🔔 Important 🔔 - Only comments on THIS THREAD will count toward the giveaway — make sure to post your check-ins right here each day. Check-ins posted elsewhere won’t be included. - The LAST DAY to enter the challenge is January 25th. The New Year, New Qi 10-Day challenge has officially started today! This is your daily check-in thread for the challenge — welcome and let’s flow into the new year together! 👇 Here’s how to check in each day 👇 ✅ Daily Check-In Instructions ✅ 1. Pick any practice video from the community. 2. State which day of the challenge you’re on (ex: Day 1, Day 3, Day 7). 3. How you felt before and after practice — just a short sentence for each. 4. Photo or video — snap a quick pic of your screen, your space, or yourself practicing. ✨Sample Check-In: - Day: 1 - Practice: Yin Yang Qigong - Before: Feeling tight and foggy - After: Calm, clear, and more open - (Photo or video attached) Complete all 10 days and you’ll be entered into a lucky draw — we’re choosing 3 winners. 🏆 1st Prize Includes 🏆 - $100 Gift Card - Premium Handmade Tai Chi Stick - Custom Rooted Alchemy Hoodie - 30-Minute Private Practice Session with Sonny Let’s do this!

Hi, this evening I have completed day 4 of the 7 day challenge. When doing the Golden Rooster stand, I find that when lifting the right leg I am VERY unstable on my left leg. Balance is difficult! Is this something that will develop and become easier or will my previous injuries prevent improvement?

Completed. Looking forward to the next step in building my practice.

Hey Rooted Alchemy family 🌱 Hope everyone’s having a good day. We’ve had a lot of new faces join recently and the YouTube channel has been growing fast. What started as an idea six months ago has turned into a 70,000+ subscriber channel and a community of over 150 people here. That’s because of you. Your consistency, your curiosity, and your support are what make this space real. We appreciate you more than you know. As we move into the new year, our intention is simple. Serve this community better. We’re already working on more structured courses, giveaways, and the Tai Chi stick course. But before we go all in, we want to hear from you. What is your main goal with Rooted Alchemy this year? 👇 Vote below 👇 If you feel called, drop a comment and share why you chose what you chose. Your feedback helps shape where this community goes next. Grateful to be on this path with you all ☯️

I grew up in South Korea and like many East Asian cultures, we follow the Chinese zodiac (12 animals that rotate each year) In 2026, it’s the Year of the Horse… and not just any horse, but a RED ONE🐴 My sign is also the horse, and I know us pretty well. Horses in the zodiac are usually associated with movement, energy, and freedom. They don’t like being stuck. They’re drawn to forward motion, exploration, and self-expression. On the top of that, the color red adds another layer. In Chinese culture, red is everywhere. It’s connected to good luck, life energy, and protection. You see it a lot during Lunar New Year, weddings, and other celebrations. So a "Red Horse" year feels like a mix of movement, momentum, and vitality, encouraging us to keep going, but with heart and intention not just rushing forward. I think this connects really well with our Tai Chi and Qigong practice that we’ve been cultivating here in the community. The other day, when we were shooting content with @Kirby Mannon and @Maya Rodriguez , Sonny said something that really stayed with me: “We have to think about intention rather than expectation.” It lingered with me for days because it made me realize how often (sometimes for years) I’ve been rushing myself and expecting results instead of enjoying the journey itself. So this is my personal intention with this community this year: I want to help create an experience that brings you back to why you started this journey. Because we’re learning how to study these arts, and also study ourselves. Would love to hear yours as well. - “What’s your intention this year?” Thank you as always for your contributions, and HELLO to 2026!! 🧧