Secrets of Water Method Qigong (Part 1)
Interview with Energy Arts Senior Instructor Paul Cavel
We just released Part 1 of my interview with Paul Cavel—a deep dive into Water Method Qigong: how to build health and longevity without strain. Heather Cavel’s edits weave in teaching/practice clips from both of us, so you’ll see ideas in motion, not just hear them.
Water Method Qigong Explained with Paul Cavel
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Why this matters
If you want sustainable results from Tai Chi and Qigong—more energy, stronger balance, less tension—how you train matters as much as what you train. In this conversation, we break down the Water Method’s practical principles so you can improve safely and steadily. For many, it’s an ideal time to reconnect to practice with a method you can sustain for life
Key takeaways
• Qigong defined: working with the energy that drives the body—beyond just muscle and choreography.
• Neigong (the “inner work”): 16 core threads; we spotlight pulsing as a rhythm of healthy tissue.
• Structure → Flow: build the container first so your energy doesn’t “leak.”
• The 70% Rule: train at ~70% effort to avoid injury and burnout while steadily increasing capacity.
• Cyclic training: go deeper, not just broader—revisit fundamentals to remove glass ceilings.
About the speakers
Paul Cavel — Energy Arts Senior Instructor; author of The Tai Chi Space: How to Move in Tai Chi and Qigong (2017) and Heaven & Earth Qigong: Heal Your Body and Awaken Your Qi (2020) with Master Bruce Frantzis.
Chris Cinnamon — Head Instructor, Chicago Tai Chi, author of Tai Chi for Balance: How to Stay on Your Feet and Avoid Falls (2023) and Tai Chi for Knee Health: The Low Impact Exercise System for Eliminating Knee Pain (2019).
Ready to go deeper?
Chris Cinnamon, JD, MS
Certified Exercise Physiologist
Head Instructor
Author, Tai Chi for Balance and
Tai Chi for Knee Health