In 57 years of practicing Tai Chi, and several decades of teaching it, I have watched thousands of beginners walk through the same handful of doors that lead nowhere. Not because they lack discipline. Not because they lack ability. Almost always because nobody told them what the actual mistakes look like from the inside. Most
How to Build a Daily Tai Chi Practice: What Actually Makes the Habit Stick
The gap between someone who knows Tai Chi and someone who practices Tai Chi is not a gap in knowledge or skill. It is a gap in habit. I have met many people over the years who studied Tai Chi seriously for a period, learned the form, understood the principles, and then gradually stopped practicing
How to Practice Tai Chi at Home: Structure, Space, and What Actually Develops You
The question of how to practice Tai Chi at home comes up constantly, and it deserves a direct, practical answer rather than a vague encouragement to simply practice more. In 57 years of daily Tai Chi practice, I have practiced in studios, in parks, on beaches, in living rooms, in hotel rooms, and in spaces
Silk Reeling Exercises for Beginners: The Foundation of Chen Style Tai Chi
Most people who come to Chen style Tai Chi for the first time encounter silk reeling before they know what it is. They watch an experienced practitioner move through a basic exercise, the arms spiraling, the waist turning, the weight shifting from foot to foot in a continuous flowing cycle, and they think it looks
Wuji for Chronic Pain: What Standing Still Can Do That Movement Cannot
Chronic pain is one of the most difficult conditions I encountered in clinical practice, not because it is the most severe, but because it is the most persistent. Acute pain has a cause, a timeline, and usually a resolution. Chronic pain has often outlasted its original cause entirely. The tissue has healed. The injury is
Tai Chi for Back Pain: The Complete Guide by Dr. Bob Bacher
Back pain is the most common reason people seek medical care in the world. It is also one of the conditions that responds most consistently and dramatically to the regular practice of Chen style tai chi. In 35 years of chiropractic practice, I prescribed tai chi to more patients with back pain than any other
Wuji Standing: The Complete Method
Can you remain still until the right action arises by itself? — Tao Te Ching Standing quietly doing nothing. That is the entire instruction. And it may be the most valuable exercise you ever learn in your entire lifetime. I have practiced Tai Chi every day since 1970. I have studied under Grandmaster Wang Xi’an
How to Learn Tai Chi: The Complete Beginner’s Guide
Someone walks up to me in the park while I am practicing and says they want to learn Tai Chi. The first thing I do is smile. And then I tell them: this may be one of the most important and wisest decisions you make in your entire lifetime. I pause and let that land.
The Complete Guide to Silk Reeling
Silk reeling is the heart of Chen style Tai Chi. Not a technique, not an exercise, not a concept you study and then move on from. It is the fundamental quality of movement that runs through every posture, every transition, every breath of authentic practice. When it is present, the body moves with an effortless,
Tai Chi Warm Ups Part 2: Lower Body
Tai Chi Warm Ups are an essential part of your tai chi training. In Part 1, we cover the upper body. In Part 2, we cover the lower body.