The Taichi and Qigong Podcast
A podcast about Tai Chi and Qigong as practices for personal development, health and well-being. Each episode explains what these disciplines are, what they can offer practitioners, and how to approach them in a simple and accessible way. Common mistakes made by beginners are discussed so listeners can avoid them. The show is hosted by Alessio Longo and occasionally points to supplementary video and written material.
Episodi
S5 E1 - The Tai Chi Walking Hoax
Everyone who has spent time online over the past few years has probably come across some kind of advertisement promoting the magic of Tai Chi walking. The promise? A seven-minute-a-day program that, in just a few sessions, will supposedly help you get fit, lose weight, and build muscle for a sexier body.Unsurprisingly, though, it’s all a hoax.
S4 E5 - The Center
In the East Asian Internal Arts, the concept of Center appears to play a particularly important role, both in the physical development of these practices and in the way they subsequently unfold on a more spiritual level. Both Mind and Body seem to require a specific relationship with concepts such as Center and Equilibrium.Nothing quite similar appears to occur in Western traditions. Let’s delve i
S4 E4 - The System
The SystemHistorically, hundreds of martial systems have developed in China, such as Taijiquan, Xingyi, Bagua, and Wing Chun, just to name a few of the most famous and widespread ones in the West. At the same time, Qigong and meditation schools have also formed through systems. But what is a System? In this episode, we try to clear things up.
S4 E3 - Discipline vs Obsession
Discipline vs. Obsession: Finding True Balance in the Internal ArtsIn this episode, we explore the delicate balance between dedication and obsession in the practice of Tai Chi, Qigong, and meditation. Starting from the relationship between body and spirituality in Eastern disciplines, the discussion examines how intensive training can shift from being a tool for growth into a mental prison. Throug
S4 E2 - The Self & Others
We usually practice Tai Chi, Qigong or Meditation in order to gain something: more "Qi", more martial prowess, more understanding. But everything that is a kind of "gaining", is in some way reinforcing your Self, bringing dangers and vanity. But, if we look at our Self how it is in reality, meaning a ring in a wider chain, we start to look at our practice from a different persp
S4 E1 - The Tai Chi Classics
Ancient masters and practitioners have produced a huge amount of texts, defined as "classics", on the practice of Taijiquan as well as other Internal Arts. We often hear that words are meaningless for practice, and books have no role in building a correct method. That's simply not true, and disregarding the classics can severely impede the chances of success. Here is why.Brennan Tran
S3 E13 - The Shape of the Mind
In the realm of practice, your thoughts—both their content and the way you process them—are never neutral. They either move you closer to reality or pull you away from it. Here’s why.
S3 E12 - Practice and Politics
Mental clarity and moral quality are two of the traditional fruits that a correct practice should bring. While politics as a toxic topic is often wisely sidelined in Tai Chi, Qigong and Meditation communities, this does not mean that a good practitioner should also be "dumb 'n numb" when it comes to political views, assuming that he/she has interest in the topic, and thus has spent time and energi
S3 E11 - Taichi: the ultimate hassle-free experience
The Taichi, Qigong or Meditation class needs to be a hassle-free experience. But for who?
S3 E10 - Self as Method
Upon the existence or not existence of the Self.
S3 E9 - The Training Discipline
How much should we traini? What should we train? Can we only train at the training center? Is a 3 hours Meditation per se better than a 1 hour Meditation session? Is Standing Practice needed or not? And most importantly, where should the knee stay in a good Taichi Form?
S3 E8 - How to became a Taichi teacher (or the politics of Tai Chi)
In this episode of "The Taichi & Qigong Podcast," we explore the journey of becoming a Tai Chi teacher and delve into the often-overlooked political aspects of this ancient practice.
We'll discuss how practitioners can navigate these political aspects while maintaining the integrity of their practice and fostering an open-minded approach to learning across different styles and lineages.
S3 E7 - What's wrong with "Mindfullness"
Asian traditions follows, without exceptions, the Three Body Problem path, which is, taming the Body to access the Energy in order to see the nature of the Mind. Some of the most modern meditation methods fails to see this correlation, developing de-stressing practices that are not, and should not be deemed as, traditional meditation practices.
S3 E6 - Time
We receive from the past wonderful traditions, and the reason this happens is that folks dedicated huge resources to these practices, to make space for the, and to dedicate time. Time is exactly what we discuss today, the need to find it, the need to add a little to be of stress at the beginning, to be repaid tomorrow.
S3 E5 - Pushing Hands & Fajing
In the previous episodes we went through the Dan Tian, Center of Mass, joints arrangement, muscles/tendons/ligaments and elastic force expression. All of this can be produce by your internal practice. In this episode we see how Pushing Hands (Tui Shou) and Fajing developed in very peculiar practices of the Taijiquan tradition.
And remember, big guys will always have the lead when it comes to push
S3 E4 - Taiji and muscles: why relax to build force
In this third episode on the relationship between muscles, force and Internal Arts, we clarify the path that brings from Dantian through relaxation to Dantian through force, and we also clarify a bunch of other issues.
S3 E3 - The "Dan Tian" and elastic force
In this episode, second of three dedicated to the use of "force" in the internal arts, we discuss about how the center of mass is supposed to be settled inside the body, in the lower Dan Tian area, in order to generate elastic force by the process of transforming the way joints, tendons and ligaments are used. A process that is at the basis of Taichi, Qi Gong and Meditation.
S3 E2 The "Dan Tian" (丹田): its physical aspect
Nobody has ever been able to approach any Chinese energetic art (say Taichi or Qigong) without encountering the concept of "Dan Tian" (丹田), or "Elixir Field". We will see how the Elixir was intended to give immortality (in lieu of the awakening in the buddhist theories), of the shape, size and location of the Dan Tian widely varies in different centuries or schools, and how it is related to the ph
S3 E1 - What's the Taichi Form all about
When we think about Taichi, we usually link it to the Taichi Form: the slow, relaxed, continuous sequence of arcane movements. But at the end, what's the Taichi Form all about? Is it a form of therapy and self-healing? Is it a tool to develop a powerful martial prowess? None of the above, as we argue in this chat.
S2 E14 - The Quest 4 Power
For groups and for singles, when it comes to religion or spirituality, the quest for power arises. It is unavoidable, generated by the ignorance-fear-frustration-anger-hate loop, a loop that cannot be broken, leading to the quest for power growing desperate. How to see it, how to avoid denial in dealing with it, and how finally leave it in background.
S2 E13 - Boredom & Escapism
- Boredom: The feeling of being bored or uninterested in what you're doing is boredom. Everyone experiences boredom sometimes. The feeling that nothing catches your interest, that everything's dull and flat, sums up the state of boredom.
- Escapism: In psychology, escapism is when a person routinely uses an activity or behavior to escape life's realities. It is a way of distracting the
S2 E12 - LGBTQ + Practitioners
LGBTQ+ issues has been heavily politicized, to the point that is not uncommon to find even internal arts teachers who claim some of this people to present deviations from a supposed given human nature. In this episode we dismiss such claims as non-sensical, and we on the contrary explain why, on a very practical ground, LGBTQ+ practitioners may find in their path to have a strength like many other
S2 E11 - The Three-Body Problem
The Three-Body Problem is a well known sci-fi novel by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, recently renderer by a Netflix series. In the Chinese Internal Arts we traditionally recognize three main energetic centers located in or correlated to the physical body: from physical energy to psychic energy, the internal journey may be obscure and detailed at the same time.
Outside a traditional path only lies
S2 E10 - Meditation and Therapy
Meditation is not a therapy for the Self, the Ego is not the Nature of Mind, what was going on in your childhood is of no interest for your practice, and practice itself is not supposed to generate Love.
S2 E9 - Meditation deviations
The Financial Times has recently launched a new investigative podcast, Untold, and the first serie is about the damages that intensive meditation practice can bring: "The Retreat".
This episode encourages you to listen to The Retreat podcast and learn how intensive meditation can damage you psyche.
Resources to help people who struggle with meditation's damages:
https://www.cheetahho
S2 E8 - Wellness & the Self
In our societies "Wellness" has become a key marketing word, and it is supposed to be one of the main objectives of the Internal Practice. Is it truly so?
Also, the second video on Wuji practice has been released here
S2 E7 - The Taichi Teacher
As when looking for a good physician, we do not go after nice personalities or beautiful smiles when we look for a Taichi, Qigong, Meditation or Yoga teacher, or at least we should not. High quality practices are often associated with high pressure on the self, and high level practitioners are seldom the kind the smiles beautifully and greet you with a bow. Let's see why.
Also, here on youtube
S2 E6 - Yoga vs Taichi & Qigong
Can modern Yoga be seen as an Internal Art, the same way Taichi & Qigong are? Can the Western circus tradition be seen as an Internal Art? Moving the body, breathing in and out, thinking about peace in the world, is this an Internal Art. For us, the answer is "no".
S2 E5 - Taichi and Beginner Mind
One of the main practices of Taijiquan is the the Taichi Form. It is often the Taichi Form that encapsulates the outer signs of that lineage or that school. All the main 5 classic styles (Chen, Yang, Wu-Hao, Wu and Sun) have similarities and differences, and in every lienage you have one different Taichi for every teacher (yi ren yi taiji - one Taichi for each Teacher). So how important is the seq
S2 E4 - Meditation (& pop culture)
Meditation has been, along with other East Asian traditions, acquired in the modern mega-culture and shaped it along with terms as "Yoga", "Zen" and "Kung-fu". But which are the roots of the ancient meditative traditions, how have they developed till today, and how big a pie of this cake may we realistically hope to eat up?
S2 E3 - The Tradition in Taichi & Qigong
In all realms of human knowledge, tradition and access to it is a key factor of success. The more we are able to access sources of traditional knowledge, the less time we will need to reach low hanging fruits and the higher is the possibility that we may one day access the more precious aspects of the art. Let's see why.
S2 E2 - Learning Taichi & Qigong today
We have discussed so far about the history of Taichi and Qigong developments. But how is it today to really learn these arts? Is it something that we can just google out and find the class we like at the location we like with the time schedule we like, or is it probably a little bit more tricky that this? If you think about it, it cannot be an easy task.
S2 E1 - The "True" Method
Many people seem to believe that there is a "true" method, be it in Internal Arts or Martial Arts or Meditation as well. This idea would hint at a reality were past (often very past) Masters would have discovered a true method, and that our goal is to gain access to that true method via the relation with a correct lineage knowledgeable master. Tradition and access to it is a key factor i
S1 E12 - Taijiquan today, less "Wu" and more "Wen"
Taijiquan has always been a "kung fu", one of the many styles of the traditional Chinese martial arts. On the other side, yet from the beginning the practice of martial art has always been seen in China as a way to develop the personal character. During the 20th century we saw Taijiquan steering toward the cultivating, or "Wen" side of the practice. Many Taijiquan practitioners
S1 E11 - Taijiquan at the end of the empire
The fall of the Qing dinasty in 1911 coincided with the end of the empire itself. Turmoils followed and the military importance of the traditional martial arts gave pace to the modern fire weapons. It is in this period of disorders that the modern Taijiquan arose, the Wen (cultivating side) acquiring predominance on the Wu (martial side).
S1 E10 - Taijiquan in the imperial capital
With Yang Luchan, his version of the boxing art of the Chen village reached the imperial Manchu capital of Beijing. There he trained two of his sons, Yang Banhou and Yang Jianhou, as well as several imperial guards, including Quan You and his son, Wu Jianquan. For the imperial elites he had to develop a more soft version of the training, suited for people outside the martial circles. Here we see a
S1 E9 - The origin of Taijiquan
Taijiquan as a modern martial art and a way to cultivate the practitioner health and character, on the one hand has its roots in the ancient Chinese martial art and spiritual tradition, on the other is the result of modern development and is historically based on the experience of the Chen village (Chen style Taijiquan), the Wu brothers (Wu-Hao style Taijiquan) and Yang Luchan (Yang style Taijiqua
S1 E8 - Advanced Qigong, and it's a stressing life
While in the first phases of our Qigong development we find ourselves in a relaxing mood nurtured by our first years of dedicated practice, in the more advanced levels we feel pushed by our practice to make space for this new creature and modify our life style. Then, we go forward to act directly on the energy realm, the practice will be no more relaxing, but stressing instead, and the level of pr
S1 E7 - Qigong for the modern world
While fitness and modern yoga practices may help us enhance our mental and body health status to a certain degree, upholding our Yang energy drive, Qigong and Taichi can help us to stabilize our energetic structure, strengthening our Yin base energy. While the work on the more Yang driven aspects of our physical body encounter age related limits that actually present themselves very early in our l
S1 E6 - Qigong vs Fitness
With the term "Qi" we have bridged theory and practice, and with a quiete modern term we would refer to the action of the practitioner on his own Qi through the practice as "Qi Gong" (or "Qigong"). While in Western fitness we use to activate cardio and physical function, with Qigong we try to create a calmness that is even more still than when we usually sit in a loun
S1 E5 - What does "Qi" mean?
In the ancient energetic practices as well and in Chinese traditional medicine, we often see the term "Qi" used to describe the vital force to give birth to reality, life, and health. Even as the term is quiete ancient, it has been used on different circles during the centuries and it does have so different meanings in different contexts. It is something that cannot be seen, but can be p
S1 E4 - Asian culture vs Western culture: non so different after all
We perceive Asian philosophy as something very different from our own civilization. As this view may be right on one side, it is not so on the other. Greek philosophy and Christianity itself are of Asian origins, and both Western philosophy and science bring us to paradoxical truths that push us to open our mind to something unthinkable.
The experience of the Mind is at the basis of Taichi and Qi
S1 E3 - The third pillar of Chinese philosophy: Buddhism
While the seminal period of the Chinese philosophy before Christ era gave birth to a basically two-folded system where Confucianism and Taoism were the two main pillars of the indigenous society, during the following centuries the foreign religion of Buddhism placed itself as a third pillar that would influence and in turn being influenced by the local spiritual tradition. Taoist and Buddhist prac
S1 E2 - The origin of Chinese philosophy: Confucianism and Taoism
Taichi and Qigong originate from the ancient Chinese philosophy, or better say, the energetic practices are at the core of Taoism. Very often the practitioner would follow the Confucian system in the relation with other people, even in the energetic practices circles, while following the Taoist teachings in his personal development path. Personal experience was the engine of this knowledge, while
S1 E1 - Taichi & Qigong for beginners
Beyond Yoga, Taichi* and Qigong** are two disciplines that are entering our realm of practice possibilities, bringing with them a great deal of opportunities, while enhancing our general health level and providing at the same time a powerful personal development tool. What are they, what can they do for us, and how can we manage to not make, approaching them, the mistakes usually a beginner does.
