🌿 Tai Chi & Qi Gong

What are Tai Chi and Qi Gong?

Tai Chi and Qi Gong are traditional movement practices that originated in China and have been cultivated for centuries as part of a holistic approach to health and wellbeing.

Both combine slow, mindful movement, breath awareness, and focused attention.
The movements are gentle and flowing, allowing the body to release tension while developing stability, coordination, and inner calm.

Rather than striving for performance, these practices invite a deeper awareness of the body and its natural rhythms.

Qi Gong is the older of the two and includes a wide range of exercises designed to cultivate and regulate the body’s energy (“Qi”).
The movements are often simple, repetitive, and meditative, making Qi Gong highly accessible and deeply restorative.

Tai Chi developed later as a refined movement form, originally rooted in martial arts.
Today, it is widely practised as a slow, continuous sequence of movements that improves balance, coordination, and mental focus.

While Qi Gong tends to be more still and repetitive,Tai Chi is more structured and flowing — like a moving meditation.

Both practices support relaxation, body awareness, and a more balanced state of being.

What is Osteopathy?

Osteopathy is a hands-on, body-based approach that focuses on the interrelationship between structure, movement, and overall function.

It was founded in the late 19th century by the American physician Andrew Taylor Still, who developed osteopathy as a response to the limitations of conventional medicine at the time. His approach emphasised the body’s inherent ability to regulate and support itself when its structures are in balance.

Osteopathy is based on the idea that the body functions as an integrated whole.
Restrictions in mobility — whether in joints, tissues, or fascia — may influence how the body adapts and moves.

There are different fields within osteopathy, including:

– Parietal osteopathy, focusing on the 

     musculoskeletal system
– Visceral osteopathy, addressing the

      mobility and function of internal organs
– Craniosacral osteopathy, working with

      subtle rhythms and tensions within the

      craniosacral system

A variety of gentle and precise techniques are used, depending on the individual situation.
These approaches aim to support the release of restrictions, improve mobility, and restore functional balance.

Within this framework, attention may also be given to subtle regulatory processes in the body, such as the craniosacral rhythm and the overall flow of movement and energy.

In the context of SilkeBalance, osteopathic elements are applied in a subtle and supportive way, focusing on awareness, release, and functional harmony within the body.