or at my Taiji/Qigong classes.
