Website design By BotEap.comFlowing through the body is Qi (Chi) or energy. It runs along a complex series of pathways, known as meridian lines, closely related to the nervous and vascular systems, connecting all parts of the body. Qi is found at the molecular level. A western parallel might be the force that keeps the particles of an atom in orbit around each other.

Website design By BotEap.comWhen Qi runs freely throughout the body at optimal levels, the body and mind are at their best and most efficient. This is achieved when the perfect balance is found; yin and yang, a balance of forces that are relatively more active or external and relatively more passive or internal. This not only relates to the physical body, but also to the mind (many imbalances and diseases come from the brain, including stress). Various practices, such as Taijiquan and Qigong, use these principles.

Website design By BotEap.comTaijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) uses breathing and whole body movement to circulate and revitalize both body and mind by working with Qi energy. Exercise movements (martial art) improve physical balance, flexibility and fitness. The standing meditation that we also do in class also helps to strengthen the body and mind by cultivating Qi energy. The former is relatively Yang, the latter relatively Yin, so they are complementary. Since we practice both side by side, it can be interesting to explore the similarities, the differences, and how they change from time to time as you work with them. You can help understand what Tai Chi is really all about by going back to its roots and the principles of the Chinese approach to health. Around the 6th century B.C. C., Lao Tsu, an older contemporary of Confucius, created Taoism, a thoughtful philosophical treatise on a way of life.

Website design By BotEap.comThis was divided into eight areas, or Taos, which were ways of living life according to various principles, including that, among others, the Tao of Revitalization. This Tao is what provides the fundamental basis of Chinese medicine, including Taiji, that of Qi. The Chinese believe that in addition to the body being made up of individual organs, they interact with each other on a global or holistic level, a fundamental interconnection of all (20th century Western physics parallels aspects of quantum physics). If a particular organ is diseased, never look at that organ alone, but at the whole body to find the cause, so preventative treatments like Taiji also work on the body and mind as a whole.