What is Tai Chi?

Tai Chi (pronounced "tie-jee" and sometimes spelled Tai Chi, taichi, or taiji) is an art form designed to help one gain happiness, health, harmony, and healing. Designed to reduce stress and tension, the practice of Tai Chi helps to promote healing and enhance one's inherent vitality.

Tai Chi is a set of slow continuous, evenly paced and carefully patterned natural movements based upon the principle of shifting one's weight while keeping the body stable and upright. The movements are connected by smooth, even breathing with individual moves characterized by circularity of motion and relaxation of tension. Each movement begins in the mind and is directed by conscious mental intention.

In Tai Chi, the mind has a dual role. It is the source of intention, directing and controlling movement, and attention, monitoring the effects of movement. Someone watching Tai Chi sees only the slowness and the beauty of the movements. Someone doing Tai Chi is wholly involved in guiding a stream of energy and enjoying an experience of attentive awareness.

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Our Philosophy

Tai Chi is rooted in the philosophy of Taoism. The famous Taoist philosopher, Lao Tze (604 B.C.) understood that Nature holds the key to health and longevity. Tai Chi emerged as a way to discover Nature's eternal youthfulness within ourselves each day through our thoughts and actions.

In our method we emphasize a simple formula which can be easily remembered as the "wu-wei", or the "one with nature" system composed of four elements: relax, breathe, feel the earth, and do nothing extra.

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