The Chinese characters for Tai Ji Quan (or T’ai Chi Chuan) can translate as “the supreme ultimate force”, a motion often associated with the Chinese concept of Yin and Yang, the dynamic duality that is present in all things. Also known as “ultimate energy boxing”, Tai Chi has a philosophical background: that of Taoism, the Chinese tradition first associated with the scholar mystic Lao Zi. Taoism fundamentally espouses a calm, reflective, and mystic view of the world steeped in the beauty and tranquility of nature, and accordingly, it is in the natural motions of animals and birds that its creators found their inspiration. Tai Chi as we know it today is the fruit of a long evolution that began steeped in martial arts and is now centered on dynamic meditation and the notion of Qi. In Chinese philosophy and medicine, Qi is the vital force that animates the body: one of the aims of Tai Chi is to foster the circulation of Qi to enhance the practitioner’s health and vitality, in ways that are directly related to oriental healing arts such as acupuncture. Another aim of Tai Chi is to achieve a calm and tranquil mind, focused on the precise execution of specific exercises. Learning to do them correctly develops awareness of and skills in balance, alignment, fine-scale motor control, rhythm, the genesis of movement from the body’s vital center, and so on. For comparison’s sake, Tai Chi can be thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. The essence of Tai Chi has distilled forms of dances, which are performed slowly and gracefully. The forms crystallize much of the Tai Chi teachings and therefore make up the core of most classes. Martial applications of Tai Chi are not entirely forgotten; Tui Shou or Push Hands, for instance, is a category of partner exercises that develop sensitivity and responsiveness to another person’s Qi.

Some of the benefits of Tai Ji Quan:

• The practice improves postural alignment, movement patterns, balance, breathing, etc.
• The mediative nature of the exercises is calming and relaxing in and of itself.
• Tai Ji Quan exercises evolve with the practitioner and can cater to all ages, temperaments, and physical abilities.
• The discipline is a wonderful tool for self-discovery by appreciating the outer/inner movements creating bridges with flowing models of identification, and therefore with Life itself.