Anytime Tai Chi | Tai Chi for Beginners | 15 Minute Flow

All right, so we'll begin. Put the feet together or as close as you can. The hands can come to the lower abdomen, just taking a few deep breaths in and out. As you breathe in, the belly expands. As you breathe out, the belly returns toward the spine. Abdominal breathing. Just breathing in and breathing out, whichever way feels good for you. Or if you want, you can do the belly breath, activating the diaphragm, the primary muscle for breathing. Just letting go of tension from the neck and upper chest. Feeling your whole body with oxygen and energy. Just feeling it circulate through your body while feeling connected with the earth. Feeling light but grounded, alert but relaxed. And then on the next inhale, you can hold the breath at the top just for a moment and then let it out with a big sigh. Just letting out any more tension and stress that you may be holding onto. Then the hands can float down by the sides. And as you breathe in, the arms float up. They circle in front as if you're gathering an energy, bringing it into the heart, send it down towards the earth, sinking the chi. It's a nice way to start our flow, grounding the energy. Just feeling centered and present. Adding in some gentle movements. One more time, sink the chi. And then step one foot out to the side, either foot. The arms float up in front. The arms float down. The knees and hips soften. Breathing in, rising up like mist from the lake. And then floating down as you breathe out, like a gentle ring. We call this opening the door, the start of the journey. Just floating up and down like your arms are resting on a wave in the ocean. One more time, open the door. Then the arms float out to the sides like you're spreading your wings. And then this hand here floats in front, the other one behind as you gently rotate to the side. And coming back to center, the arms float out to the sides and then switching sides, this hand comes in front, the other one behind, clearing the field, clearing out old stuck energy, rotating side to side nice and gently. Breathing in, breathing out. One more time, clearing the field. All right, this time the arms float out to the sides. This hand floats in front, the other one behind, but the back hand stays at the lower back. The front hand comes up and over and all the way around. The Zen circles, opening the shoulder, rotating the torso, moving from your center. Let the torso drive the movement. The arm follows nice and gently and soft. All right, one more time, the Zen circles on this side. And then reverse direction with the arm. Both arms float out to the sides and then switching sides. Okay, this hand goes behind the other one in front and the front hand keeps on going all the way up and over, scooping under. As you come up, the palm faces away, rotating, spiraling the energy, opening the joints, lubricating the joints, breathing in and breathing out. One more time, the Zen circles. And then from here, reverse direction with the front arm. Both arms float out to the sides and both hands float down, the fingertips point up. They float all the way up and over and then spiral out and away. Silk reeling, the upward spirals coming up the center and then spiraling out and away. Breathing in, rising up, breathing out, softening down, softening the hips and knees. Opening the shoulders, opening the chest, decompressing the spine. One more time with just the arms, now we'll add in the legs. So step one foot in and then the hands keep on going up overhead and you can keep the foot down or this time you can lift your leg as the hands come up. The phoenix rising, touching down as needed, rising up. One more time on this side, the phoenix rising. And then stepping down to the side, take your time with the arms as you step the other foot in, rising up, keeping the foot down at first. And then this time if you want, you can lift your leg. Touching down as needed, one more time, phoenix rising. And then stepping down to center, fingertips point up. This time gently rotate to one side. One hand spirals forward, the other spirals behind. Coming back to center, turning the other way, making the tiger claws. Notice the gentle rotation or maybe even stretching a little more if it feels okay. It's really opening the torso, making the tiger claws, one more time. This time, one more time coming up and over, silk reeling upward spirals. And then reverse direction with the arms, circle in front, hug the tree. And then step one foot in, coming on the ball of the foot. And then as you step out to the corner, the arms open out to the sides. And then shift the weight back, the hands come all the way up and over. You can even lift the toe, the hands brush out to the sides, keeping the spine nice and long. And coming forward, the wrist cross. If you want, you can even keep on going as you open. And then reversing direction. You can lift the toe or you can keep the foot flat, the butterfly. So coming forward, nice and easy, nice and slow, opening. And if it feels okay, you can lift the toes if you like. Coming forward, the arms float up, all the way up and open. One more time, fluttering your wings, take a bow. Very nice. Coming forward, the arms open. And then step the front foot back in, hug the tree, shift the weight as you step in. And then step out to the other corner. As you do so, the arms open wide. And then shifting the weight back, the front leg straightens, the hands come down and then float out to the sides like a butterfly spreading its wings. Coming forward, keeping the spine nice and long and open. And once again, you can keep your foot flat or if you have shoes on, it might be okay to lift the toes. Coming forward and then opening. One more time, the butterfly. Flutter your wings and take a bow. Coming forward. And then step the front foot back in, hug the tree and soften. This time, the hands come together in prayer position right in front of the heart. Step one foot out a little bit wider. And then from here, the fingertips guide the way, piercing through. Circle around the other way. Gentle rotation. Shifting the weight side to side, the dragon pierces through. Breathing in and breathing out, nice and slow. You don't have to turn very far. And then if you want, you can let the hands begin to drift up towards the mountain peak. And then maybe going down to the base of the mountain, working your way down the mountain trail, side to side. And then tuning into your body, moving in any way that would feel great for you in this moment. The spontaneous dragon. So you can continue just to go side to side or really just tuning into the body and letting the energy guide you. And moving any way that would feel great. Exploring, bringing a sense of curiosity while letting go of judgment. Just feeling presence. One more time, the spontaneous dragon. And then release, round out and hug the tree. And then step one foot in a little bit closer. And then from here, the palms face each other in front of the heart. As you breathe in, the hands open slightly. As you breathe out, they come back towards each other. This time, open a little bit more as you breathe in a little more. Coming back in. One more time, big open, big breath. Accordion breathing. And we'll do another round, starting off small. Breathing in, a little bit bigger. Breathing out, this time, big open, big breath. One more round, accordion breathing. Starting small, then a little bit bigger. Big open, big breath. And then from here, the hands float down. Palms face up. The hands float all the way up and over and then down in front of the body. It's like we're gathering in energy, gathering in the breath. Letting it wash through the body. The bathing breath. It's like we're bathing in this healing energy, giving us vitality and strength, beauty and grace. One more time, the bathing breath. Then the arms float out to the side, spreading your wings. The arms float down, the palms face up, one hand on top of the other. And then this hand floats all the way up and over, down the center line of the body. Other side, breathe in as the hand floats up. Breathing out, centering. Calming the heart, calming the mind. One more time, centering. This time, both hands float all the way up and over just as much as you can. The hands float down to the waist as you soften the hips and knees. And circle the hands in front as if you had a big ball in front of the body, coming under, back up to the heart, and down. One more time, opening the heart. Rising up, softening down. This time, making a diamond shape with the hands in front of the heart, and then press out, sending out all your loving kindness to the world. May all beings be free from suffering. May they be happy. May they be healthy. May they live with ease. Then turning your palms to face yourself, the hands come to the heart. May I be kind to myself. May I feel connected with all beings. May I love myself just as I am. Then the hands can float down to the lower abdomen. You can step your feet together or as close as you can, closing your eyes or keeping a soft gaze. Let your body rock and sway like bamboo in the wind. Feeling the sensations in the body. Feeling the breath. And then bring your attention into your heart, creating an inner smile, expressing gratitude to yourself for being here today. Then if your eyes are closed, you can slowly open them. The hands can come together in front of the heart, and we can finish with a bow. Thank you all so much. So if you like, you can continue to stand, maybe separate the feet a little if you like, or you can have a seat, and I'll play a little bit of the Native American style. All right, so just take a few moments, really feel into your body. Notice how you're feeling. And then if you like, you can type in the comments or the chat how you're feeling right now. Love to hear about your experience.