Atkinson Family Practice

AFP: Is Taichi hard? Can anyone do it?

Haiying: If you just want to be a Taichi follower, it might be easier, but it still is harder than the majority of QiGong forms. If you want to get the most benefit, it can be hard. It is hard in two ways: First is at the very early beginning you have to remember the movements. Second it takes time to sink in for integrating mindfulness, breathing and movements together. Once you pass this two steps, you will suddenly discover that you are in a different world of understanding body, nature and human health.  If you commit to learn, grow while you are learning-It is like to give birth,  You will have so much fun when you grow with your child together but it has a lot of hard times.  So simply to say, yes, anyone can do it but you have to be mentally ready for the challenge.

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Charles: Taichi is not hard.  It  is low impact and puts minimal stress on muscles and joints, making it generally safe for all ages and fitness levels. In fact, because tai chi is a low-impact exercise, it may be especially suitable if you’re an younger or older adult who otherwise may not exercise and would like to begin a total body/mind approach to improved fitness.  Many athletes practice various aspects of tai chi to improve their concentration and athletic performance.

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You may also find tai chi appealing because it’s inexpensive and requires no special equipment. You can do tai chi anywhere, including indoors or outside. And you can do tai chi alone or in a group class.

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Actors who practice Tai Chi include Mel Gibson, British Actor Paul Adrian, Indian Bollywood Actor Kunal Kapoor, RZA from the Wu Tan Clan and Terance Stamp. And, of course, Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, and Jet Li know plenty about Tai Chi.

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Women practice tai chi.  Gisele Bundchen, one of the highest paid models in the world, does Tai Chi, as does her husband, Tom Brady. Emmanuelle Seigner, a French actress, musician and wife of Roman Polanski, states “Tai Chi really makes me feel relaxed.” Shirley MacLaine believes that people should take time everyday for moving meditation like Tai Chi or qigong. Bette Midler and Marianne Faithful are two others who practice Tai Chi.

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AFP: Why are you only focusing on six (6) forms?

Haiying: The form we are teaching totally is 24 movements—24 simplified form. But we only teach the first 6 movements (if the group is mature we will teach more movements. It depends on group adaptility) in first 6 weeks. In the future we will continue to teach the rest of this whole form. We also will teach 1)some anatomy knowledge such as iliopsoas, gluteal muscles etc and how to properly use them. 2) some wonderful acupuncture points such as allergy points during allergy season. 3) defending and offending meaning in each  movement.

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Charles: Ditto for me on what Haiying said.  I feel spending time to focus on each move and receiving critique from Haiying is so important for all of us to maximize the benefits of tai chi and develop the ability to focus on each move.  It is a true form of mindfulness – being here now.