Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the questions I am asked most often about my online Qigong courses.

On this page

Learning online

How the courses are structured

Experience, background and suitability

Your body, health and safety

What to expect from the practice

In-person sessions

Learning online

Can Qigong really be learnt properly online?

Yes, and for one-to-one tuition it works remarkably well. Every session is taught live over Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, with me watching you throughout. This is not a video course with a forum attached: you practise, I watch, and I correct you as you go.

How can posture be corrected if the teacher isn't in the room?

By insisting on it. You set your camera so your whole body is visible, and I'll ask you to turn to the side, to the front and sometimes to the back, so I can check each alignment from the angle that shows it best. I'm strict about this, and would rather spend most of a session on a single detail than let a poor habit settle in. Many students find remote work sharpens their own awareness, because you learn to find and feel an alignment yourself rather than being physically pushed into it.

Posture being checked during a live online Qigong session — Posture checked from the side during a live online session

Is it a group class or one to one?

The online courses are one to one. The pace, the emphasis and the order of work are shaped around your body, your level and your goals rather than around a fixed syllabus.

How long is a session?

90 minutes, with full-length posture checks rather than brief demonstrations.

What do I need at home?

Very little. A clear space of roughly two metres by two metres, a device with a camera that can be placed a few metres back so your whole body is in shot, a reasonably stable connection, and loose clothing that doesn't hide what your hips and knees are doing. Bare feet or flat, thin-soled shoes are ideal. A quiet spot where you won't be interrupted helps more than anything technical.

I'm in a different time zone. Is that a problem?

No. Sessions are arranged flexibly around your schedule and time zone, and your course begins when you're ready rather than on a fixed intake date.

What if my connection drops mid-session?

It happens occasionally and it's easily dealt with. Time lost is made up, either later in the same session or in the next one.

Do I get any written material?

Yes. Full notes and diagrams are provided for every form, so you're never relying on memory alone between sessions.

A short excerpt from a live one-to-one online session

How the courses are structured

How many sessions are there?

Eight live sessions, normally twice a week and completed within four weeks of your first session. The advanced Eight Extraordinary Meridians course runs to ten sessions over five weeks.

Why only twice a week? Couldn't I learn faster?

Deliberately, no. The space between sessions is where the practice actually takes root. Information can be delivered quickly; skill cannot. Two sessions a week gives you time to stand, to notice things, and to bring real questions to the next session.

Which course should I begin with?

For most people, the ideal place to begin is one of the Five Element Qigong sets, such as Xiu Jin, Heaven and Earth or Bagua Chun Gen. Zhan Zhuang standing practice is also open to complete beginners. Qigong that works with the Eight Extraordinary Meridians or with Shen comes later, as it cannot be practised properly until you have developed reasonable skill in working with the Five Elements. Just tell me what you're after and I'll point you in the right direction.

Zhan Zhuang standing practice in a live online session — Zhan Zhuang standing practice, taught live online

Can I pause partway through if life gets busy?

Yes. The second half of a course can be postponed for up to around three months, and support continues during the gap: calls to clarify anything arising in your practice, and further material sent your way.

What happens once the course finishes?

I continue to support you for two months after your final session, answering questions and giving feedback on your practice, so you're not left to drift once the sessions end.

Experience, background and suitability

Do I need any previous experience?

None at all. Complete beginners are welcome. What matters far more than experience is patience, attention and a willingness to practise between sessions.

I've already done some Qigong or Taiji. Will this repeat what I know?

Almost certainly not, and where it does overlap it will go considerably deeper. Much of the Qigong taught today is external shape with the internal content stripped out. The work here sits in a clear Traditional Chinese Medicine framework: meridians, acupoints, the Five Elements, the cultivation of Jing, Qi and Shen, and focuses on using the mind to guide the Qi rather than on choreography. Practitioners whose standing has never been properly checked often find the first sessions eye-opening.

Am I too old, too stiff or too unfit for this?

Very unlikely. The movement involved is small, the demands are gradual, and everything is adjusted to what your body can do today rather than what it should be able to do. This is a practice aimed at longevity, not at looking impressive.

Do I have to take it all very seriously?

Sincerity is needed; solemnity is not. I'll ask you to learn a few acupuncture points and meridian pathways and to refine your posture carefully, which is easier than it sounds. A light heart is genuinely part of the method. The Qi flows more freely when you aren't gritting your teeth.

Can I carry on with my yoga, martial arts or other practice alongside this?

Yes, and most people find it improves them. Real Qigong tends to upgrade whatever else you do, because structure, root and relaxation carry across into everything.

Is any of this religious?

No. The framework is Traditional Chinese Medicine and classical internal practice, and no belief is required. You also won't find recycled Daoist, Buddhist or self-help quotations here. They add nothing to your practice and only complicate something that is, at heart, very simple and accessible. All I ask of you is honest practice and an open mind.

Your body, health and safety

Taiji hurt my knees. Is standing practice going to make things worse?

It's a very common story, and the cause is usually the order in which the work is done. The knees need conditioning through specific preparatory practices before any deep or loaded work is attempted. In this Qigong the knees are unlocked rather than loaded, the movement involved is very small, and the deep bending and low stances seen all over the internet are simply not part of it. If you have a history of knee trouble, say so at the outset and I'll take that side of things carefully and at your pace.

I have a health condition or an old injury. Should I mention it?

Yes, please do, before you begin. I work around contraindications and conditions needing adjustment as a matter of course, and it is far easier to shape the practice around something known from the start than to unpick a problem later.

Is standing practice physically hard?

From the outside, nothing appears to happen. Inside, it is demanding in a very particular way. But duration is built up honestly, from a few genuine minutes upwards, and endurance for its own sake is not the aim. I will never ask you to hold a posture that puts you at risk, and I'll stop you if you try.

What if I can't stand for long?

Then you stand for less, and build from there. Some postures can also be adapted. The structure of the course adjusts to you rather than the other way round.

Is Qigong a substitute for medical treatment?

No. Qigong is recognised as one of the main branches of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the exercises I teach are medicinal in nature, working with the meridians to reduce excess, nourish deficiency and clear stagnation. That said, it sits alongside proper medical care rather than replacing it, and you should keep your doctor in the picture for anything serious.

What to expect from the practice

Will I actually feel anything, and how soon?

Most students notice something fairly early: warmth, a sense of fullness in the hands, a settling of the breath, legs that are working harder than they look. Sensitivity of this kind is trained rather than imagined, and it grows with consistency. How quickly it develops varies from person to person, and honest practice between sessions is the single biggest factor.

Guidance and correction during a live online session

Isn't standing still rather dull?

It sounds that way until you try it properly. Standing is one of the most demanding and rewarding practices in the whole of Qigong, and there is a great deal going on once you know what to pay attention to. Boredom usually means nobody has shown you where to look.

How is this different from the Qigong I see online?

Most of what circulates is gentle, flowing movement with the internal content removed, wrapped in recycled philosophical quotations. The work here is the opposite: specific, precise and internal, with the mind actively guiding the energy. It gives the body something concrete to do and the mind something it can verify.

How do I get started?

Register your interest through the online courses page, or get in touch directly by email or through the contact form. Mention your experience so far, anything physical that needs taking into account, and what you're hoping to get from the practice, and I'll advise you on the most sensible place to begin.

In-person sessions

Do you teach in person?

I travel frequently to collaborate on projects such as Qigong, Yoga, Therapeutic Bodywork and Meditation retreats, so my regular teaching takes place online. In-person classes and one-to-one sessions may occasionally be available at selected locations along the way. Please get in touch if you would like to hear about them.

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