Beginning Tai Chi

In class, we do warm up exercises, stretches, and basic stances together for about 30 minutes. Then we focus on a particular area for each individual student. Each of the studies in Beginning Tai Chi builds from the previous lesson. We start with posture/alignment.

Posture and alignment teaches us to allow the body to flow naturally without strain. We learn to relax the muscles and align the bones correctly and feel yourself lift your spine up. The bones are the structure to our body, and when they are aligned correctly, we learn strength and balance without strain.

Breathing is the most important thing we do everyday. Our strength flows from the understanding of inhalation and exhalation. For example, it is easier to lift yourself off the chair while inhaling and taking a seat with an exhale is easier on the body. Try it yourself. Then try it the other way. Breathing is vital to each and every movement in our lives; Tai Chi teaches us how to move and breathe in harmony.

Stretching allows us to move with ease. Relaxation is difficult, but during stretching, it is easy to tighten up. So stretching not only helps prevent injuries, it helps us understand how to relax.

Lower body strengthening is when we really start to learn body movements for Tai Chi. The legendary tai chi master, Zhang San Feng said, “the motion is rooted in the feet, released through the legs, controlled by the waist, and manifested in the fingers”. Therefore we focus a long time on understanding weight transfer through the body, strengthening the feet, legs, and abdomen from stance work. We start with the horse stance and bow stance.

Next we work on shifting the weight. This is vital to all tai chi movements. The power of a movement, the balance of alignment, and relaxation in body mechanics depend on the ability to understand where the weight is distributed. The movements are similar to the ocean tide, back and forth, opening and closing the hips to maximized balance, strength, and relaxation.

Tai chi walking is learning to move, step, place the foot, and shift the weight in correct coordination with the breath and focus. After learning the above lessons, then tai chi walking is the natural next practice. In tai chi walking, we learn even more intently on hip relaxation, knee alignment, foot strength, and proper weight distribution.

Instructor: Master Jonathan Snowiss

Cost: $110regular or $90 discount twice a week per month -- $60 regular or $45 discount once a week per month

Schedule

• Monday and Wednesday at 6:00 PM - 7:15 PM.

If you are interested in attending this class please contact us and let us know.