It’s no secret that the modern world is slowly becoming increasingly stressful and more pressurized. We are sold 10,000 different methods for managing it, for controlling it, or for getting away from it somehow. Whatever the approach, the result is the same: either escaping the pressure (flight) or pushing the pressure back (fight). Both approaches have their short term value, but are exhausting to maintain and unsustainable in the long term.

The way I approach internal cultivation is oriented 180 degrees away from this. The practices invite you to progressively and slowly open to various forms of pressure. To let them in, and then learn how to release your system to allow it to reorganize itself freely with these pressures inside. As you become more capable of letting pressure in, and more trusting of your own system to reorganize itself freely under pressure, something very interesting becomes apparent – pressure becomes the obvious source of fuel for our lives, and the crucible which promotes growth and forges us anew.

That which the modern world is desperately trying to get away from is in fact the very fuel it needs to evolve and grow. 

What I teach looks on the surface like Qi Gong, Tai Chi or Meditation, but behind the scenes it is none of these things. I have adapted the principles from these arts to create a way that is perhaps a little unorthodox, but based in essence suitable for the modern condition rather than outward technique based in times and cultures long gone. The shape and flow of the various movements are not the point, but rather a byproduct of the body spontaneously reorganizing itself with ever shifting pressures of each moment. Exercises put novel pressure on the system and teach us to find the essence of opening and releasing under varied conditions. Once the essence is understood, it is easily translated to other aspects of life, whatever they may be.

In the modern world we are so focused outwardly – what it looks like, the appearance, what the other thinks of it. Rarely do we even think to turn our attention inwardly without notions of control and conquering whatever we might run into. This is clearly leading to an increasing rate of decay of relationship with ourselves. How many people now cannot stand to spend time alone with themselves without television, music, phones or some external source of distraction? We try to cover it up, to pretend it’s not there, to escape it in thousands of different ways, but in the end it’s always, slowly ramping the pressure up while waiting patiently for our attention.

As we dive in deeper with the pressure, we find the closer we get to ourselves, the more the imperfections, the problems, the inconsistencies become apparent. The biggest source of pressure is the pressure we put on ourselves to be more perfect than we are. The good news is that this process works as effectively on these pressures as it does on external pressures. 

Through practice of this process, you can learn to confront and digest your problems, and live a life where you’re happy to be yourself, and be with yourself, without distraction.  It is possible for anyone willing to put in a little effort to learn this process and in doing so forge an ever deepening relationship with yourself and the world around you that will continue to grow into old age.