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You Are Bioelectric
October 23, 2023
Your body’s matrix of fluid-filled tissue is a system capable of absorbing and donating electrons (qì) wherever they are needed, from the surface of our skin all the way into our DNA.
Qigong is Ancient Mind/Body Science
October 16, 2023
Ancient practitioners were mind/body scientists of the subtle body, working with their Qì to promote health, healing, and extraordinary vitality and longevity.
I Saw the Light
October 9, 2023
The clear light experience is universal for all types of meditation and prayer for people in various cultures all around the world.
YMAA Celebrates 41st Anniversary
October 2, 2023
In honor of the 41st Anniversary of YMAA, join us on our YouTube channel for a special commemorative video.
Master Cheng Gin Gsao
October 3, 2022
Dr. Yang, Jwìng-Mǐng trained as a teenager beginning at age 15 with Master Cheng, Gin Gsao (曾金灶) learning Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu. Because Jwìng-Mǐng had a painful ulcer since childhood, Master Cheng recommended he might learn Taijiquan because he had heard of its healing benefits. This shows how special Master Cheng was…
Qìgōng Grand Circulation Exercises - August 22, 2022
In Qìgōng we say “Where the mind goes, energy flows.” Or more traditionally, the “Yi leads the Qì”; your intention leads your energy. You can think of your intention as your core consciousness merged with, or “riding on”, your most subtle energy. How do you “lead Qì to the palms”? Bring your mind to the palms, and energy increases there.
Meet the Author: Marisa Cranfill (YOQI) Interview About Qigong for Immunity (video) - January 10, 2022
YMAA Staff Writer Gene Ching interviews YOQI master Marisa Cranfill about her blend of Yoga and Qigong and how to practice to boost the immune system.
Qigong Flow to Boost the Immune System - April 5, 2021
With the COVID-19 virus pandemic, understanding the immune system has become an important topic of healthcare and self-care. The immune system is an intelligent matrix of biological structures and processes that protects your body against pathogens like bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi.
Immune Boost Qigong Breathing - January 4, 2021
Qigong means “energy skill,” and it is a gradual process of becoming familiar with the subtle energy circulating within your body on a cellular level, and how it is changing every day, every hour, second by second. This energy, or qi, is bioelectricity; you are a living bioelectromagnetic field. With continued practice and observation, a qigong practitioner becomes more sensitive and aware of how the body’s energy is fluctuating on a daily basis and why. Repeated qigong practice leads one to gradually feel healthier, and ultimately reach a point of feeling that it is “difficult to get sick.”
YOQI: Qigong for Winter - December 21, 2020
Physically, winter qigong practices focus on the organs of the water element: the kidneys and the urinary bladder. In the Five Elements Phases of Traditional Chines Medicine, winter expresses the water element.  In your body, the water element particularly affects your kidneys, urinary bladder, fluids, spinal cord, bone marrow and brain.
Qigong Flow For Happy Organs - Part 2 - November 2, 2020
Qigong Flow for Happy Kidneys is a complete routine designed to balance and nourish the kidneys and urinary bladder. In traditional Chinese medicine, the kidneys resonate with the water element and the spirt of willpower. Happy kidneys are the key to energetic stamina, sexual potency, and longevity. They not only regulate the body fluids and filter the blood, but they are also considered the energy batteries of our body. The kidneys store yuan qi, the precious gift of innate qi inherited from our parents.
Qigong Flow For Happy Organs - October 26, 2020
Qigong is a meditation in motion that balances the energy aspect of your being for healing, health, and vitality. The YOQI style of qigong, called Qigong Flow, is the art of energy cultivation through one continuous stream of body-based awareness that alternates between stillness and movement, yin and yang.
YOQI: Qigong for Autumn - October 12, 2020
Autumn is the time of year when nature is letting go. Leaves are falling, earth is tilling and going inward preparing for winter. So it's a good time to support our own energy and fortify the immune system. Spiritually, it's a special time to ask ourselves who we are and release anything that is preventing us from expressing our authentic selves.
Release Anxiety, Stress and Tension with Qigong - August 17, 2020
One of the greatest contributions of Traditional Chinese Medicine is the understanding that the state of our health is linked to the state of our emotions. We intuitively know that stress, anger, worry, grief, and fear have a direct effect on our body and our perception of life. For example, fear-based emotions stimulate the release of one set of chemicals while love-based emotions release a different set of chemicals. To achieve harmony and wellbeing, a fundamental aspect of qigong training is to transform negative emotions into positive virtues.
Introducing New YMAA Author Marisa Cranfill - August 3, 2020
Marisa discovered Qigong as a student at Zhejiang University, China in 1999 through a local taiji chuan master. Since she has studied with many of the world’s top Qigong masters, some well-known and others off the grid. Marisa formally trained and is certified to teach with blessings from masters of two lineages of Qigong: Universal Healing Tao with Master Mantak Chia and Master Robert Peng.
Qigong for Summer – Transform Impatience and Anger into Patience and Compassion - June 17, 2020
Energetically, summer is also a powerful time for transforming energy. The element of summer is fire. In our body, fire connects to the heart fire that resonates the human force of unconditional love and acceptance. Therefore, many qigong practices for summer come from spiritual qigong traditions that focus on internal alchemy; the process of transforming and refining our vibration to its highest potential.
Qigong for Spring—Support the Liver and Expand Your Vision - June 1, 2020
Physically, spring qigong practices focus on the organs of the wood element: the liver and the gall bladder. The liver is the chief organ responsible for processing toxins in the body.  One of the liver's main jobs is to store the blood and filter toxic wastes from the bloodstream.  Another task is to produce many of the alkaline enzymes upon which immune response and other vital functions depend.
The First Rule of Self-Defense - April 8, 2019
I’m fond of telling my martial arts students that the First Rule of Self-Defense is “Don’t get hit.” After all, how can you be defeated if no one hits you? This rule makes perfect strategic sense from a pugilistic perspective. However, there is a better and more broadly applicable rule that I prefer to stand by: “Protect your best interests.” What is self-defense, really, if not protecting, or defending, your best interests? The advice “Don’t get hit” is simple and unambiguous, and therefore easy to understand.
Your Tai Chi Pelvis - February 11, 2019
Tai chi is a personal development discipline deeply rooted in ancient Chinese culture. One of the most basic tenets of Asian philosophy and of its many traditional mind/body disciplines is that neither the mind nor the body can ever be regarded as entirely separate from the other. This is a belief that I share.
Anatomy of a Warrior Spirit - December 23, 2018
Martial artists are, by definition, warriors. True warriors have warrior spirit. In martial arts, as in life, there are some people who are successful, and some people who are not. The most successful people are imbued with a warrior spirit, known in the Chinese tradition as Yi. Warrior spirit has nothing to do with fighting or aggression, even though skilled fighters often have a well-developed warrior spirit. On the contrary, warrior spirit is about having the wherewithal to resolve conflict or avoid it altogether, and most of all to muster the internal fortitude requisite to the process of mastering yourself.
The Value of Differentiated Movement - November 5, 2018
Your ability to move in a differentiated manner is truly a measure of how freely you can live in your own body. Differentiated movement is a foundational concern to all tai chi and martial arts practitioners and is important, as well, to many other sports and movement disciplines.
Tai Chi and Economics - July 2, 2018
Ordinarily the word "economics" conjures up thoughts of money, governments, budgets and expenditures – pretty boring stuff if you're not an economist. However, the word "economy" simply refers to the effects, as measured by the relative advantages or disadvantages, of any causal behavior within any system. The most important and immediate economy in your life has to do not with what's in your wallet, but in how you choose to organize and live in your own body.
Perspectives on Tai Chi, Somatics, & Life - April 16, 2018
Live In the Moment, Not For the Moment. One of the great benefits of martial arts practice, and especially internal arts such as tai chi, is the underlying theme of being present to oneself –of being in the moment.
Dr. Yang Announces New Training Program 2018 - January 24, 2018
Dr. Yang has announced he will continue to teach until 2024 at the YMAA Retreat Center. Those interested living in the forest and learning tai chi and kung fu every day should apply soon for this new training program, studying at the Retreat Center with Dr Yang Jwing-Ming in CA.
A Melding of Philosophies—One for One, & One for All - January 3, 2018
This article will share thoughts on both spectrums – approaches for personalized individual direction, and for social strategies, i.e. codes of conduct if you will. Hopefully, you may find something here worthy of your review and consideration.