Dear friend,
I am sending you the rewrite of my old blog as a Deepavali wish and gift for the year 2021.
Tai Chi QiGong 18 has been one of the gifts of my life, though I have not done all justice to it. But, it has not only helped me when I used it, but also saved me better in bouncing back from ailments and down time many a time. In this elder age, it is helping me to beat back and neck pains, control BP and diabetes, most importantly it is helping me to ground myself across body, mind, heart and spirit with room to grow further as I wish and strive.
If you are already doing Yoga regularly, may be you do not need this gift, (as saying goes, it is enough to dig in one good place to get water, no need to keep digging everywhere and get lost) yet it may be of curiosity to explore this.
For people like me who are physically bit lazy (due to extended mental use), Yoga is too inconvenient to commit, and it needs a setting and discipline to commit to. This alternative is easier for me, as one does this standing, it needs minimum commitment to start, return on time spent is as good as it is in Yoga, and finally it allows one to define individual style, rhythm and expression too.
You may go through these demo videos and see similarity and differences across them, that is the flexibility and the room for individual expression and style. You may choose one that impresses you, follow the video, do it daily, master all 18 steps in a month, so that you can continue doing with no help of video. You may beef up your progress with further reading on the topic in the internet.
Because this system combines posture, movement, meditation, breathing, imagination, feelings and centering, its effect across all realms become evident as you do it. If you find yourself yawning as you do it, it is a good sign that you badly need this break, the raising and balancing energy within you generates those yawns.
I find best time to do this as early morning after a minimum of 20 minutes of frisk walk. I take 20 minutes to do all 18 steps. Choose indoor or outdoor depending on your convenience, outdoor is always better. You just need some space to stand and stretch, that is all.
As you invest to understand the spirit of each pose, the imagination associated, the subtlitity of movements, the composure, focus on Chi energy center all the time (one inch below naval, which is also center of gravity for the body), meditation with yourself and your surroundings, the dance you will have both with body movements and the breathing combined with imaginations and letting go, you will reap significant results and progress at all realms: Body, Mind, Heart and Spirit. You will slowly start noting the progress you are making in all four realms, individually and combined.
Whether you are a beginner or a master, your return on time with this system can be as much you can have with Hata Yoga.
Whether you sign up to explore this or learn this or master this or not, this is my way of sending positive thoughts on your behalf, to take control of yourself, your life, your surroundings and your journey ahead.
Wish you the best celebrations of Deepavali, and great year ahead.
This life is a gift, so are you! Let you unwrap all the gifts in you and around you as you dance in the journey of life!
Nataraja Upadhya
Nov 05, 2021
(Please note Tai Chi QiGong is a simple set of 18 exercises within one system of Tai Chi. Like Yoga, Tai Chi is a vast system, it has its varying schools and systems across the world, what I pointed to is less than a tip of the iceberg.)
Original Blog: May 04, 2017
As a post Tiananmen square demo crack down in China, there was a period of repression by the government during early 1990s, and one of the measures apparently taken was the ban of Qi Gong Tai Chi, a set of simple exercises the Chinese citizen choose to do in the park in the mornings or in the evenings. Probably, the Chinese government dint want citizens to unite against it in the context of such gatherings.
But the rumor spread was that Chinese government does not want its people to be healthy, hence the ban. Now I think, it is the handiwork of Qi Gong fans, they might have used the opportunity to spread this system.
If there is cold in China, you can hear the sneeze in the USA, that time I was in Kansas City, this may be approx. during 1995, saw an ad in the local news paper that this system will be taught in a local park. I did go and went through the session. I was too young and stupid to sense anything different and follow it through further later. It also sounded too difficult, partly I would blame the teaching.
Later, after close to 10 years gap, I was back in Bengaluru, India, there was a small booklet in the Gangarams about the 18 easy exercizes, and this booklet costed only Rs. 60-70. I was quite fat with my food related indulgence, my attempt to go for walking/jogging in Lalbagh had ended with pneumonia due to regular exposure to early morning due in winter, though I had learned Yoga, I was too lazy to bend or stay put with those painful asanas.
So, I did buy the book, learned the 18 positions, one position a day, and on the 18th day I was doing all the positions. If I did slowly, it took 20 minutes, if I rushed, it took only 10 minutes. Apparently it did its wonder, I dint fall into major sickness so far (touch wood!), I went to swimming for couple of years, but again the threat of pneumonia made me stop. I lost touch with this exercise, but I knew, I will come back to it when I need it. (I never thinned down until my sense related passions slowed down post 50s, I don't blame these exercises, rather it is due to the fact that I binged more due to the room given by these exercises, I still binge more than I should!).
During 2010-2015, I did conduct 7 different personality development related workshops, and one thing came to my mind was to teach these exercises to the teenagers, that went well, also helping me to keep in touch with it.
As I cross 50s, my health needs more attention than before, due to too much stressful engagements around my hobbies and usual indiscipline and binge continuing, the threat of Diabetes and Heart Disease are looming, I do get a sense of slipping on my day to day health, so decided to take up on these exercises as a regime, but my lack of discipline not helping, I decided to commit myself to teach so that teaching opportunities will mend me further towards my own reform around it.
I did teach this exercise once in an Organic Terrace Gardening meet session at Basavanagudi, I also announced my interest to teach it further to the gardening community, but since this being foreign, we already having the great Yoga, and I may not be the right brand ambassador etc. etc., not many takers on my offer so far.
So, what I do now a days is to introduce this system to those who are elderly, lazy, have lost hope on their ailment, looking for some magic in their situation etc. I have been using Whatsapp messages for such, I am yet to get any field feedback whether these exercises helped. (Also, there is a Murphy's law type of catch 22 principle working, which is that one who needs it will never do it, hence he or she is in that position of always needing it, and the one who does not need it is all gang-ho about it, and again that is due to the attitude he or she will never need it).
But, I know it helped me, and I have now decided to do this regularly, so asking the folks at home to join me so that we do it together until it becomes a hobby (21 days with no break), and a permanent hobby for life (90 days with no break).
Then I wonder, why I restrict my propaganda to Whatsapp only, this blog is to expand my propaganda universally. Also, I like to collect some individual experiences from the field as to its healing abilities to reconfirm on my intuitive understanding linking to my own realities. (Appreciate any individual experience based feedback in the comments, no need for personal opinions outside that!)
Since YouTube is the best teacher out there, one can quickly learn these watching the videos. I have chose four different masters doing these. You may also search on Internet as to greater details of 18 positions and also the theme / theory / concept behind the whole system and how it is expected to help at the level of Qi (Chi).
You may follow all four versions here, and then choose a master who is less painful to you in picking up the system. The exercise takes 10-25 minutes depending on the speed. Also, there are many more positions than 18, but these 18 are easy and enough. I notice that one or two exercises I read in the book are missing in these videos, but these videos do have 18, therefore, if we collate everyone's 18, we may end up with 30-40 distinct exercises.
I am not against Yogasanas, that may be the best option out there, but Yoga system it is not suited for the lazy ones, current life style makes majority into lazy ones, below the mark of readiness to embrace Yoga. This system here could be the bridge to get back to normalcy, further it is easier, one will do it standing, so can be done anywhere at any time.
All of us are facing some catch-22 kind of challenge, which is somewhat like I need to do it, but unable to, I believe the victory over this set of exercise gets us closer to break the barriers of such catch-22s. That is true with other systems too like Yoga, Pranayama, Laughing Club, swimming, walking, jogging, gym etc. but my personal experience is that the return on investment of time is quite high with this system!
All of us are facing some catch-22 kind of challenge, which is somewhat like I need to do it, but unable to, I believe the victory over this set of exercise gets us closer to break the barriers of such catch-22s. That is true with other systems too like Yoga, Pranayama, Laughing Club, swimming, walking, jogging, gym etc. but my personal experience is that the return on investment of time is quite high with this system!
My recommendation of YouTube videos:
The best one:
Tai Chi Qigong 18 movements -Sue Joan Chang demonstrates
Next best one:
The best one:
Tai Chi Qigong 18 movements -Sue Joan Chang demonstrates
Next best one:
(For the documentation of names of positions, but I like the next video better)
There are more videos out there. Also, once you get the hang of it, you can dig deeper with your own research on this system, you will be amazed as to how far deep you can go into it as is the case with Yoga. But, my focus here is to create a sense of hope out there for the hopeless, having painful ailments and looking for a breakthrough. My point is that you may end up with more than what I hope here (not promising anything though).
Best wishes!
Nataraja Upadhya
