Pain going in vs Pain going out
Your most significant and challenging relationship is with your body and how you view it, accept it, use it and respect it. No one in their right mind wants to…
Taoist Mind Body Practice - Why Stillness Matters
To move like an artist, stay right where you are—here, now. Return to the state of a newborn child: open, curious, unguarded. Let the ego drop, even for a moment. Dissolve into stillness and calm. There is no other place to be.
Here exists peace of mind, that cannot be given to you, and from that basic ground of stillness you simply create.
I offer structured techniques as a foundation—authentic forms that build balance, strength, and whole body connection. From there, you can simply embody creativity, fluidity, and spontaneity, allowing your practice to respond to what your body truly needs in each moment. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach. All forms are tools, a framework for freedom—a living practice that supports healing, awareness, and authentic expression. .
There is no need for shortcuts, secret formulas, magic thinking nor attachement to schools or so called Masters. The wisdom you seek is already within you. Taoist practice is simply a way to return to that — to listen, feel, and respond to what is naturally true for you. There is no dogma to follow, no organisation to join, and no need to become like anyone else.
Many of us have been taught to look outside ourselves for answers — to chase approval, success, or recognition. Yet fulfilment doesn’t come from those things. It comes from remembering your own innate wholeness. When you set aside the ego, even for a moment, and rest in stillness, you begin to sense the openness and ease that have always been there.
Right here, in this moment, is where peace, creativity, and wholeness is present.
About Chris Ray Chappell
Since 1995, I have dedicated my time to teaching and researching Taoist Internal Arts and Tibetan Mind training practices. I began visiting China in 2004 to investigate these arts firsthand via active lineages in Tai Chi, Ba Gua, Hsing-I, and Qi Gong practices.
Over a 50-plus-year time frame, I have trained with masters in various fields of expertise. I began with Wado Ryu Karate Do in 1973 and later studied at the legendary Earlham Street Dojo under Steve Morris in 1979/80. Later, I studied Classical Ballet at Rambert School and became a founding member of the Central School of Ballet member with Christopher Gable. In Contemporary Dance, Graham technique, I was fortunate to train with a significant principle of the Martha Graham Company, the inspirational William Louther.
I hold lineages in Tai Chi Chuan, Cheng Ba Gua Zhang, Hsing-I, and Hun Yuan Qi Gong. Being an indoor student of the late Grandmaster Tian Ying Jia provided me many insights into the Yang family Tai Chi Chuan practices that are not in the public domain, which I later supplemented by private study with Master Robert Boyd, the second Disciple of the late Grandmaster Ip Tai Tak.
I broadened my research to include studies with Master Practitioners of Western bodywork. In the 1980s, Chris studied and taught Pilates in London. I also studied Thomas Myers’s groundbreaking myofascial Bodywork, dissection studies with Gil Headly, and Hypnoanalysis with Neil French.
I studied with several Tibetan Buddhist Rinpoches over the past 20 years, and my principal teacher was Chögyal Namkhai Norbu. I graduated in 2018 from the Martsang Kagyu Lam Rim ( Mind Training ) after 5 years of private study with HH Gangri Karma Rinpoche.
In the past, I have worked professionally extensively in film and theatre as an actor, dancer, choreographer, and fight director.
What our clients say
“Chris Ray is a rare instructor who is able to combine an understanding of modern physiology with the traditional practices of qigong and martial arts. He draws on his deep experience of dance, martial arts, meditation and yoga to explain synchronised mind and body control in a manner that is concise and practical. Over almost two decades, I have worked with Chris and witnessed him develop his students based on their individual requirements, from rehabilitation through to peak physical and mental performance. It takes personal commitment and is not easy, but if you are looking to make profound change with a dedicated and sincere instructor, then I cannot recommend Chris Ray highly enough."
Julian McIntyre
CEO of McIntyre Partners
“Chris Chappell has an approach to the internal arts which is simple: does it work and can you learn it? In this, he follows a traditional Chinese logic. The Chinese don't ask why, they ask how. Chris combines utterly fearless practicality with a ruthless eye for perfection and a nose for bullshit. In all our China adventures, I have had to rely on him for guidance. Chris has insights into bodywork which amaze me, and his continuing education, most recently in Myo-fascial Integration, is testament to his high standards and restless search for perfection. There is no better person in England, and perhaps in Europe, who can teach Chi Gong and Tai Chi, than Chris Chappell. I am proud to call him my colleague, but he is also my mentor, and my Tai Chi Elder Brother. If it's Internal Arts you seek, look no further.”
Jan Golden
Dir. Tai Chi
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