Please reach us at info@taichiforhealthmarana.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
No special equipment is needed to practice tai chi.
We recommend: that participants:
Our 1Tai Chi classes begin with a series of Qigong warm-up exercises (Qigong is the mother of Tai Chi) that have been carefully selected to help loosen up the major joints in our bodies.
From there, we will generally review the tai chi form(s) we have previously been working on. Depending upon the participant needs, we might decide to work more on the forms we have already been learning, or if all is progressing well, move on to a new form.
Our progress will be steady and deliberate,, and we will almost never introduce more than one form during a single class. We will typically spend several weeks learning and refining each form - our goal is not to speed through the forms, but to explore each in turn to a depth that is appropriate to the level of participant knowledge.
Our classes conclude with a set of cool down exercises.
Our classes are designed to be very interactive, consistent with participant needs and desires. Questions are encouraged, and even in our beginner classes we start to explore some of the underlying tai chi principles that give such depth to the tai chi forms.
Solo tai chi practice is an important part of anyone's tai chi journey, and affords many advantages. You control the agenda - when, where and what to work on. You can change course on a whim, or repeatedly drill something you want to get right.
There are two categories of group tai chi play. In an instructor-led class, in addition to your own knowledge you can take advantage of another's experience and feedback. In a gathering of tai chi players - maybe you meet up in a park to start the day - there is a special kind of energy that is generated and exchanged between the players. And when you move together in synch a special kind of community exists.
So if you know enough to practice productively on your own by all means do so. But also consider joining in a community of players to exchange Qi.
Within our primary demographic - seniors over the age of 60 - the statistics are sobering. Last year 3 million older adults were treated in an emergency room for a fall injury. More than 95% of hip fractures are caused by falling. Each year 1 in 4 Americans aged 65 or older falls. Among the senior population , repetitive falls are the leading cause of trama related (non-illness) death. And six out of 10 falls happen at home. (These statistics are from the Centers for Disease Control, National Council on Aging or the National Institute on Aging).
What can be done.? Tai Chi has been shown to be effective, but unfortunately many many seniors do not start tai chi until after they have experienced a serious adverse event.
Other measures known to reduce the risk of repetitive falling include regular exercise, an annual vision exam, (and wearing corrective lenses if prescribed), wearing appropriate foot ware and consulting with your health care professionals to review/manage drug interactions for the medications you are taking.
Tai Chi enjoys worldwide popularity in large part because it offers a wide spectrum of benefits that are available and accessible to many different people.
Some of the physical benefits that come from practicing tai chi regularly include improved cardiovascular function, muscluar, especial core, strength enhancements, improved flexibility and immune system boosts and possible lower body fat levels.
Mental benefits include, among others, stress reduction, decreased anxiety levels, enhanced cognitive functions, improved sleep.
Tai chi has also been shown to improve the mind-body connection, , which in turn can enhance mental clarity, promote emotional stability and focus.
This is just a partial list, and does not touch on many aspects of the healing and meditative benefits, as well as the social and community aspects of practicing tai chi.
Let's leave aside the many YouTube videos that purport to be about tai chi but are perhaps not really - fancy costumes and elaborate settings do not mean you are seeing 'real' tai chi.
YouTube, is however, a wonderful resource for accessing the many legitimate tai chi players making useful tai chi content. Many of the visible differences you will notice are because tai chi has evolved into different styles, such as Chen (the oldest), Yang (the most widely practiced), Wu and Sun style (the upright form that we teach in our Tai Chi for Health classes.
If you skip the warm-ups or coll downs no Tai Chi police will show up at your door demanding an explanation. However, let's take a moment to consider the role of these exercises. Our western minds associate a vigorous warmup as getting the blood flowing and the muscles ready for action - but this is not what we are doing.
Our tai chi warmups are Qigong exercises carefully selected to lubricate the major joints. Remember the phrase motion is lotion? We use the warm ups and cool downs to Song - expand and relax - our joints and allow Qi (energy) to flow smoothly through our bodies. And we also use the warmup exercises as a transition - downshifting from our hectic, oversubscribed, over stimulated and rushed everday lives - to a more calm, centered and balanced state - suitable for moving into tai chi. It is very difficult to get much out of tai chi if we rush into class carrying stress and tension and the pent up demands of an endless to do list.
Similarly, the cool downs are not really about traditional western cool downs, but are meant to ease our transition back into our normal hectic lives.. The tapping brings blood to our capularies and gets us ready to go out into the world, and the gathering of the heaven Qi gives us a refresh and boost.
So you can cut back on or skip entirely the warm ups and cool downs if you choose, but consider what you may be missing if you do.
Excellent question. Start with the TaiChiforHealthInstitute.org website which has a wealth of information on tai chi and the specific programs being taught.
YOUTUBE
YouTube videos that focus on Part 1 of Dr Lam's Tai Chi for Arthritis/Fall Prevention program:
Lesson 1 of Dr Paul Lam's Tai Chi for Arthritis/fall prevention, by Dr. Lam
Basic 6 - by one of Dr Lam's master trainers for the Veterans Administration, showing the first 6 forms: Commencement, Open/Close, Single Whip (right), Wave Hands like Clouds (right), Single Whip (left) and Wave Hands Like Clouds (left).
https://youtu.be/PredHIYWBuA?si=ZQE4-qaqgFVmd1m0
Extended 6 - Brush knee, play the lute, parry & punch, block & close, push the mountain. by Susan Thompson (former TCA instructor)
https://youtu.be/awhs9EJ2uDs?si=9lzPSWLTNcRVyi_5
DVDs
DVDs are available from TaiChiProductions.com and Amazon)
Streaming bundles available thru TaiChiForHealth.org
Tai Chi for Arthritis Dr Paul Lam
Tai Chi for Arthritis 2 Dr Paul Lam
Tai Chi Sun. Style 73 Forms Dr Paul Lam
BOOKS
ANSWERS to common Tai Chi and Qigong Questions. William Ting, 2011
ESSENTIAL CONCEPTS of TAI CHI. It is - It is Not - IT IS. William Ting 2015
The Healing Promise of Qi Roger Jahnke 2002
BEYOND FORM Learning Tai Chi from The Inside Out. Susan Thompson. 2024
Everyone is different of course, but many participants in these programs have had similar medical interventions and gone on to experience success with the Tai Chi for Health programs.
If you have any concerns about your ability to safely perform any tai chi program you should consult with a member of your health care team, and only proceed if you have satisfactorily resolved all your questions and concerns.
One important consideration is the ability and willingness of an instructor to MODIFY any tai chi movements that may be challenging. The Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention program may be performed sitting for some or all of the program, depending upon a participant's needs.
If you have satisfied any concerns with your health care providers the next step may be to talk with one of us about your situation. You might find it helpful to visit and observe a class to see for yourself what happens. At the end of the day, you know your own body better than anyone else.
In theory you might be able to start with the intermediate Sun 73 program. However, we recommend that anyone with less than 2 years of any style of tai chi experience instead start with TCA/FP. Why? Because the other participants in the class will have a great deal more tai chi knowledge and experience, a newcomer is likely to struggle to fit in and keep pace with the class. Many of the Sun 73 movements are first learned in the beginner class, and not knowing these and not having had time to practice over a period of years will also put you at a disadvantage.
So, even if you are very fit and eager to move forward with your tai chi journey, we suggest that you start with the beginner class. If you progress quickly we will be happy to advance you to the Sun 73 class.
Ultimately we leave it up to you where you best fit in, so if you really want to try Sun 73 we won't prevent you, but we would ask that you be mindful of the challenge, and not get discouraged if that is too ambitious a placement.
Our learning process is very iterative, and we always repeat what we have been working on multiple times to facilitate learning. We follow Dr. Lam's Stepwise Progressive Teaching Method (SPTM), which breaks down each tai chi form into a simple series of movements. We address each movement in turn and gradually knit them together until we are performing an entire form, which we then link to the forms we have already been working on.
Yes. The Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention Program, developed by Dr Paul Lam and the Tai Chi for Health Institute, is recognized and recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an evidenced-based program for both arthritis management and fall prevention in older adults.
The program was added to the CDC's fall prevention evidence base after clinical trials showed that it could reduce recurrent falls by nearly 70% among older adults.
The CDC and the Arthritis Foundation both support this program for its demonstrated effectiveness in improving balance, muscular strength, flexibility and confidence.
The CDC expressly recommends the Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention program for reducing fall risk in the elderly population and encourages its community implementation through public healthpartners and senior centers.
In summary, the Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention Program is officially recognized by the CDC as an evidence-based intervention for fall prevention and arthritis wellness, and it is widely used across the United States in public health,aging and rehabilitation settings.
This evidenced based tai chi program has been the subject of numerous peer reviewed studies. It has been approved for use by the Centers for Disease Control , the National Arthritis Foundation, Harvard Medical School and many other organizations across the world.
Dr. Lam's TCA/FP program and the SPTM have been used during the past 30 years to train hundreds of thousands of participants in more than 20 countries around the world,
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