Hello fellow Nexians,

I've been involved in a lot of self reflection lately, and I'm into meditation now. I have yet a long path to learn there, too. I want to learn Tai Chi in parallel as a meditation preparation technique, because during my meditation sessions I'm feeling restless and I'm having trouble relaxing (I also have a mild anxiety, which is manifesting in my stomach muscles being contracted most of the time...not sure what to do about that, seems to be the biggest barrier now; sometimes I can relax, and the contractions go away, other times I can't).

By the way, this is what I'm talking about: http://en.wikipedia.org/.../T'ai_chi_ch'uan

Well, I thought Tai Chi might help, but unfortunately I seem to be out of luck locating a trainer, so I have to do this on my own. Today I've taken my first steps following this photo tutorial: http://www.everyday-taichi.com/qi-exercise.html

I don't know if that's the best place to start, but it's the only one that I could find that would satisfy me. I'm the watch & repeat kind of guy when it comes to learning stuff. I got that lesson though and the basic moves quite quickly, and now this doesn't seem as hard to learn as before, so I'm planning on doing this every day, after which I'll do my daily morning meditation.

I'm looking at a long road ahead of me, but it would be nice to know that there will be some people along this road who could give some advice or share some good learning resources. Any of you guys practice this?

Thank you all.

There are hundreds of free videos online that would be a much better way to learn than from pictures. A simple search will lead the way.

Six months ago I became interested in Tai Chi, Qigong, and Bagua as methods for handling entheogenic energy. Now my Tai Chi practice is related to but independent from my interest in entheogens. I very much encourage you to pursue Tai Chi as it has helped me in many ways, including stabilizing meditation and decreasing (mild) anxiety. But it is not magic, it must be diligently practiced.

When I began I learned from DVDs and books but was told over and over by friends that eventually I'd need to find a good teacher. This advice is absolutely correct. Videos and books will only give you a taste and eventually you'll need a good teacher because the essence of Tai Chi is not in the physical movement that can be captured on video or pictures.

I've attached a good overview book on Tai Chi. If you like it consider buying it on Amazon to support the author and his discipline.

eH

Thanks, EmptyHand! I am very dedicated to this right now, so I will definitely continue on this path, it fits my style perfectly! I'll learn the basics alone for now and then go from there; in the meanwhile, I'll have the time to look for a trainer around my area.

I will also buy that book. I can't commit myself to reading digital books, anyway Not more than a couple dozen pages, anyway. But the PDF will work until the book arrives. Thanks a bunch!