Strength Flexibility Stillness
Taoist Tai Chi® arts grew from the Taoist tradition, which teaches that health comes when body, mind and spirit are one. Working on all aspects of the person, this moving meditation reduces stress and helps us find energy, balance and joy.
Strength
In Taoist Tai Chi® practice, strength comes when natural, soft movement penetrates and transforms every system and part of the body, from muscle to connective tissue to bones. This strength is also mental and emotional. As we become more resilient, we experience less worry and struggle and are able to calmly meet whatever challenges life puts in our path.
Flexibility
Taoist Tai Chi® practice builds elasticity in muscles, tendons and fascia. This helps the body function naturally and allows us to move more freely. At the same time this flexibility extends to our minds, helping us feel freer, more balanced and more in harmony with those around us.
Stillness
When strength and flexibility work deeper into the body, we discover the powerful effects of meditation. Stillness grows and the mind calms, becoming clearer and more dynamic. At first this feeling starts in the moving meditation of our Taoist Tai Chi® practice but then deepens to penetrate and enrich all aspects of life.
Taoist Tai Chi® arts are a profound system of cultivation that improve physical and mental health in concrete ways and bring us vitality and joy.
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Make Your Life Better
Practitioners discover their lives improve through Taoist Tai Chi® practice.
Taoist Tai Chi® practice brings Pain Relief and Health Improvement
The meditative and physical aspects of Taoist Tai Chi® arts involve deep stretching with a full range of motion and continuous turning of the spine. They exercise the whole person including muscular, skeletal, nervous and circulatory systems, as well as tendons, joints, connective tissue and organs.
These arts improve overall health, from worry, anxiety and stress to sore backs to deeper issues such as chronic pain, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease. Many people with chronic conditions also find pain relief through Taoist Tai Chi® practice.
We Offer the Following Arts
Taoist Tai Chi® arts are the teachings of Master Moy Lin Shin, which we continue to pass on. The movements of the body are harmonized with the gentle internal movement, engaging the whole body and producing a deep feeling of relaxation. This set is introduced in all beginner classes and weekend courses and practised in all continuing classes.
Created by Taoist sage Chen Xiyi, the movements Lok Hup are noteworthy for their graceful, spiral turning.
Xingyi is a Chinese internal art rooted in the five elements and the movement of animals, emphasizing relaxed muscles and circular movements.
The sword and sabre become extensions of the spine. Practising either facilitates the development of spinal flexibility and much more.
While Taoist Tai Chi® practice focuses on “stillness in movement,” the emphasis of Taoist Meditation is “movement in stillness.” Meditation helps us still our minds by letting go of thoughts and attachments that cause stress and anxiety.
This two-person exercise develops strength, sensitivity, speed and spontaneity of response. Push-Hands can be used to open tight joints and to condition muscle and tendons.
Chanting helps with balance, alignment, circulation and focus. It refreshes body, mind and spirit and is open to anyone who is interested.
“All things, including the grass and trees, are soft and pliable in life… A tree that cannot bend will crack in the wind.”
