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Find your still centre in a crazy world  

Tai Chi is a gentle yet very powerful system of movement and meditation, which can be practiced by anyone of any age or level of fitness. With roots going back over two thousand years to the time of the Yellow Emperor in ancient China, Tai Chi is today practiced by millions of people all over the world.

The classes and workshops run by Simple Tai Chi, teach traditional Tai Chi with an infusion of ideas from a wide spectrum of modern movement techniques and therapeutic practices.

Our number one aim is to provide solutions for many of the modern day maladies caused by desk slumping, screen staring and commuting stress. Tai Chi can bring better balance and a healthier approach to the simple, everyday activities that we all do, like; breathing, walking, standing and sitting. Our programs are specifically designed to ensure that students take away something useful from each class, a new movement possibility or a fresh mental framing which will help them to be more effective and to enjoy more fully each new day. Along the way we hope you will also enjoy learning a classical Tai Chi Form which can provide an invaluable resource for health and wellbeing for your entire life.

How exactly does Tai Chi benefit you?

The name ‘Tai Chi’ means ‘Movement with awareness’. A person practicing Tai Chi is learning to let go of unhelpful postural and movement habits to make way for new, less effortful but more effective ways of moving through life.

To do this we must first begin to notice some of the deep unconscious holding patterns we burden ourselves with. Holding the breath, clenching the buttocks or hunching the shoulders are some of the more common examples. Movement done with excessive force or too much muscle tension is very much like trying to move a car with the breaks on, it limits freedom and wastes tremendous amounts of energy. More importantly, tension blocks chi flow, the body’s natural healing energy, which in turn can lead to pain, sickness and even death.

The movements of Tai Chi are practiced in a slow relaxed fashion gradually reprogramming muscle memory and opening blocked energy pathways. Tai Chi is a complete system, which if practiced diligently is capable of improving every aspect of what it is to be human.

Tai Chi Meditation

At the heart of all movement is Wu Chi the supreme, primordial state of stillness. A concept at the heart of Taoist philosophical principles upon which Tai Chi is based. According to legend these universal principles were first laid down by the 6th century sage Lao Tsu in 81 verses which comprise the Tao Teh Ching. Regular practice of Wu Chi meditation gives rise to a sense of something unchanging deep within our core, a constant and reliable safe haven from which to calmly observe the whirlwind of change that we sometimes find ourselves in.

Tai Chi Exercises

Seen from the outside the gentle movements of Tai Chi and Chi Gong can seem too easy to be of any value in terms of building strength or promoting cardiovascular health. After a relatively short period of practice however most people will notice how effortlessly they can hold good posture, how their core stability and balance have improved and how coordination and natural vitality have also increased.

Tai Chi as a martial art

Tai Chi Chuan is an ‘internal’ martial art based on principles observed in nature that softness overcomes hardness. All the movements of the Tai Chi Form therefore have martial applications, sensitive practice of which help us to understand and deal effectively with incoming energy of all kinds not just the energy of a punch or a kick. On a deeper level Tai Chi partner work also offers profound insights into the relationship between self and other.

Weekly classes and specialised workshops

In addition to weekly classes, starting in September, Simple Tai Chi offers specialised workshops which can be brought to your workplace or group, here are just a few:

Simple Tai Chi 4 Business

• Tai Chi has many benefits in the workplace including energising staff, helping to relax and focus a team or providing a meaningful way to bond and improve motivation.
• Well Being Clinics allow you to reach a lot of staff in a short period of time. These special ‘in house’ events can help encourage a healthy working environment and can include: Tai Chi and Qigong classes, acupuncture and massage sessions, talks and workstation mini sessions.

Simple Tai Chi 4 Therapists

• Touch and grounding are at the heart of Tai Chi. Learning how to listen with your hands, allow healing to flow whilst directing potentially harmful energy from others safely into the ground is an invaluable resource for anyone working as a therapist of any kind.

Simple Tai Chi 4 The elderly and infirm

• This workshop aims to prove that Infirmity and restricted movement are not an inevitable consequence of age but often just a state of mind. Numerous studies have shown that Tai Chi can bring remarkable improvement to both coordination and balance whatever your age or level of fitness.

Simple Tai Chi 4 Loving Kindness

• Based on the principles of the Hakomi a body centred psychotherapy method, this workshop explores the power of truly opening your heart to another, of finding something inspiring and nourishing in everyone you meet and the brightness, increased energy and new optimism that this will bring into your life.

Please call if you would like to discuss how we might bring one of these workshops to your organisation.

Where and When?

Our new weekly classes will be on Saturday afternoons from 4pm until 5.30pm starting in September at Elstead Youth Centre.

Free taster session
There will be a free taster session on Sunday 11th September for all who would like to come and experience Tai Chi first hand.

Please call or text Keith on 07799 333 804 for more information to book a place. You can also email me at:  info@rolfingtaichilondon.co.uk

Simple Tai Chi brings the ancient wisdom of traditional Tai Chi into the 21st Century making it relevant and useful for people like you. Sign up now for one of our weekly classes or contact me about one of our specialist courses and learn truly effective ways to regain your health and vitality, improve your posture, deal effectively with the pressures of modern living and find your still centre and some peace of mind in a crazy world.