TAI CHI - Warm Up Exercises
Mondays, 10 AM
Mueller Southwest Greenway
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WHAT IS TAI CHI?
Tai Chi is a slow, low impact movement exercise with many holistic health benefits. It can be therapeutic for ailments, as it stimulates blood flow throughout the body. Quite often, Tai Chi is described as a meditation in motion.
DO I NEED PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE?
No. It helps, but it is not necessary.
WHAT STYLE OF TAI CHI IS TAUGHT?
What we teach are the patterns of the Yang Family Tai Chi. We do exercises from 8 Elements of Baguazhang and 8 Brocades Qigong. But primarily, we focus on combinations from the Yang-108, Yang-37, and Yang-24 routines.
WHAT DOES “TAI CHI” MEAN?
It means “Grand Ultimate”, referring to nature. The Yin-Yang symbol is called “Tai Chi Tu”, or sometimes just called “Tai Chi Symbol”. The light side is the “Yang” side, the dark side is the “Yin” side. Within the Yang is a dot of Yin, and within the Yin is a dot of Yang. These opposites are always working together in every aspect of nature. The more you train Tai Chi, the more you become aware of Yin-Yang energy in yourself, others, and in nature.
WHAT’S THE 8 ELEMENTS PART ABOUT?
The 8 Elements come from another internal art called “Baguazhang”. There are 8 elements in nature that guide the intent and movements. These elements are sky, earth, fire, water, wind, thunder, lake, and mountain. In written form, they are represented by a series of solid and broken lines, called a “trigram”. They are symbolized like this:
Each of these elements of nature have a specified set of movements connected to them.
We take these movements connected to the 8 elements, and put them in the pattern of a Tai Chi routine! It’s not uncommon to see the Tai Chi symbol, with these 8 trigrams, put together:
WOAH, THAT’S A LOT TO DIGEST!
Don’t worry! We take it one step at a time. We’re in no hurry. We quiet our minds, and move gradually. As the saying goes, “The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.” That’s the beauty of this art form, is that it is not just a series of physical therapy exercises (although it certainly CAN be that!) - it is a philosophy of movement based on the principles of nature. Let’s get started:
Contact Us to try class!