Tai Ji and Qi Gong
Tai Ji has been a daily ritual for over 2000 years. It is a slow, graceful form of exercise, with smooth, flowing movements. It is often described as “Stillness in Motion and Movement in Stillness.” It means experiencing the moving center, and feeling at ease. It means harnessing the power of Chi, which is life energy.
The Braddock Body Process is uniquely based in the art of Tai Ji and Qi Gong philosophy and movement. Space and Breath are two of the main premises of the work. Let your breath have some sound…
As you open your arms, your chest opens and expands as does the heart. The body creates more space while staying balanced, stress and tension diminish, and there is a feeling of ease.
Participants acquire innovative ideas for creating new possibilities. Relax and unlock the stuck places. The principle of Wu Wei is used, which is the path of least resistance. Let go of control. Learn to be in life fully, unwinding the old patterns and creating the new. Be gentle with you!
“As I sit quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and grass grows of itself.”
-Zenrin Kushu
Many report the Process has “Startling Effectiveness.” People learn where they are stuck, and how their beliefs keep them stuck. People report feeling stronger, less tension and stress, and more balanced. People learn tools to regain their voice.
Feel the feet sinking into the earth. Learn how to go from unbalance to balance. Breath in and out slowly! Slow Down...
“There are more songs in our souls than the tongue is able to utter.”-Abraham Heschel
Finding the rhythm of your body, listening carefully to the wisdom of the body, this is Body Dialogue. Observe the body from a three dimensional view. What is happening in each dimension? Where is there tension, holding, collapsing or areas where one part of the body moves and the other does not? Enter into the mystery of the body, using metaphors, balancing the external and the internal. Learning to be in the process of Discovering and Becoming...
The process is active. While stories are heard, words are expressed, the non-verbal “body voices” are stories within stories. The body expresses what often cannot be expressed verbally. Many creative arts exercises are used including music and musical expression, art projects, martial arts (Tai Ji and Qi Gong) philosophy and practice, and much more. Questions lead to more questions and as the poet Rilke says, “Live the questions now.”
In Tai Ji, it is said that there is no beginning and no end. We keep the movement going. Travel Slowly through your body, discovering and being curious, exploring every corner in all directions, Then imagine smoothing all the edges or sharp corners…round them with your imagination and your breath and your movement. Round and smooth the edges of personal and professional life.
Rilke reminds us, like this circle of life, that we are “forever saying farewell to people, places and special experiences,” thus ending one movement, while at the same time beginning another movement of “greeting other people, places and experiences.” What does it mean to “live the questions now?” What questions do you have? What question leads to another question and then another and so on?