tai chi and shiatsu
I have been practicing Tai Chi with Brian Cooper now for several years.
After every lesson I walk away inspired and much clearer on even subtler aspects of my practice. Brian knows every single bit of his body so intimately as well as how all those parts relate to each other. I feel very lucky to have been benefiting from his great ability to teach some of this to me. This has transformed my personal practice (I had been studying with various teachers before, but what Brian offers is clearly something else) tremendously.
I would also like to add how this has helped me on a professional level: I am a Shiatsu practitioner and I work on a treatment couch. This naturally involves standing on my legs (rather than kneeling/crawling on a futon) and it is no exaggeration to say that since studying with Brian my treatments have moved to a different level.
This is the case in 2 ways:
1) The way I use my legs to transfer power into my arms and hands has completely changed. My back and legs are stronger and more aligned than ever before and my legs are much more connected to my core. This means that my treatments are much more effortless.
(working on a futon does not quite pose this problem as one can get away quite easily without having developed strength and connection of the legs to the core. Also back issues don’t show up so easily as the legs are bent most of the time, naturally keeping the back open).
2) Through understanding various alignments and connections in my body in a deeper way in myself it is much easier to see and treat any issues in my clients.
I also teach Shiatsu and obviously all the above has also strongly influenced and improved the way I teach Shiatsu and related exercises (including some Tai Chi and Chi Gong movements) that help to understand the meridian system of Chinese medicine in an experiential way.
I truly recommend anybody who is serious about developing this art to a deeper level to study with Brian.
Finally I would like to add how much I appreciate Sylvie’s input, quietly and skilfully available all the time to help out when anybody needs some extra help. Together they create a truly conducive environment for learning and are a wonderful husband and wife team. We are lucky to have them on our doorstep. (well, those of us who live locally).
Markus
After every lesson I walk away inspired and much clearer on even subtler aspects of my practice. Brian knows every single bit of his body so intimately as well as how all those parts relate to each other. I feel very lucky to have been benefiting from his great ability to teach some of this to me. This has transformed my personal practice (I had been studying with various teachers before, but what Brian offers is clearly something else) tremendously.
I would also like to add how this has helped me on a professional level: I am a Shiatsu practitioner and I work on a treatment couch. This naturally involves standing on my legs (rather than kneeling/crawling on a futon) and it is no exaggeration to say that since studying with Brian my treatments have moved to a different level.
This is the case in 2 ways:
1) The way I use my legs to transfer power into my arms and hands has completely changed. My back and legs are stronger and more aligned than ever before and my legs are much more connected to my core. This means that my treatments are much more effortless.
(working on a futon does not quite pose this problem as one can get away quite easily without having developed strength and connection of the legs to the core. Also back issues don’t show up so easily as the legs are bent most of the time, naturally keeping the back open).
2) Through understanding various alignments and connections in my body in a deeper way in myself it is much easier to see and treat any issues in my clients.
I also teach Shiatsu and obviously all the above has also strongly influenced and improved the way I teach Shiatsu and related exercises (including some Tai Chi and Chi Gong movements) that help to understand the meridian system of Chinese medicine in an experiential way.
I truly recommend anybody who is serious about developing this art to a deeper level to study with Brian.
Finally I would like to add how much I appreciate Sylvie’s input, quietly and skilfully available all the time to help out when anybody needs some extra help. Together they create a truly conducive environment for learning and are a wonderful husband and wife team. We are lucky to have them on our doorstep. (well, those of us who live locally).
Markus