Kauai Tai Chi
Qi Gong * Taiji * Wuji Meditation
“What is Tai Chi? It is generated from Wu Chi.
It is the Mother of Yin & Yang. When it Moves, it Divides. At Rest, it Reunites.
No Excess, No Deficiency.”
Cultivating the Energy Body
The Secret to Health & Vitality
Self-Paced Online Course
Also part of my Kauai Shamanism Retreat
Private Tai Chi & Qigong Classes on Kauai
Cultivate the Spirit of Vitality
Private Tai Chi & Qigong Classes Available by Appointment
Types of Tai Chi Instruction Available:
Tai Chi Chuan
Chen Style Taiji Form
Chen Shi Xinyi Hun-Yuan Taijiquan
24 & 83 step forms
Yang Style Short Form
From Laoning Priovince
Foundational Tai Chi Practices
Wuji Standing Meditation
Taoist Tai Chi Theory
Walking Meditiation
Tai Chi Breathing
…
Qigong
Hunyuan Qigong
Silk Reeling Qigong
Baiduan Qigong
Medical Qigong
“Thank you Scott,
Your contribution to my life has been really profound!
I love the way you share your gift for teaching; your passion and commitment to the way.
I think you are one of the best & most natural teachers I’ve ever had....”
Please Contact Me for More Infomration about Private Tai Chi & Qigong Classes
Wuji Meditation
Wuji Meditation is One of the Foundations of Effective Tai Chi Practice
OUR class BEGINS WITH WUJI MEDITAITON
“
Stillness is the foundation and action is the use....
Stillness without action is of no use; action without the companion of stillness has no foundation.
”
Standing Wuji Meditation Practice
- calms the mind
- cultivates awareness of our center
- develops proper body alignment
- invites relaxation into our body, mind and spirit
- lengthens, deepens and smoothes the breath
- allows the chi to sink
- is also called standing on a stake
WUJI IS THE STILL POINT
When we are properly aligned and relaxed our bones & tendons support our body; our muscles are able to let go; and we develop softness, resilience and solidity.
“Empty yourself of everything.
Let the mind become still.
The 10,000 things rise and fall while the Self watches their return.”
QiGong Class on Kauai
Cultivate the Foundations of Health and Vitality
Qi Gong with Kauai Tai Chi
Relaxation and deep breathing coordinated with mindful movement help us achieve a feeling of peace and liveliness while simultaneously increasing our strength, flexibility, endurance, balance and vitality.
We practice the following types of QiGong:
HUN-YUAN QI GONG:
Hun-Yuan Qi Gong is the one of the keys to cultivating internal power, refining the breath and inviting relaxation & inner stillness into our being
Silk Reeling Qi Gong:
Silk Reeling Qi Gong teaches us to coordinate our breath and movement and move from our core while opening and closing our joints
Medical Qi gong:
Medical QiGong cleanses and strengthens our major organs and meridians
In 2007, I had the good fortune to travel to Dan Dong, Laoning Province, China and receive daily teaching from Tai Chi Instructors Liu Ti Yuan (right) & Hau Gong (left).
“The soft & yielding is the disciple of life.”
Chen Style Taijiquan (Tai Chi)
Be Calm Like a Mountain; Move Like a River
Chen Fake (Chen Family Taiji lineage holder), Grand Master Feng Zhi-Qiang (Chen's disciple), Master Zhang Xue-Xin (Feng's disciple)
“Without Peng Ching, there is no Tai Chi.
Peng Ching is the power of resilience and flexibility.
It is born in the thighs and called Ch’i Kung.
Peng Ching is Tai Chi’s Essenstial Energy.
The body becomes like a spring; when pressed it recoils immediately.”
The Tai Chi style we practice is called Chen Shi Xinyi Hun-Yuan Taijiquan
WE PRACTICE BOTH THE 24 (SHORT) AND 83 (LONG) STEP FORMS
“The meaning of the Tai Chi Symbol lies in the mutual production of Yin and Yang, the complementary exhange of hard and soft, the thousand changes and ten thousand transformations.
This is the basis of Tai Chi Chuan”
Scott Silverston - Bio
Qi Gong * Taiji * Wuji Meditation
The practices of Wuji Meditation, Qigong and Tai Chi have brought great health, healing, vitality and joy into my life. It is no exaggeration to say that these arts have completely changed my life in a very positive way and empowered me on more levels than I can articulate. In my teaching, I endeavor to share my complete understanding of this system of health, healing and vitality in an easy to follow, step-by-step manner that is customized for each student's experience, desire and level of ability.
I have been a diligent (some say fanatic) student of Tai Chi since 2003 when I first enrolled in an intensive 13 Essential Postures class taught by Keith Good, the founder of Tai Chi Thailand in Chiang Mai. I am truly grateful to Keith for his teachings which included an introduction to the study of classic Tai Chi literature, concise and practical instruction in meditation, and the clear directive to practice and gauge progress according to the traditional principles as outlined in the classics.
Keith instructed me to practice daily for 30 consecutive days after completion of his class to set the proper template and embed the movements in my muscle memory. I took his advice to heart and after 8 months of diligent, daily practice while traveling the globe, I returned to Chiang Mai to study further with Keith. I spent 6 months in Chiang Mai studying from the classic Tai Chi texts; living, breathing, walking and practicing Tai Chi, Qigong and Meditation for 6-10 hours a day, every day. These 6 months changed me in a profoundly positive way as a human being.
I returned to my home on Kauai in 2004 as a changed man. Soon after my return to Kauai, I began to study with Ringo Segismundo. Ringo taught me the Hun-Yuan Xinyi Chen Style Taiji Forms as well as the Silk Reeling and Hun Yuan Qigong practices. I studied with Ringo for 10 years in both his public classes and as his private student before he moved to the mainland in 2014.
I was also incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Laoning Province, China in 2007 where I met and was accepted as an inside student by Liu Ti Yuan and Hao Gong. They taught me the Yang Style short form and greatly enhanced my understanding of the fundamental principles of Tai Chi.
My practice and study of Tai Chi, Qigong and Wuji Meditation has given me innumerable gifts; gifts of health, happiness, vitality and much more. Tai Chi continues to give, like a river without end. In my teaching, I too am a student, learning more with every class and every pupil.
Each day the change is subtle and gradual; taken as a whole over time the change is profound; just as water, drop by drop, unrelenting over time, carves a hole in solid stone.
It is my heart’s desire to share these gifts with you; please come join us as we cultivate the Spirit of Vitality!
-Scott
Qi Gong & Tai Chi Resources
Principles of Tai Chi Practice
Silk Reeling Qigong - as demonstrated by Master Zhang Xue-Xin
THE 10 IMPORTANT POINTS OF TAI CHI CHUAN
(BY YANG CHENGFU)
The energy at the top of the head should be light and sensitive
Sink the chest and raise the back
Relax the waist
Distinguish full and empty
Sink the shoulders and drop the elbows
Use the mind and not strength
Unity of the upper and lower body
Unity of internal and external
Continuity without interruption
Seek stillness in movement
“You must remember the ultimate purpose of Tai Chi is to maintain a healthy body and a youthful mind.”
Pathways of Chi Flow
The three Treasures
Qi (Chi) - Vital Life Force Energy
Jing - Life Essence (the Wellspring of Qi)
Shen - The Spirit and Awareness (Higher Consciousness)
The Micro-Cosmic & Macro-Cosmic Orbits
Micro-Cosmic Orbit - Pathway for Qi flow within the body. It begins at the Bubbling Well Point, rises up the front of the legs to the Hui Yin, travels up the back of the spine, past the Ming Men, and Jade Pillow, circles around the top of the head to the Yin Tang and then descends to the Dan Tian and returns to the Hui Yin before descending down the back of the legs and through the heels to return into the ground.
Macro-Cosmic Orbit - The pathway connecting Heaven, Human and Earth; it travels up and down the center line of the body; the Bai Hui and Hui Yin are the gateways.
Baduanjin; the 8 Brocades Qigong
“Study Wide & Deep * Investigate, Ask * Ponder Carefully
Clearly Discriminate * Work Perserveringly.”
Recommended Reading about Tai Chi, Qigong & Meditation
Landmarks in the Energy Body
Hun Yuan Chi Kung.
Dan Tian - Generally referring to the middle Dantian located 2-3 inches below and 1.5 inches behind the navel (2nd chakra)
Ming Men - Located on the spine directly behind the navel
Wuji Point - Energetic Center Point of the human body (midway between the Ming Men and the navel)
Bai Hui - Crown of the head (crown chakra)
Yin Tang - Upper Dantian - located between and above the eyes (also called the 3rd eye or 6th chakra)
Jade Pillow - Base of the skull or occiput; an important point in the microcosmic orbit where chi sometimes gets stuck
Hui Yin - Lower Dantian - located between the genitals and anus (the perineum) - during practice we gently contract and release the Hui Yin with each breath to absorb and assimilate chi.
Yong Quan - Also called the Bubbling Well Point - located in the middle of the bottom of the foot
Lao Gong - Located in the center of our palms
“If the Bubbling Well (Yong Quan) has no root; the waist has no master.
Then you can try hard to learn and you will still not succeed.”
The 13 Essential Postures of Taijiquan
Chen Xiaowang demonstrates and explains the 8 Essential Energies of Taijiquan
The 8 essential energies of tai Chi CHuan
Peng (Ward Off) - Upwards and to the outside movement
Lu (Roll Back) - Peng is towards the inside
An (Push) - Peng is downward, adhering, and sticking
Ji (Press) - Both hands with Peng combined inside
Tsai (Pluck) - Both hands with Peng divided and toward the back
Lieh (Split) - Peng suddently shoots out
Chou (Elbow Strike) - The hand is forced out of the cirlce and is aided by the elbow striking
Kao (Shoulder Strike) - The elbow is forced out of the circle and is aided by the shoulder striking
The 5 Steps
Enter Forward - breaking step, punching step, chasing step, connecting branch step
Retreat Backward - backward breaking step
Looking Left - rolling step, turn the body over step, wirthdrawing step, collecting step, slanting step, curved step
Looking Right - rolling step, turn the body over step, wirthdrawing step, collecting step, slanting step, curved step
Central Equilibrium - rising step, horse riding step, fishing step, fairy step, falling flower step, divided body step
“The Chi is like a wheel, the waist is like an axle.”
Chang San-Feng - The Founder of Tai Chi Chuan
Statue of Chang San-Feng - the founder of Taijiquan
Tai Chi Chuan Treatise BY CHANG SAN-FENG
Once in motion, every part of the body is light and agile and must be threaded together.
Chi should be full and stimulated, Shen (Spirit) should be retained internally.
No part should be defective, no part should be deficient or excessive, no part should be disconnected.
The root is at the feet. (Jing is) generated from the legs, controlled by the waist and expressed by the fingers. From the feet to the waist must be integrated and one unified Chi. When moving forward or backward, you can then catch the opportunity, and gain the superior position.
If you fail to catch the opportunity and gain the superior position, your mind is scattered and your body disordered. To solve this porblem, you must look to the waist and the legs.
Up and down, forward and back, left and right, it's all the same. All of this is done with the Yi (mind), not externally.
If there is a top, there is a bottom; if there is a front, there is a back; if there is a left, there is a right.
If Yi (mind) wants to go upward, this implies considering downward. (This means) if (you) want to lift and defeat and opponent, you must first consider his root. When the opponents root is broken, he will inevitably be defeated quickly and certainly.
Substantial and insubstantial must be clearly distinguisged. Every part (of the body) has a substantial and an insubstantial aspect. The entire body and all the joints should be threaded together without the slightest break.
Feng Zhiqiang demonstrating the Chen Style Hun Yaun Taiji 48 Step Form in 1988
“When you Inhale, let the Chi accumulate in the Dan Tien and Spine, and Raise Up the Spirit of Vitality.
When you Exhale, Move the Chi from the Spine, to the Shoulders and Out to the Hands.
When you Exhale, the Chi is also Fully Sunk to the Tailbone.
”
Tai Chi Boxing's Chart for Evaluating Progress
From the tai chi boxing book "kung Hsin Chieh"
Yang Chengfu
If during moving energy the idea of the spirit of vitality is expressed it constitutes 12% of the skill.
If the Chi can move the whole body and be smooth and easy, it is 10% of the skill.
If the top energy is empty and suspended without leaning and the movements are light, it is 5% of the skill.
If the Chi has dexterity and liveliness, and the hands and feet are divided into empty and solid while they follow the changes, it is 12% of the skill.
If the body is upright and the circle and square move, it is 10% of the skill
If during striking energy you are relaxed and sinking and have empty and solid divided, it is 6% of the skill.
If during moving energy the 9 joints are expanded and comfortable and strung together, it is 10% of the skill.
If during moving energy the idea of inside hard and outside soft is expressed and there is flexibility without rigidity, it is 4% of the skill.
If during moving energy the form has the idea of the cat catching the mouse and the hawk seizing the rabbit, it is 3% of the skill.
If during moving energy the movement boils, and when quiet is then gathered inside, it is 5% of the skill.
If collecting and striking are proper and express the appropriate posture, it is 4% of the skill.
If every forward and backward movement has folding and the energy is connected, and enter and retreat are in every case revolving, it is 4% of the skill.
If the striking energy is from the spine and the steps follow the turning of the body, it is 3% of the skill.
If the forward stride is like a cat catching a mouse and every movement draws silk outward and inward and revolves, it is 12% of the skill.
A short excerpt of Cheng Man Ching explaining leading the Chi to the Bai Hui
“Although the variations are infinite, the principles remain the same.”
