Golden's Tai Chi Ch'uan

TAI CHI CH'UAN

Cultivating the Energy of Chi

 

Chi is the life-force that drives the universe and all living things. It is the power that enables a small seedling to push its way through a solid concrete sidewalk toward the warmth of sunlight. In the human body, Chi is our life essence. Tai Chi is, therefore, an art based on practices which allow us to tap into Chi, and the latent powers of the mind, to create harmony in thought and action.

 

For the committed individual, Tai Chi can become an integral part of one’s life that helps to keep the internal balance of Chi. Although the practice of Tai Chi has been passed down for centuries, it is as relevant today as in any previous period - for at the heart of this art is the inherent ability to adapt to the needs of the times. In Tai Chi, we learn to remain rooted in our purpose and our goals without deterrence. 

 

Since its inception, Tai Chi has been a martial art as well as a healing art. It is exactly the balance between the forces of soft and hard or empty and full that make this art so effective and so applicable in dealing with even the harshest difficulties one may find in life. Tai Chi, like life itself, not only emphasizes the nurturing forces in each individual, but when threatened, it also affords us the ability to avoid, redirect or neutralize the negative energy of an attacker.

 

The Goals of Tai Chi

 

The goals of Tai Chi Ch’uan are many and diverse. Continued practice provides us with an ever evolving series of beneficial effects. Among them are improving one’s health, developing the art of self-defense, strengthening the immune systems, increasing longevity, reducing stress, gaining flexibility, generating greater power, healing the body and reaching a state of almost impenetrable calm through the style’s meditative movements. 

 

At the heart of Tai Chi is breath, which we learn to push deep into all realms of the body. The bloodstream is the “river of life” that we use to push this energy; and our consciousness allows us to focus Chi and animate it with our actions and movements.

 

By maintaining harmony in mind, body and spirit, we can become peaceful warriors moving toward achieving our full potential.