Taoist – Daoist Internal Arts

Tailoring Change

Dr Matthew Brewer — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 20:04:33 +0000

There is an intriguing phrase in the Dazhuan, the Great Treatise, the largest of the ten ‘wings’, or primary commentaries, of the Yijing. It is about the nature of change. It reads: Hua and cai are called bian.Dazhuan 1.12 化而裁之謂之變。 Translated directly it says: Transformation and tailoring are called change. The standard words for change …

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Making Use of the Middle

Dr Matthew Brewer — Fri, 17 Nov 2017 11:51:46 +0000

or Goldilocks was a philosopher There is a short phrase in the Taiji Classics that is easily glossed over. If we take the time to look at it a little more closely, it reveals surprising richness, depth and relevance to our practice of the internal arts and, beyond that, to the art of living. …

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Why So Slow 2

Dr Matthew Brewer — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 15:56:34 +0000

There is a sentence in Wang Bi’s essay on the Laozi,1Laozi weizi lilüe The Structure of Laozi’s Pointers, translated in Wagner, A Chinese Reading of the Daodejing pp.82-106 and Lynn, The Classic of The Way and Virtue pp.30-41. which beautifully expresses the importance of not rushing. It is actually a direct reference to the Great …

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Why So Slow 1

Dr Matthew Brewer — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 15:30:52 +0000

When people first join my classes they often comment on how slow they are, even compared to other Tai Chi classes, punctuated as they are by regular tea breaks. There are several reasons for this deliberate lack of haste. The first reason is obvious enough. The breaks give your nervous system time to absorb whatever …

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Nurturing Life

Dr Matthew Brewer — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 15:18:39 +0000

or Paying Attention to Why We Act Why do we do what we do? This is rather a big question. If we get into specifics we’ll be here forever. However, one answer to the question is that generally we do what we do because it is necessary or because we think it is a good …

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Where & When

Dr Matthew Brewer — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 10:33:07 +0000

Dr Matthew Brewer, the head of the school, teaches in Canterbury, Elham & Online. Dates Charges Dave Willis teaches in Deal, Thanet and online. Dates Charges Fiona McArthur teaches in Canterbury & Elham. Dates Charges

What We Teach

Dr Matthew Brewer — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 10:26:50 +0000

Where To Start Tai Chi Fundamentals We generally recommend Tai Chi Fundamentals as the place to start. This ancient neigong set teaches all of the essential alignments and movement principles in the most simple format possible. It is the foundation of the internal arts and it makes learning any Tai Chi form much easier. Dragon …

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Qigong

Dr Matthew Brewer — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 10:17:37 +0000

The difference between ‘Qigong’ and ‘Neigong’ ‘Qi’ (or ‘Chi’) is the Chinese word for ‘energy’ or ‘life force’. It is what differentiates a living body from a dead one. The modern term ‘qigong’, meaning ‘energy work,’ is used to cover all forms of Oriental energy exercise, however there are actually two distinct forms of such …

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Practice principles

Dr Matthew Brewer — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 10:16:06 +0000

The teacher leads to the door, The practice is for the individual. The Golden Mean: Strain is not gain The most important principle in the internal arts is the Golden Mean. This means that you should not do anything to the point of straining yourself physically, energetically, emotionally or mentally. When you begin to …

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Neigong

Dr Matthew Brewer — Thu, 16 Nov 2017 09:37:34 +0000

The 16 elements of Neigong Anyone who has read any of Bruce’s books will have come across his list of the 16-Part Neigong System, these are the basic components of Daoist neigong. They are: Breathing methods, in increasing complexity. Feeling, moving, transforming and transmuting internal energies along the descending, ascending and connecting energy channels of …

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