kai chi

kai's philosophy is beauty lies in the simplest and purest of things and i've always believed beauty comes from the inside out. when we heard of a tai chi class that's minutes from our office, my team and i arranged to take a private. we took our class with doria cook-nelson. she happens to be a world class tai chi chuan instructor and international gold medalist forms competitor. in other words, we knew we had come to the right place. she teaches ancient simple training techniques received from her grandmasters at home and in china over the last 38 years. we were told at the onset of our class that tai chi helps subdue our modern rising stress levels while triggering confidence in having new physical and mental wellbeing! let's be honest, in today's world who doesn't need that?

our class lasted about an hour and a half. we first started with some tai chi exercises while doria explained the meridian system, a chinese medicine belief about how energy flows through our body. we all enjoyed the slow but deliberate movements in which concentration was key. after a bit our bodies responded to the repetitious groove doria was handing out and our racing minds slowed. we ended our class with chi kung exercises which strengthen the body and aide in curing illness. it's an exercise in which you swing your arms repeatedly. this stimulates the nerves and chi channels in your shoulder joints so that the chi flows to other areas. chi kung has been known to cure some cancers since the increase in chi circulation helps degenerated cells function normally and eliminates the cancer. we all felt so relaxed and refreshed by the end of the class. as lisa says...it's a similar feeling to the one you have when you finish a nice glass of wine. we savored every bit of our class and i'm thinking it might by something i'll be adding to my regime very quickly.

xo
gaye

              photo courtesy of veronica skin and body care center