Lighthouse Tai Chi®

This month we have another guest blog:  The 5 Elements Theory  is by our esteemed colleague and friend Heather Reade (MFHT) .  Heather has been teaching Tai Chi and Qigong since 1999 in England and the US and provides courses for the NHS, in addition to Active West Lancs, MacMillan Cancer Care; the U3A; Twinkle House Sensory and Wellness Centre and primary schools in Liverpool and Lancashire.  In 2009, she created Water Lotus Qigong, a hydrotherapy, which has been used in the US and UK for the alleviation of pain, arthritis, and fibromyalgia. She is also, a qualified Sports Therapist, and Ear Acupuncturist.  To find out more about Heather and to request any further information, please visit website  Heather Reade School of Tai Chi and QiGong The 5 Elements, or Wu Xing (woo sshing), is a system used to categorise and explain patterns of transformation in the universe.  Wu Xing 五行  Wu = five  Xing = movement, transformation, phase Dating bac...

Knowing where you are going is always important, and knowing your direction in Tai Chi is fundamental to the thirteen principal movements of Tai Chi. The five directions described in Tai Chi are as follows: Going forward, going backwards, looking/moving left, looking moving right and holding centre. These are attributed to the four cardinal points of the compass, North, South, East, West and the Centre.  They can be referenced to the Five Elements and each direction takes on the characteristics of the associated Element. In terms of Five Elements the postures have these overall characteristics: Forward - Fire sudden intense energy/ posture. Backward - Water flow yielding energy/ posture. Turning left - Metal cutting absorbing energy/ posture. Turning right - Wood engulfing spiralling energy/ posture. Holding centre - Earth neutralising heavy energy/ posture. These directions can be applied literally; some schools prescribe facing in a certain direction when sta...