Qi gong can look deceptively simple. From the outside it looks like stillness in motion, but what is unfolding on the inside is another matter entirely. Here in the West we are used to aggressive, outward motion while being distracted with TV shows, music or magazines at the gym. But the Chinese internal arts, while…
Martial Arts, Personality and the Five Spirits • Jonathan Bluestein • EAP082
Chinese medicine, philosophy and martial arts all share a common root. The applications might be different, but they come back a grounding in Yin/Yang and Five Phases. In this episode we speak with a martial artist and teacher who helps us to bridge some of the fundamental perspectives with yin and yang, the ba gua…
Buff Bones: movement practices that promote healthy lively bones • Rebekah Rotstein • EAP079
A low reading on a bone density scan does not equal a Fosamax deficiency. Healthy bones are hard, living tissue, but they also have a certain amount of flexibility. They are designed to bend and absorb shock and stress, and in fact one of the ways that bones become stronger is by challenging them. We…
The Professor: tai chi’s journey west • EAP058
Tai Chi is one of the more well known Chinese health practices that has made its way to the West. But there was a time when this gentle movement art was unknown outside of the Chinese world. In the 60’s Cheng Man-Ching “The Professor” came from Taiwan to New York and began to do something…
The dynamics of standing still • EAP 052
In our electronically enhanced speed of silicon world we are easily lured into believing that faster is better, and motion is more productive than stillness. But, think of the cat crouched and ready to pounce, the coiled snake, still with a spring load of potential, or the sprinter settled into her blocks. Indeed explosive movement…
Finding our footing • EAP041
We rarely think of our feet as the amazing complex multi-boned platforms that allow us to walk upright. And in fact— they are sensory organs with a deep affinity for balance, movement and listening to the environment. This is an encore interview with our guest Mary Bond, who joined us on EAP020 for a discussion…
Presence and Movement • EAP020
“Your posture is determined by the moment before you move…” How often do we think of posture as something that is fixed, static, out of awareness and somehow outside of us? In this show Mary Bond explores with us subtle motions in the body that can lead to a vast opening of awareness, movement and…
Ice is for dead things, treating trauma kung fu style • EAP 003
The Chinese martial arts know a lot about trauma medicine. A sinew popping kick to one of the joints, punches that powder capillary beds, or broken and shattered bones from falls or weapons all are common fare. The Chinese long ago figured out how to fight with style and power. They also learned a tremendous…
