Bristol, Connecticut - Events

Tai-Chi & Qigong Meetup

Date & Time

2010-07-31 11:00:00

Location

Bristol, Connecticut, United States

Address

, Bristol, Connecticut

Description

Welcome Tai-Chi enthusiast: During our reglular practice sessions, I will instruct you in the Sun style of Tai-Chi. This program was developed by Dr. Paul Lam. The program will help you to releive stress by using proper breathing techniques, it will also help you to improve your balance by gradually building strength through a gentle series of exercies, these same exercies as well as the Tai-Chi forms will help you to gain pain releif of joint pain and stiffness. Tai-Chi will also help to restore balance to your body over time, brining equillibrium to all you body's systems. Really what we will feel is a sense of wellness as we journey back to health, and feeling the way we should be. We will begin every Tai-Chi sesson with a warm-up and a short sesson of Qigong to loosen and relax our bodies before we begin our Tai-Chi work. Each form will be explained in detail and repeated several times, after which you will perform the moves on your own and get feedback about what the move should look like and feel like (ie) when to shift your weight, when to turn, ect. Also, questions are always welcomed, after I have demonstrated and explained the particular move we are working on. Below is some "basic" Tai-Chi information for you to read through. What is Tai Chi � Part 1 - TAI CHI CHUAN: NOUN: A Chinese system of physical exercises designed especially for self-defense and meditation. Tai Chi, if being looked at from a Western point of view, can be best described as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. Originally derived from martial arts, the slow, graceful movements also in places reflect the natural movements of animals and birds, as symbols or 'pictures', designed to focus the mind and breathing through a complex series of executions. In Tai Chi, where the form is practiced in slow continual fluidic movement, muscles and joints are in motion, and breathing is regulated as an integral part of this. The effect is a sedative upon the central nervous system, which helps to stimulate improvements upon the body's other systems. It is calming and de-stressing, the movements themselves becoming physical poetry to a meditative process. When practiced properly, Chi energy is increased, and one often feels a 'tingling' of fingers and toes, and a warming up of the body. The mind becomes clear, and relaxed. The movements give practically a means for motor control, balance etc. and can help posture and loosen tight muscles. There are various schools or 'styles' of Tai Chi: Chen, Yang, Wu and Sun styles. The Peking Style is a modern shorter 24-element style commissioned by the Chinese Government who recognized the benefits of Tai Chi, and is made up of elements of the other styles, so that its workers could practice every morning without taking up too much time. The Yang style, the most practiced school, is made of two sub-styles- the long form and the short form, and was first developed in the 1800's by Yang Lu Chan. His grandson, Yang Chen Fu, standardized this style and made it popular in China the early 1900's. A Tai Chi form is made up of separate 'moves', each joined by a transition called a 'link'. Each movement may be very short, or made up of a complex sequence of sub-moves. Although each is an individual definitive element to the form, they flow continually into each other and are not practiced as separates. The epithet 'Yang' in the title: "The Yang style, long form" refers to the Family Yang who developed this style of Tai Chi. The epithet 'long' refers to the fact that � guess what? It' long! So, if it is quick or urgent results that you are looking for - this style is not for you. Not only does it take time, it can only be ruined if hurried. It's like a soft boiled egg that takes a certain amount of time to become soft boiled; or a biscuit that requires a specific length of time submerged in a particular liquid at an exact temperature before being 'perfect'. There are 128 or so separate postures in the long form and it generally takes about three years to properly learn these postures. Many of them are repeated several times and therefore do not require actually learning again. However at that stage of study, learning how to 'get from one to the other' (i.e. the bits between, the directions and the footwork) does. I think that an hour or two of instruction per week in The Yang style long form is plenty. The rest of the week could be spent in an hour of practice per day, practicing this 'new' lesson and refining the rest. It is not the instruction that takes so much time; it is or should be - the practicing. The longer the study goes on, the more practice there is. Eventually perhaps, 'life' becomes the practice. or the practice is life. At this stage of study 'practice' is never a chore, continued through choice, dunked or boiled to perfection. Tai Chi Chuan The lives we lead are, in most cases fragmented. That is, our talents are specially trained as separate entities, each of which finds little use in any of our other areas of expression. These fragments divide us into separate worlds, pulling us in many completely unrelated directions. Tai Chi Chuan is often regarded (because of our conditioning) as another fragmented part connected to an inharmonious whole, which we describe as our "circle" or "world." The truth is this: Tai Chi Chuan is about integrating the body, mind, and spirit. Reuniting our parts. People are drawn to Tai Chi Chuan (Tai Chi for short) for many and varied reasons. In my case, it was the need to find an exercise to cure my failing knees; to someone else it might be the aesthetic quality of dance that draws her to this art. To a third, Tai Chi may be a way to improve his skill in the martial arts; to another, it might be its ability to still the mind or to encompass the whole of Chinese thought in a single action. At any time, and for any of these reasons and more, during the persistent practice of Tai Chi Chuan we can taste the feeling of potential integration within ourselves. This is a clue to what a whole life can be. Tai Chi Chuan stimulates the electromagnetic energy (life force) in one's body, which can become blocked or fatigued. This force is referred to as chi (also Qi) and is the same energy known in Japan as "ki", and in India as "prana." Stimulation through Tai Chi practice (or acupressure or acupuncture) removes blockages of the chi in part by diffusing lactic acid and carbon monoxide accumulations in muscle tissue. These accumulations, or blockages cause stagnation of blood and rigidity of the body. Stiffness creates unhealthy pressure on nerves, blood, lymphatic and synovial fluids. In turn, the functioning of the skeletal system and internal organs are also adversely affected. The flow of chi in the body becomes obstructed as a result of internal (e.g. emotional) or external (e.g. trauma) disturbances, climactic changes, or imbalances in diet or lifestyle. If the circulation of this vital force becomes deficient, illness may arise. It is only when the pathways within your body are unobstructed, that the chi may flow freely and the body's life force balanced. Only then will we achieve an optimal state of health and well-being.