My adventures into Tai Chi Land: Third of a four-part series

“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… has value in treating or preventing many health problems.” –Harvard Women’s Health Watch, May 2009

||| FROM STEPHANIE ROSENBLATT |||

“Thank you for inviting me to speak about the benefits of tai chi and may the chi be with you.” I had just completed my presentation for the Rotary Club of Tortola located in the capital of the British Virgin Islands. As I was walking towards the exit a middle-age, woman was sitting with an arm crutch by the side of her chair wearing an eye-patch. She reached out to me and asked if we could talk. I sat next to her as she told me about her three consecutive strokes, she experienced six weeks ago and was asking if I’d teach her tai chi. At that time there weren’t any PT’s on the island. She and her husband were planning to move back to the states in a few months for more intensive rehab. She was paralyzed on her left side, and she desperately wanted to regain some mobility especially in her arm. The request took my breath away as I was a new teacher with a class full of young and vibrant students. I replied that I didn’t know if tai chi could help in her situation, yet I was willing to try.

We worked together with just the beginning, first, ten steps for two months and it was an eye-opener as she was able to lift her left arm high enough to hang up clothing, wash dishes and do light chores. The realization that tai chi was not just for physical balance opened my mind about the other possibilities in keeping one healthy, since at that time there weren’t many medical studies about tai chi. And just as Mrs. Chow said, tai chi and my students were now officially my teachers.

As the years passed, I added intuition into my instructor’s tool belt. I was now teaching in Charleston, S.C. and had a private, pre-med student who was delightful and was a natural. He was learning a new series of steps…Parting the Horses Mane. They entail the arms with elbows bent, crossed in front of the torso. The next movement was for him to open his arms wide apart and away from his chest. He did that and I asked him, “how does this feel?” I was stunned to hear his stuttering reply, “It fe-fe-fe felt go-g-g good.” He never stuttered before, so I requested that we sit down. I asked him to do his breathing technique for stuttering which he did. When he finished and was calmer I inquired if he was bullied and made fun of as a child, and he said “Yes.” There was an instant visual image in my mind of him protecting his heart and emotions as a child. I decided to share my thoughts with him adding that tai chi was releasing the emotional block of protective, armor he created around his heart and feelings. He physically was protecting that area even though he was no longer stuttering. By opening his arms wide and away from his chest, he exposed his heart. It totally made sense to him. And from then on, he never stuttered again. It was a deep emotional healing as the chi’s energy moved through the blockage and released his bundled up, hurtful wounds. Now, I began trusting in what I was seeing and intuiting.

A year or two later I had another private student. She was in her mid-sixties and was at the very last sequence to complete the form. Of course, I was excited for her as it would be a wonderful accomplishment. The evening before the next class she called me to cancel and added “I won’t be coming anymore.” I was shocked and asked that we meet to discuss why she was discontinuing her classes, especially when she was a breath away from completing. She agreed. We met the next morning and I calmly explained how confused I was that she was quitting after a year of classes right before finishing. She began to cry. I got her some tissues and waited until she could speak, “As a child my mother would always tell me I would never finish anything I started. I’m now realizing that became my subconscious modus of operation throughout my life. I guess that’s the reason I called you, yesterday.” WOW! That was a powerful sharing and now her actions all made sense. We spoke about how continuing her tai chi through the finish line would begin her deep, emotional healing. Happily, she learned the entire form and thanked me for my patience and understanding as I acknowledged her willingness to understand what was holding her back to success.

There are many more examples how I witnessed the emotional and spiritual qualities tai chi offered through my thirty-five years of teaching. Now it’s time to expound on some of the various physical aspects one can be gifted with by learning this ancient art of moving the chi energy. The following list is what I have discovered:

Releases T-Cells aka Immune Boosters (The up and down movements of legs and arms create a pumping action for lymphatic system.)
Strengthens heart muscle (During the entire tai chi form the arms/hands are held shoulder height so the heart needs to beat not faster but stronger to bring the blood flow up to the elevated limbs.)
Weight bearing for bone strength (We’re constantly shifting the entire body’s weight to each side. Oftentimes, we favor either the right or left side during our daily movements, tai chi brings balance to both and will strengthen the weaker side.)
The best exercise to walk-in-balance (I use to teach yoga and we would do standing postures like the Tree Pose for balance however that doesn’t teach the body how to walk in a balanced mode.)
Prevents falls (Tai chi constantly brings the torso and one leg forward as we shift the weight from left-side-to-right-side, then the legs and torso are immediately brought to a straight, standing position. When practicing daily the body will automatically “right itself” or rebound if one trips or begins to fall forward.)
We drop the center of gravity below the waist and firmly feel the earth with every step. Bringing us into the moment with each move.