Tai Chi - Sun 73 Form

This is a weekly class.

Wear loose clothing and flat, comfortable shoes.

Drop in: $10

5 visit package: $45

10 visit package: $80

Tai chi is often described as "meditation in motion," but it might well be called "medication in motion." There is growing evidence that this mind-body practice, which originated in China as a martial art, has value in treating or preventing many health problems. And you can get started even if you aren't in top shape or the best of health.

Harvard Health Publishing

Harvard Medical School

Tai Chi, the slow low impact exercise, started its life in China as an internal martial art.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that chi, life energy, flows through the human body in tiny rivers or meridians. If one of these channels and its energy is stopped or decreased it can cause fatigue and illness. On the other hand, the stronger this flow the healthier the individual.

As an internal art, Tai Chi helps strengthen and unblock this energy making the practitioner more energetic and healthy. Tai Chi’s martial origins make its practice an excellent, low impact exercise. It improves balance, circulation, muscle strength, confidence, and chi flow.

Statistically, people who take Tai Chi are 50% less likely to fall than folks who do not.

CDC has declared Tai Chi for Arthritis as an evidence based exercise to assist in fall prevention.

The Administration on Aging found the Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi Program to meet the highest-level criteria for evidence based disease prevention and health promotion programs.

May 2009 the Harvard Health Newsletter suggests that tai chi . . . has been shown to be helpful for a number of medical conditions including:

arthritis

lower back pain

low bone density

breast cancer

and its side effects

heart disease

heart failure

hypertension

Parkinson’s disease

sleep problems

stroke

The Tai Chi taught at Serenity at Sunset is based on Tai Chi for Arthritis and is derived from the Sun Tai Chi System. The Sun system was selected because of its upright posture presents low stress for the practitioner’s joints while still affording the advantages of other Tai Chi systems.

Howard Lewis, the Tai Chi instructor, studied the martial arts for 20 years being awarded a fifth degree black sash in Kung Fu. He taught self defense at the Central Piedmont Community College for 10 years. He is a certified instructor in Esoma Kung Fu, Self Defense for Women, and is certified to teach Tai Chi for Arthritis through the Tai Chi for Health Institute and the Arthritis Foundation. He has taught Tai Chi for the last 6 years at various locations.