Tai Chi classes: learning a multi-faceted Chinese cultural tradition

By Anne Sexton - Last update

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Tai Chi, or Tai Chi Chuan to use its full name, is like a great tree with many branches. Ask a dozen people what it is and you are sure to get a dozen different answers.

What is Tai Chi?

Tai Chi is sometimes called a jewel of traditional Chinese culture. For many Chinese living abroad, it’s a way to reconnect with their past, and maintain contact with their cultural roots. For westerners, Tai Chi offers an opportunity to experience and access the benefits of a mind/body system. Furthermore, it is a practice that has had thousands of years of research and development.

Some will claim it is a potent martial art, others will suggest it is an exercise system for health, or even a spiritual discipline. Often these answers will reflect what a person wants from the art. It can be all of the above. Tai Chi offers a wide range of attractions, all interlinked: health, meditation, self-healing, self-defense, fitness and so on. A true joy of Tai Chi is that ten people practicing together, could be individually focusing on these widely divergent aspects, while all practicing as one.

Why learn Tai Chi?

Tai Chi is a complete discipline. It is a training method that allows you to discover your true potential on a physical and nonphysical level. It can integrate mind, body and spirit, and thus improves both physical and mental wellbeing.

The familiar soft, relaxed, flowing series of movements of Tai Chi allow you to use the body in a precise and definite way. Muscles, bones and joints are all utilized in a meticulous fashion that increases our awareness of ourselves and of those around us. Muscles gently tone and strengthen as balance and posture improve. However, the benefits go far beyond simply developing fitness. The Tai Chi process also works from within on a much more profound level.

Tai Chi is as diverse as the people who practice it, and whilst you may start for one reason, you might just find that it takes you on a journey that you didn’t expect.

To find Tai Chi classes, please click here.

Anne Sexton

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