Why has Tai Chi become so popular?

Why do approximately 180 million people worldwide practice Tai Chi every day?

It is because those who do practice Tai Chi daily typically have a longer, more active life than those who don't!  And ... their health potential increases dramatically.

While other exercises dissipate your energy, Tai Chi actually accumulates it, leaving you feeling refreshed when you finish.

The slow, dance-like speed of Tai Chi improves balance, flexibility, calmness and is also effective at relieving stress.   

With an emphasis on deep breathing and using mental imagery, Tai Chi integrates your mind with your body.

Recent medical studies confirm what Tai Chi practitioners have known for centuries –

Tai Chi can dramatically improve your balance (and significantly cut the risk of falls among older people), improve your leg and lower body strength, increase flexibility, help with arthritis pain and aid in the recovery of injuries.

Originally developed in China as a martial art, Tai Chi is a graceful form of exercise that has existed for some 2,000 years. 

Tai Chi, sometimes called T'ai Chi Ch'uan, is a noncompetitive, self-paced system of gentle mind-body exercise and stretching.

To do Tai Chi, you perform a series of choreographed movements in a slow, graceful manner.  Each movement flows into the next without pausing.

Best of all, anyone, regardless of age or physical ability, can practice Tai Chi.  It doesn't take great athletic or physical prowess.  Instead, Tai Chi emphasizes technique over strength.

Specific Health Benefits

People practice Tai Chi for various purposes, such as:

• Reducing stress and eliminating stress-based illnesses.
• Building healthy joints from a low-impact work-out:
• Increasing bone density from its weight-bearing qualities.
• Improving endurance and stamina through full-body breathing.
• Bettering overall physical condition, muscular strength, coordination and flexibility.
• Gaining peace of mind and more restful sleep.
• Increasing energy levels and a feeling of overall wellness.
• Curtailing the risk of falling by improving balance.
• Easing pain and stiffness — for example, from arthritis.
• Lowering blood-sugar levels, even in type II diabetes

For More Information

Discover the Art of Releasing

the Natural Energy of Your Body

Tai Chi, also spelt Taiji, is a Chinese internal martial art.  Great Grandmaster Cheng Man-ch'ing called T'ai Chi Ch'uan (Taijiquan) simply The Supreme Ultimate exercise for health, sport and self-defense.

The Tai Chi form is composed of a series of postures, put together in a very flowing, but precise, way.  In learning the postures and learning how to connect each posture in a prescribed manner, one learns how to use the body, mind and breath in harmony.

Once the movements are learned, the Tai Chi form is then refined using breathing and movement exercises.  Over time two-person exercises and weapon forms are introduced, teaching the student to expand their inner harmony into the outside world. The student becomes aware of new relationships, has better control of his or her body, develops internal strength and eventually learns to abandon fear and anxiety for calmness, vitality, flexibility and good body coordination.

You don't need any special clothing or equipment to do Tai Chi just the desire to learn. To gain full benefits, however, it is best to seek guidance from a qualified Tai Chi instructor.

For classes near you see the Schedule. New Classes forming in Glastonbury & Wethersfield.