Hey everyone, whether you’re starting fresh because you just arrived or you’re restarting like me to re-establish your practice, this is our spot. The 7-day challenge always feels more grounding when we move together, so this post will stay pinned for our daily check-ins. Let’s show up, keep it simple, and take it one day at a time. ✅ How to Check In Each Day After you finish your practice, follow these three steps: 1. State which day of the challenge you’re on. Example: Day 1, Day 3, Day 7, etc. 2. How you felt before and after. One short sentence for each. 3. Screenshot or photo: A quick picture of your screen, TV, or you practicing. Feel free to leave encouragement for others. A little support goes a long way. ✨ Sample Check-In 1. Day: 1 2. Before: Feeling tight 3. After: Calm and relaxed 4. (Photo attached)

Hi everyone I’m a complete beginner to tai chi ,but looking forward to the journey

As I get older and life fills up with work, responsibilities, and building this community, holidays have started to feel less like major events and more like regular days. But Thanksgiving still stands out for me. Even though I believe gratitude should be a daily practice, today offers a gentle prompt to slow down, breathe, and notice what really matters. Just like we talk about in Tai Chi, sometimes it only takes a few grounding breaths to come back to center. So before I share what I’m grateful for, take a second with me. One breath in. One breath out. Let the mind settle. Here are a few things I’m thankful for this year: 1. My health I’m grateful for this body. It’s not perfect. It gets sore and stiff like yours. But it carries me through life, lets me breathe, move, and grow. That alone is a gift. 2. This community Rooted Alchemy has become such a safe space. It’s rare to find an online community where people support each other, learn together, and genuinely care. Seeing the YouTube channel grow and seeing all of you engage here has been a blessing. 3. Growth and learning I’m thankful that life keeps teaching me. I’m learning new things every day. I’m changing. I’m evolving. And I’m grateful to be walking that path with all of you. Even though this community is still in its early stages, we have some exciting things planned. Thank you for being here. Every single one of you matters, and your presence shapes the energy of this place. Take a moment today to reflect. What are you thankful for this year? Drop your thoughts in the comments. I would love to read them. Happy Thanksgiving everyone. 🌱

Here are our new members who joined the community! @Willom Samuel @Linda Farsakian-Wall @Anna Piech @Lori Lee @Sylvain Beriault @Ed O'Malley @Bill McDonald @Jay Brown @Catherine Liljequist @Anna Piech We're glad you're here, and you're in the right place. This is an incredibly supportive community, so please don’t hesitate to drop a quick “hi” if you haven’t already. 💡For our existing members — what’s one small insight you would share with someone just starting out this journey?

Lately I have been taking one of the core Tai Chi principles and using it while lifting weights. The idea of empty and full has been a game changer for my back training. When I do any pulling movement like rows or pull ups, I apply it like this: At the bottom of the rep I get full. I take a deep breath into my lats. I expand my chest. I let the air fill that whole side of my body. It feels like I am shifting energy into the muscles I want to activate. As I pull myself up I empty. I let the air out on the effort. The exhale helps me contract harder, pull cleaner, and stay connected to the movement. I have been training my back for a long time with no real strength increase or visible improvement. No changes in food, no changes in form, no changes in volume. The only thing I changed was this empty and full breathing technique, and my back activation finally clicked. It made me realize how much Tai Chi and Qigong can transfer into other areas of our life. How are you using Tai Chi or Qigong principles outside of practice? Is it with your fitness? Your mobility? Your mental health? Your daily routine? Your breath? Your relationships? I would love to hear how these arts are showing up for you. Which area of your life have you applied Tai Chi or Qigong principles to the most?