Training Tips
Greetings. I have been writing and sending these out since 2015, and for you who have just joined us, welcome to the Gilman Studio Training Tips. These Tips are a result of my desire to share my life’s study and teaching in the area of Internal Arts and human potential.
I have taught Tai Chi and Qigong since 1973 and shared with thousands of people, and yet feel limited, as I live in a small community in the northwest corner of Washington State. I wanted to reach a larger audience on a regular basis. Thus, the Training Tips was born.
Most books on Tai Chi are written by an instructor to share his or her form. They are meant to teach the movements. They also, usually include short chapters on history and philosophy, but that is usually limited. I have written two Tai Chi books and now these Training Tips, not as “how to” books, but as “why to” books. Most people who are attracted to Tai Chi seek relaxation, focus, balance, health improvement, and a very few, martial skills. What most people need to carry on with their studies is motivation. That is what these Tips are all about. I want to encourage students to continue to practice, and continue looking deeper into this marvelous art form, and that only comes from regular and continuous practice.
I hope you read through all of these and maybe one or more will stimulate you to stay with your initial interest and enthusiasm. You can bookmark the ones you like to go back to in the future. As you grow and change, the meaning of these Tips will change, and hopefully you will find you understand them in your body, mind and spirit. If you aren’t already receiving these in your mailbox, subscribe and it will come as regular as clockwork on Monday mornings. The Gilman Studio never shares your information.
I sincerely hope you enjoy these and share them with your friends. You will make me happy. Thank you for your interest in our beloved art.
Creating Space – 8/5/19
Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip # 224 Greetings. Boy, are we lucky to live in the Pacific Northwest, and Port Townsend in particular. Perfect weather. Low to mid 70's. Light breeze. All fruits and vegietables love growing here. I thank my luck stars for directing...
read morePlanting Seeds of Greatness/Student of the Year – 07/29/19
Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip # 223 Planting Seeds of Greatness Thich Nhat Hanh, in his lovely book Peace is Every Step, talks about consciousness existing on two levels: as seeds and as manifestations of those seeds. Let me share this idea with you and how it...
read moreTai Chi and Psychotherapy – Part Three – 7/22/19
Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip # 222 Greetings.We are experiencing such nice, mild, yet sunny weather here in Port Townsend. The wharf and park call my name for practice. Perfect. This week I finish sharing with you the answers to the last three questions from...
read moreTai Chi and Psychotherapy – Part Two – 7/15/19
Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip # 221 Part Two of the interview I did with the Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association * How did you become acquainted with Tai Chi? Please decribe your particular background with the practice and how you got to where...
read moreTai Chi and Psychotherapy – 07/08/19
Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip # 220 In 2008, I was interviewed by Robert O'Block, the Founder and Publisher of The Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association.It is a magazine published quarterly for psychotherapists. The title of the article was...
read moreMaster Choy – A remembrance – 07/01/19
Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip # 219 Master Choy – A remembrance A long forgotten incident emerged recently. I thought you might enjoy hearing a bit of history relating to Master Choy and my early Tai Chi studies that occurred around this same time of year in...
read moreI Ching/Summer Schedule Update – 6/24/19
Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip # 218 I Ching or Book of Changes The I Ching is one of the most profound and philosophically important books ever written. It is attributed to Fu Hsi, around 2000 BCE, in what is now China. It is the first book to describe and...
read moreMeditation in Motion – 6/17/19
Monday Morning Training Tip #216 Tai Chi Chuan – Meditation in Motion There a many types of formal, systematized meditation techniques. From opening the body, to opening the heart, to opening the mind, there is a technique for everyone. I started meditating in my life...
read moreDealing With Problems the Tai Chi Way/Sat Workshop – 6/10/19
Dealing With Problems the Tai Chi Way I think that one of the worst short-comings of the mind is that we often fail to see the beginnings of really big problems because the forms in which they arise are right before our eyes. In our bodies, as in the environment, we...
read moreEndorphins – 6/3/19
Endorphins Tai Chi and other internal arts have been demonstrated in the laboratory, to produce endorphins. Endorphins, known as the brain opiate, have ounce for ounce, 10,000 times the painkilling power of morphine. The mind releases endorphins to dull pain, or...
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