Wellness Path Weekly
by Chris Cinnamon
Ideas and Inspiration to Help You:
Move Your Body, Deeply Relax, Achieve Vibrant Health
21 March 2024
Try Qigong to Relax & Recharge
Master Violet Li Recommends Tai Chi for Balance
This WPW offers a quick guided Qigong practice to help you move your body, relax, and recharge.
Plus, I'm honored to share an article by Tai Chi Master Violet Li recommending my book Tai Chi for Balance.
Scroll down for more.
Need a Break to
Move, Relax, and Recharge?
Try this Qigong Move
A question for you—
When you sit for an extended period, especially at a desk, focused on a screen, how does your body feel?
Tight?
Tense?
Stiff?
Sluggish?
That's what happens when we hold our bodies in static positions for too long. Especially when slumped toward a screen, collapsing our posture, squishing our insides.
In these positions, our blood circulation degrades. Our breathing becomes shallow. Our muscles and connective tissue become tense and stiff. Our energy stagnates.
A familiar experience for most of us.
The fix?
Get up and move! Even for a few minutes.
In the quick guided practice below, I lead you through one of my favorite Qigong moves. It's from a set called "Gods Playing in the Clouds Qigong" (GPC).
It gets the whole body moving in ways that help you relax and recharge.
My main teacher, Master Bruce Frantzis, learned GPC in China from his main teacher, Taoist Master Lui Heung Chieh. Reportedly, Lui performed the set daily in the latter part of his life.
GPC is a terrific practice for moving your body and exploring the powerful health benefits of Qigong. Chicago Tai Chi students love it.
In the video below, I guide you through GPC Move 2. It provides an ideal quick practice when you have that "I need to get up and move!" feeling.
Click the player or link below and follow me.
If you like the video, please give it a 👍 on YouTube, drop a comment, and share it on social media.
Want to learn more? Join our Qigong classes at Chicago Tai Chi. For more info on our classes and how to join them, click here.
Tai Chi for Balance
Book Review by Violet Li
Violet Li demonstrating Chen Style Tai Chi
Violet Li is a renown Tai Chi & Qigong Master, a prolific writer, and a tireless advocate for the benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong. I've enjoyed her thoughtful articles for many years.
So I was especially honored and grateful when Violet published an article, "Recommended: Tai Chi for Balance", featuring my latest book.
Here's an excerpt:
"Cinnamon’s book stands out for its well-researched subject matter, user-friendly organization, and insightful presentation...
Cinnamon’s adept explanations, analogies, and illustrations elucidate key concepts, fostering a visual understanding of stability, center of gravity, and base of support. His emphasis on whole body awareness and precise posture control adds further value to the book, making it an invaluable resource in the realm of fall prevention."
For the full article, click here.
To purchase a copy of Tai Chi for Balance, click here.
There you go! That wraps this week's WPW.
Be well!
Chris Cinnamon, JD, MS
Certified Exercise Physiologist
Head Instructor
Author, Tai Chi for Balance and
Tai Chi for Knee Health