Developing Circularity

Circularity is a big deal in the internal arts and it gets talked about a lot. But when you go to practise your form, there’s a lot of complexity involved—not just with the choreography, but also neigong: e.g., bending and stretching, turning and twisting, opening and closing, qi and fluid flows, etc. The mind can easily become fixated on one or more aspects, and circularity goes out the window. Without circularity, your form will have many starts and stops and the continuum is lost. This generates inertia, which reduces the flow of blood and qi in the body.

If you do not do something to specifically focus on circularity, then your forms will always include inertia.

Circularity obliterates inertia because, when you are truly moving in circular fashion, then you will never stop and start. This allows your nerves to release and physical tension to dissipate. The movements naturally sink deeper in the body as a result, and you can use less effort in your motion, powerfully circulate blood and fluids, and bank and reserve the qi you generate.

What You Will Learn

In Lessons 1-12, you will learn the following exercises with step-by-step guidance by Paul Cavel on the seven circles of tai chi, which train the body how to move in circular fashion.

The 12 classes culminate in a short set that you can train as a solo practice for the purpose of embedding circularity to a depth in your body that naturally transfers to your other tai chi, qigong and bagua forms.

You will learn and refine the seven circles of tai chi and qigong on all three planes of motion:

• Sagittal – front-to-back, vertical plane (think of the wheels of a bicycle).

• Transverse – horizontal plane (think of a table top).

• Coronal – left-right, vertical plane (think of window wipers on your car).

All three join together to manifest deep circularity within the body to generate smooth, continuous motion—the continuum.

How It Works

You will have access to 30-minute lessons for the duration of your subscription plus 180 days. You can stream classes online anytime and download them to keep during this period. Download MP4 videos for easy offline watching on almost any player or device.

You will receive Lessons 1-4 when you register, Lessons 5-8 after your second monthly billing and Lessons 9-12 after your third monthly billing.

Cancel anytime by logging into your account on the website or send an email request at least five days before your billing date and we’ll do it for you.