Introduction

           Tai Chi Chuan is many things; a martial art, an aerobic exercise, a form of meditation and a homeopathic healing art.

Martial
            Tai Chi is commonly thought to have been developed many centuries ago from Shao Lin boxing, and is considered the ‘grandparent’ of the other forms of martial arts.
            It is said that there are probably 10 martial applications to each posture, and I have found that showing one can help a student understand the posture to be able to perform it properly.  The martial application is not necessarily the focus, but I have found it to be a useful teaching tool.

Aerobic
            As an aerobic exercise, Tai Chi is a full body workout, exercising every muscle and every organ.  The difference is that it does it gently so, rather than being tired and sweaty afterwards, the Tai Chi practitioner finishes feeling rested and refreshed.

Meditation
            The Tai Chi form is done in a relaxed state and is often called “meditation in motion.”  The more one practices, the more one learns to let go of effort and the gentle flow of this relaxed motion invokes a state of meditation and a feeling of well being.

Healing
            The homeopathic healing of Tai Chi is akin to the ancient Chinese healing of Chi Kung.  Tai Chi is often considered to be a ‘cousin’ to Chi Kung.
            As one learns Tai Chi and begins practicing it regularly, the body begins to balance itself in many ways.  The most obvious of these is the physical balance, the ability to stand easily on one foot, as well as being more in control just walking.  This is why it is so important for the elderly.  But there are many forms of balance and some are very subtle.       There is emotional balance which many of us struggle with our whole lives.  As Tai Chi becomes more and more a part of us it gives us a “place to go” within ourselves where things don’t seem so serious, and it gets stronger through years of practice.
            There is physiological balance which can be very subtle. For instance, most people are right handed, which means that we predominantly use the left side of our brain for most of our activities.  And most of the rest of us are left handed, predominantly using the right side. This is a subtle imbalance of energy in the brain which can be easily changed and actually felt.  To experiment with this feeling, lace your fingers.  Take note of which hand is on the bottom.  Now switch, making the other hand the bottom hand.
            Some will find this easier to do than others.  No matter.  Most can feel the unusual feeling of it, which is the other side of the brain being energized.
            There are many ways to ‘play’ with this; folding your arms the other way, eating with the other hand, or writing with it.
            Tai Chi creates these balances as the postures were created to be performed on both sides throughout the form.  And many of my advanced students have even learned to do the whole form in the other direction, or left handed, which can be a real yin/yang challenge.
      There are many stories of Tai Chi players who lived healthy lives into their 80’s and 90’s.  One that stays in my mind is of T. T. Liang who began doing Tai Chi at the age of 50 after suffering a heart attack, and lived to be 102.