Craig Mallett

19/08/2026

6 month online course for cultivating the lower center (Dan Tian) is out now.

I've just finished work on my latest course, this one goes into depth on the cultivation of the lower center, which is the center of the Yin dynamic in the body. This means it's responsible for drawing the system together, solidifying it, bringing stability, anchoring and organizing it into something coherent. More importantly, it's the system in our being that allows change to stick in place and helps everything to be arranged properly without requiring the mind to manage it all.

This is a beginner/intermediate course, so needs a little bit of background to engage with. If you're brand new to this stuff, I am also offering a bundle that will include all the courses with prerequisite learning.

20% off for the next week if you use the code at checkout.

Links in comments/bio

07/08/2026

If you're not aware, episode 18 and 19 of my podcast are not-so-secretly about the metal and wood phases of the Wu Xing respectively. If you're not sure what the Wu Xing is, it's a Daoist theory that loosely translates as Five Movements (or more colloquially Five Elements). The phases are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water. After a lot of nice feedback from the previous episodes, people were asking when I was going to do the other elements, so here we are! In the episode I explore the link between willpower, the capacity to confront the depths of fear and potential, and the wisdom to act from a place of experience rather than fast knowledge. In Daoist cosmology, this is linked to the concept of Jing, the essence of our being that contains all the potential that can be realized before we die, should we take appropriately wise action.

Available on all the usual platforms (search for the Aware Relaxed Connected podcast episode 22) or you can find it right here:
www.craigmallett.com/podcast

06/08/2026

A short clip from my weekly Patreon classes, each week we dive into qigong exercises to develop fundamental qualities for internal cultivation arts. The way I approach this is rather universal, designed to give you firm foundation from which to pursue specific arts from (or just support your life if you're not into the epic training needed for most internal arts).

My patreon can be found at https://patreon.craigmallett.com

05/08/2026

It's been out a while, but worth tagging again (mainly because I got around to making a graphic for it). In episode 21 of the Aware Relaxed Connected podcast I interviewed Gabriela Gutierrez about her work as a writer, poet, ritualist, mythologist, and scholar of ancient religion. One of my favourite episodes, we discussed the balance between rational thought and irrational relationality, mythology, relating to an animate world, ancient greek pre-heirarchical mythology and more.

Check it out on all the usual podcast platforms, episode 21 of Aware Relaxed Connected podcast.

or you can find it here: www.craigmallett.com/podcast

09/07/2026

A small snippet from one of my recent classes. Here I am talking about the legs as the gas-strut-like structure that transfers the weight from the torso to the ground, and the kua as the link between the torso and this gas strut effect.

My patreon now has a huge selection of classes available, and I'm adding new (roughly seasonal for the southern hemisphere) classes every week that you can follow along with. Those with top tier patronage can also access the classes live on zoom; there are 2 of these classes every week and only one usually makes the upload.

patreon.craigmallett.com if you'd like to check that out.

08/07/2026

Another 'not really new' episode that has been out for a little while, this one is a bit of a ramble about my perspective on martial arts and how most martial arts have nothing to do with fighting or self defense. Despite this disparity, they are still fantastic arts for cultivation and personal development (In line with this thinking, I do not consider myself a martial artist or self defense guy, despite my many years studying martial arts. I focus on cultivation, and use some martial drills to aid in this end, but I'm not overly concerned with developing the capacity to fight at a high level).

The episode can be found on all the usual platforms (search for Aware Relaxed Connected episode 20) or via www.craigmallett.com/podcast

Enjoy

25/05/2026

20/05/2026

I don't train Taiji (taichi). I use some principles and some drills from the art for my own purposes, but I'm not a "taichi" guy.

Pushhands is one practice I like a lot. It has multiple uses, but what I mainly explore is how the interaction gives me an opportunity to discover and connect with new experiences or perceptions. For me, it's not about winning or losing, keeping your structure integrated or not, or even having good release or not. I have my good days and bad days with these things and overall they tend to evolve in the way they do, apparently getting better slowly. The overarching idea I work with is to notice the discovery and the inherent joy or curiosity within that. Even discovering something difficult (a disconnection or blockage) is charged with this. "How interesting, I never noticed that before" or "I have never experienced it quite like this before". There's no end to what might be discovered a new or something forgotten rediscovered, but the process of discovery is what interests me.

To be in this mode, one must remain connected to the mystery, what you do not know, what is unknown. As Zen Master Seung Sahn says: "only don't know".

In my language this is part of the opening quality, releasing being linked to "letting what is discovered be as it already is and change however it will change" (the change is simply more discovery). Opening leads to discovery, releasing allows the discovery to change however it may. Both sides of this single process are always and already occurring, which becomes obvious when one stops trying to know.

Pushhands play here with the mighty Chris Radnedge who I believe was excommunicated from Instagram but is still releasing untold meme mastery over on Facebook. Recommend checking him out of you're in Canberra!

06/05/2026

A snippet from a recent workshop, on accepting the pressure of the partner to your centre. There are no external perceptions!

05/05/2026

When the releasing process is running through the body, the body does not move using conventional coordination. Instead, the release allows the body to organically reorganise itself around the position of the hands. As the hands are constantly moving, the body is constantly following.

As the body releases more deeply, it becomes more free in its reorganisational capacity, so the posture and alignment of the body becomes progressively less controlled by the mind. This freedom is also what allows the natural circulation of Qi in the system. Most of the practices in qigong are not there to govern the circulation but rather to free up the interior so the circulation can do its thing without governance.