Tai Chi, Qigong, and even meditation always talk about letting go of muscular tension. It’s one of those fundamental statements everyone makes. We’re told to relax, release tension, not use strength, and become more internal.

In Taijiquan, we often talk about moving away from forceful muscular effo...

The following is the concluding talk I gave during our Tracing the Wall workshop on August 22, 2026. The workshop has since been developed into Tracing the Wall: The Complete Internal Cultivation Method, now available as a self-study program through the Sanctuary of Tao. I’m sharing the talk here be...

When Does an Exercise Become a Cultivation Practice?

I’ve been thinking lately about what actually makes something a cultivation practice. We use words like Qigong, Taijiquan, meditation, and Internal Alchemy, and we often assume that because an exercise comes from one of these traditions, it’s aut...

When I first began studying with Stuart in the early 1990s, I wanted to learn everything he knew. I wanted to learn the Taijiquan form, sword, saber, staff, the two-person sets, Taiji Ruler, Qigong, meditation, and Neidan (Internal Alchemy). If Stuart taught it, I wanted to learn it.

Like many stud...

Lately I’ve been teaching counting the breaths. It's one of the oldest and simplest meditation methods there is. Count the inhalations. Count the exhalations. Count both. Count to 10 (or any of the numerous variations I’ve been teaching) and start over. If you lose track, simply return to one and tr...

 In this video, I’m demonstrating a way of training that combines two of our main practices: the 16-Posture Before Heaven Taiji Form and the Taiji Ruler.

On the left side of the screen, I perform the Before Heaven 16-Posture Taijiquan Form in its standard empty-hand version. On the right side, I pe...

Stuart used to write a section for the newsletter called A Few Words. I thought I would continue the tradition in my own way with A Few More Words.

I dream about Stuart all the time. In the dreams, we’re talking, working on classes, planning things, or just interacting normally. Then, somewhere in ...

In Taoist teachings, Internal Alchemy refers to a process of transformation of your body, mind, and spirit that cannot be forced, accelerated, or manufactured through effort alone.

Yet for many people, the language of spiritual awakening assumes that striving and self-improvement are oriented towar...

Stuart taught us that spiritual cultivation must always combine practice with study. He wasn’t saying theory matters so you can sound smart or explain things intellectually. He was saying that theory gives the practice its internal alignment. He often repeated the line:

“Theory without practice is ...

Stuart used to talk about the Laying the Foundation stage as men restoring Jing to the kidneys and women restoring or settling the Blood in the womb. This stage sounds simple on paper, but in practice it’s one of the hardest stages for people to truly enter. Many students hover around it for years, ...

Most people are first drawn to Taoist internal arts because something about the practices feels exciting or mysterious. They hear about energy cultivation, spiritual awakening, and immortality, and are curious, if not positively determined, to achieve such states. That curiosity and desire are good....

This begins a new series of reflections on what it means to be a cultivator, a sincere practitioner of Taoist and Buddhist philosophy, meditation, Taijiquan, and Qigong. Each article will explore the inner realities of practice, the living transmission of our lineage, and the art of integrating cult...