My approach to learning Tai Chi

Different teachers emphasize different aspects of tai chi. My school uses slow movement so that students experience the physical sensation of each tai chi posture. The process of learning each tai chi posture is also approached slowly to give students time to appreciate, experience and understand true relaxation within movement while attending to the structure of the whole body. We take time to experience the internal and external balance of each posture. Slow and deliberate tai chi study and practice counterbalances your everyday fast paced activities, giving you a tool to help relieve stress.

The first level of training is the “technical phase” in which we learn the choreography of the movements (postures): where to place the feet and hands and how to allow the spine to straighten. During the technical phase, several layers of practice are learned simultaneously. Simply slowing down, feeling the shape of your body and allowing yourself to fully relax on your feet—all can have a stabilizing, comforting and energizing effect, physically as well as psychologically. (These skills are also the core of the discipline’s martial-arts aspect.)

Early on, you come to understand how physical tension inhibits flowing movement. In the later phase, you come to understand how a mind that is disconnected from the body also inhibits movement. Ultimately, you will sharpen your mind-body connection to create energizing tai chi postures, as well as create more relaxed and efficient movement.

Tai Chi Chuan is a remarkable exercise comprising many layers of complexity, all based on alert relaxation. Some students view tai chi as a way to reduce stress and increase energy, some a health tonic to build immunity and balance, others a form of meditation adding calmness and clarity to our busy lives. Tai chi can do all of this.