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 ☯️

These are in no particular order (I think) 1. Tao Te Ching: A New English Version by Stephen Mitchell 2. Seattle Taijiquan Pioneers edited by Blake Emery and A. T. Dale 3. The Taijiquan Classics: An Annotated Translation by Barbara Davis 4. The Way of Zen by Alan Watts 5. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff 6. The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff 7. The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh 8. The I Ching or Book of Changes by Brian Browne Walker 9. A Study of Taijiquan by Sun Lutang 10. Zen Speaks: Shouts of Nothingness translated by Brian Bruya 11. T’ai Chi Ch’uan and Meditation by Da Liu 12. Reflections on the Art of Living: A Joseph Campbell Companion edited by Diane K. Osbon Drop your book recommendations in the comments 👇🏾

The Qualities of the breath. The breath is something that is intrinsically linked to our practice and something that is often overlooked in other physical practices. You can look up and google many different kinds of breath work and even become a certified master of breathing;). So how does qi gong view breathing? Well first, let’s not over worry about breathing wrong or incorrectly. If you are currently alive then your breath is doing a great job of keeping you functioning and thinking, especially since the brain uses way more oxygen than almost any other part of the body, so thank your breath for all those good ideas:). Rather than think that we need to control our breath, instead look to become a student of your breath. Listen and observe for how it is already working alongside your movement and posture doing a great job without you ever having had to do a thing. To quote Sun Tzu, “The breath sets the strategy”, and how we connect to our breath is directly related to our concept of ‘song’. By taking the mental posture of a student, we can then relax into the deeper systems that bring stabilization and ease into our state. It is also good to know that the air we breath and exchange with the environment is an aspect of environmental Qi, which is something different from the qi we are observing within our system. The beauty of the breath is that it is something we can use to ‘shine a flashlight’ or “create resonance” within our entire body, but the respiratory process is contained within some very specific spaces and uses logical mechanics. Overtime, there is an integration of sensory inputs that will help support and benefit the system. It is as simple as beginning to learn more about the breath and how to interact and perceive it. Below are a list of qualities we can learn to observe and look for in our breath. These are intentions that we can carry with us to gently influence the nature and quality of our breath over time. Remember, intention is like a rock you cast into a pool. We are looking and listening for the splash and ripples and feeling for the change in current. They are also guides for further study as we can begin to learn what other aspects of our practice need to be present and cultivated to draw out these qualities more easily.

The last few weeks I did my daily Qigong for say 30 minutes a day. Now in the new year I’am picking up my Tai Chi flows again. Normally I go for the live sessions but today I decided for the B24 tutorials to really go down into the different sessions. I follow along and then I sit down and watch the video again to really tickle the mirror neurons (spiegelneuronen in Dutch). So For the next week I do my qigong and stay on the path of the B24 tutorial and see what happens ;) And how about you, are you changing your routines after a while or stick with it? Enjoy your weekend 🙏☀️

I started with the actual practice today, my 71st Birthday. I had to take a break 1 time as I'm still in a medical boot on my right leg. Even with that, the first session felt good. I am placing a reminder on my calendar to help keep me going.