Tai Chi

Tai Chi is familiar to most people as a gentle and fluid, graceful and dance-like movement art that promotes health, wellness and longevity.  In the Integral Way tradition there are three levels of Tai Chi practice, each for a specific purpose.  

Qi Gong

Qigong or Chi Gong includes all chi (energy) exercises, whether still or moving. These practices aim to direct and cultivate the flow of chi throughout the body and may combine breathing techniques, mental images or body postures. This helps to release any tensions and energy stagnation while stimulating the vitality of the body and strengthening the immune system. Some practices are more internal, others more external. Some, like the eight treasures, have many movements to heal the whole body. Others, like the Self Healing Chi Gong with fewer movements, target a particular part of the body. 

Chi practice has three main levels and purposes. The first level, often called healing qigong, helps physical problems. The second level, often called Dao-In, is for those who wish to maintain or increase their vitality and health as a preventive measure. The third level, for spiritual practice, is the original qigong.  However, good spiritual practice has to connect with the changing transformations of energy and these practices are often at the subtle rather than visible level.

Meditation

Two billion people rely on Chinese medicine and its centuries-old wellness tradition. An integral component of this system that is now gaining recognition in the West are "qi meditations," which use guided visualization, breathwork, and gentle movements to balance and cultivate our energy for a long and healthy life. 
There are many practices.  A few include:
  • Inner Visioning—simple ways to assess your current health and tune in to your body's subtle changes
  • Healing Meditations—a series of short practices that correspond to the five major organ networks of the body
  • Balancing Qi Meditations—yin and yang visualizations to boost your physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being
So confident was the belief that prevention is the best medicine that in ancient China, doctors were not paid if their patients became ill. Within Taoist Meditations are a potent set of tools to maintain health and harmonize imbalances long before they manifest as illness or disease.
College of Tao offers Tai Chi, meditation, energy healing training, and degrees up to doctorate level.