Tai Chi is it for Me?

Tai Chi is an ancient martial art that marries mind and body to create awareness and clarity of the inner you.  It is proclaimed to have health benefits ranging from strengthening the body to alleviating a variety of ailments such as Arthritis and gastric problems.

I’ve seen groups in the park acting as one going through beautiful routines. It looks like karate in slow motion. Considering how uncoordinated I am, slow is better. Tai Chi has always peeked my interest, but I had never tried a class; until the other night that is. The instructor gave us a brief background on Tai Chi and another meditative practice, Qi Gong. Then he led us through a few movements of each discipline. While looking in the mirror as the class moved through the Tai Chi movements I realized it would take years of working with the same group of people to ever look like those people in the park. The movements themselves were doable, but the precise nature of the discipline left me dispirited due to my aforementioned un-coordination.

Qi Gong on the other hand had a more of a give it your best shot vibe, a much better fit for my klutzy abilities. Qi Gong translates to life force work. It incorporates breathing and slow movement to enhance overall health without the martial arts theme. Qi Gong can even be done lying down. Now this is my kind of exercise. I’m definitely going forward to taking some Qi Gong classes.

Health-e-Motion

Yesterday was the Grand Opening Celebration for Health-e-Motion.  There was the typical meet & greet, food, drink and tour. Unique to Health-e-Motion were the Nia classes you could jump into for a song, intuitive readings in a private room or the Drumming Ceremony which was the finale for the day. Now I have never seen a Drumming Ceremony much less participated in one, but that didn’t stop me from picking up a drum and banging along. What a hoot. Everyone started out trying to follow the rhythm but as the ceremony progressed, we all just did our own thing. Some people were drumming or using other percussion instruments, some danced and some enjoyed the performance. Usually I’m in the latter group. Just spending a few minutes in this new space and I was already enjoying being out of my comfort zone.

Health-e-motion is the brainchild of Christine Clifton. She describes herself as a Personal Growth Trainer and has worked as a life coach and Nia instructor. Christine wants to bring healthy living modalities under one roof. Whether you are searching for spiritual, intellectual, emotional or physical enlightenment Health-e-motion is the place to be.

I first met Christine a few months back at a Rock Your Chakras class she was leading. It was fantastic! It was a mix of movement, meditation and soul searching. Just weeks before my mom’s death, I came into the class hopeless and dark and left feeling hopeful and light. It was an awesome internal transformation. Excitingly, this is one of the classes being offered during the free Monday evening classes in March. I can’t wait to take it again. To me the real excitement about Health-e-Motion is the opportunity to try new things in a safe environment. There’s this Dance Your Chakras (March 31) billed as all about chakras and balancing these energy centers through dance meditation. Sounds like something not to miss to me.