"...LET TRUE AFFECTION AND HAPPY
CONCOURSE ABIDE IN THIS HALL.
[
LET US HERE CORRECT OUR PAST MISTAKES AND LOSE PREOCCUPATION WITH SELF.
[
WITH THE CONSTANCY OF THE PLANETS IN THEIR COURSES OR OF THE DRAGON IN
SAN-CH'ING -- THREE PURE ONES
HIS CLOUD-WRAPPED PATH, LET US ENTER
THE LAND OF HEALTH AND EVER AFTER WALK WITHIN IT'S BOUNDS.
[
LET US FORTIFY OURSELVES AGAINST WEAKNESS AND LEARN TO BE SELF-RELIANT, WITHOUT
EVEN A MOMENT'S LAPSE.
[
THEN OUR RESOLUTION WILL BECOME THE VERY AIR WE BREATHE, THE WORLD WE LIVE IN;
THEN WE WILL BE AS HAPPY AS A FISH IN CRYSTAL WATERS
"WHAT YOU PRACTICE, YOU BECOME"
...If you want to exercise your body in a
way that will not hurt it,
...If you want to improve your coordination
and balance,
...If you want to learn to move more freely,
...if you want inner peace,
... If you want to improve your health.
True Tai Chi serves your whole being in a way which few people know or recognise
in our modern world.
My aim is to make the depth of knowledge passed down through the art of Tai
Chi available to you and all who are committed to developing in a healthy, natural
way.
By practicing and ultimately embodying the principles in Tai Chi, you start
to manage your own well-being.
In truth, this is the beginning of an inner journey; a very practical, measurable
way to reclaim your own power of spirit: your essential creative ability.
A General Intro To Tai Chi
The slow movements of Tai Chi are graceful, powerful, relaxed, balanced,
and meditative.
Developed in China over a thousand years ago, this form of exercise unites the
mind and the
body, combining aspects of meditation, exercise, visualization, and martial
art. Once learned,
a Tai Chi form may take ten minutes to perform. Done once or twice daily, it
provides
extraordinary health benefits, improving balance, flexibility, and strength,
while calming the
spirit and reducing stress.
About The Tai Chi Form
The art of Tai Chi (actually called T'ai Chi Ch'uan, "Yin Yang Boxing")
consists of
perfecting several skills. The most fundamental of these is the Tai Chi form,
a classical series
of movements which the student memorizes, much like a music student might memorize
a
classical piece of music. Once the movements are memorized, the real work of
refining the
movement can begin. The study focuses on the subtleties of relaxation, breathing,
and body
alignment. Movement is caused by internal pressure changes rather than muscular
tension.
The mind must be flexible, so the body will be supple.
With long term study, good Tai Chi takes into account not only the laws of physics,
but the
mysteries of the heart and mind. Fear and anxiety cause tension, which is felt
in the body. If
we can undo the tension, we can begin to undo the fear and anxiety. At an advanced
stage,
the fear associated with ego can be abandoned.
About Tai Chi Tui Shou, or "Push Hands" exercises
The Push Hands exercises also help us deal with fear in the use of Tai Chi
as a martial art.
After achieving a state of deep relaxation in the Tai Chi form, students may
try to bring that
calm feeling into the practice of push-hands, the two person Tai Chi exercise
for the
development of martial sensitivity. Initially, this two person exercise can
be extremely gentle,
allowing the practitioners to operate in the most relaxed and efficient manner.
Sometimes
using the classical movements, sometimes in a freestyle manner, partners take
turns searching
out points of tension on each other. When a point is found, the student must
learn how to
relax the tense area in order to avoid losing balance. Over time, by learning
correct and
effective ways of relaxing and moving, one is able to absorb sudden and forceful
pushes
from one's partner with a minimum of tension and fear. The relaxed body aligns
itself
automatically to retain balance.
FORMS
YANG STYLE
COURSES
TAI CHI CLASSES ($20 PER MONTH)
Private lessons (POA)
Ponsonby community center Tues. 6pm - 7-30pm
Phone 09 8155095 --or--09 8155059
A/hours
Email : barry@xtra.co.nz
Ponsonby community center Tues. 6pm - 7-30pm