Taiji Awareness

I came to Taiji through theatre. When studying traditional Asian theatre forms at the Intercultural Theatre Institute of Singapore, I learnt and regularly practiced Taijigong to cultivate a balanced, centred, powerful and energised stage presence. I soon realised its benefits to my daily life and embraced life-long learning of its teachings with master Sim Pern Yiau of the Wu Tu Nan lineage. This practice is based on a philosophical understanding of mind and body as a unified whole, connected through “qi” or energy. It also sees each one of us as interconnected with our environment and able to exchange energy with it. For this reason, a key aspect of Taiji, which differs from Western somatic practices, is the training specifically designed to sense, activate and circulate “qi” through “qigong” or qi exercises. The form I will be teaching is the foundational Taiji24. Crucially, the form in Taiji is a tool to learn to flow energy through the body and to practice the core principles, which include postural alignment, centring, coordination, balance and clarity of direction. The course I devised includes preparatory exercises to begin to practice core principles, “qigong” (qi exercises) and form training. I complement this with deep relaxation and games which include partner work to introduce play into the practice. I see Taiji Awareness as a way to work on ourselves, on our body-mind-energy, on our spatial relationship with others and the environment, on our capacity for sensing, listening and responding.