Taji

Simon is a Taiji and Qigong practitioner who has been based in Singapore for the last 20 years.
British born with Hong Kong roots, Simon first picked up Taiji, Qigong, and Shaolin-based martial arts at the age of 12. His early inspiration was his grandfather, who through his daily Taiji, energy practice, and physical training since his 50s, lived a long and healthy disease-free life until the grand old age of 94.

In 2004, Simon suffered a severe spinal injury – herniation of two spinal discs due to years of high impact martial arts training, leaving him unable to walk properly again. Doctors wrote off his chances of a full recovery and advised him to undergo a spinal fusion surgery that would result in significantly reduced mobility post operation. Simon decided against it.

In the following years, Simon would persevere on his pursuit of self-recovery and discover the power of self-healing through practice of a Taiji-based system of movements with deep and gentle awareness to create the conditions needed for the body to heal itself. He was driven by a strong desire to inspire others around him - while dealing with the loss of his wife and soulmate who passed on fighting cancer in 2008.

In 2009, he surprised everyone including his doctors, fellow practitioners and instructors of different disciplines by not only walking upright again but also gained a higher level of strength he had not reached even prior to the injury. Through mentoring and guidance, Simon helped others who had suffered spinal injuries of a similar nature accomplish a similar healing experience as himself.

Simon thus pioneered the Tienji Awareness Method which he lovingly named paying tribute to his grandfather. Tienji Awareness Method is a self-healing and recuperative modality borne from principles from Feldenkrais, Meditation, Taiji, Qigong, Yoga, and Physical Therapy, a system of practices that guides students through movement with awareness while complementing our body’s ability to self-heal, not just physically but also emotionally.

Simon believes achieving a balanced Mind, Body and Spirit as well as gaining a peaceful inner state is especially important in our modern world, and such boundless wisdom can be found across many age-old teachings and disciplines across different cultures.

He conducts private individual and group sessions for clients such as Barclays, Jones Lang LaSalle, The Royal Bank of Scotland, Singapore National Eye Centre, The Sheng Hong Arts Institute, and has been featured in A Magazine and 938 Now.