RISING Phoenix Tai Chi recently held a week of free Tai Chi in Alexandra Gardens – their fifth year of holding this early morning event.

The weather held out with only one wet morning, but even with the rain members of the public still turned up and carried on with the session under the cover of a tree. A big success again!

New classes with Rising Phoenix Tai Chi start on September 22, in Albert Road Methodist Church at 6.30pm with a day time class in Glyndwr Hall on September 26, at 10.30am.

For further information call 02920 206042.

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Have you ever been in the presence of someone as they practice the ancient art form of tai chi? Well, I have and let me tell you, it is something to marvel at.

The Los Gatos Recreation Center has many programs and community activities for people of all ages.

Linda Scheer’s class features adult tai chi, which she has taught for 11 years. Her beginner classes are 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Wednesdays, and her intermediate classes are 12:30-1:30 p.m., also on Wednesdays.

During a recent class I observed I saw a man in his 60s or 70s gracefully swaying his arms and legs in hypnotic movement. Watching his body move through the air in a slow, meditative and rhythmic pattern was absolutely breathtaking.

Originating in China, this Chinese phenomenon is quickly gaining more momentum throughout the world with most community recreation departments offering an assortment of daily classes. But the largest group of people adopting this new art form are seniors.

Tai chi’s gentle flowing movements are known to relieve the stress we carry around with us day in and day out. Regular practice will improve your physical health by building muscle, lengthening tendons, improving cardiovascular fitness and it will help you build a strong core and a balanced body. It can prevent shingles and diabetes, improve symptoms of fibromyalgia and help prevent falls.

Tai chi also increases mental clarity, provides a greater sense of patience and can improve your overall quality of life. The intense concentration required for tai chi forces you to live in the present moment, putting aside all of your distressing thoughts.

There are many different styles of tai chi and each style may have its own subtle emphasis and variation on its principles and methods. There are also several differences within each style. While some may focus on health maintenance and stress reduction, others focus on the strict martial arts aspect of tai chi.

There are five primary styles of tai chi with dozens of new styles developed from them. With all this variation there is bound to be lots of movements—100 to be exact.

Many of these movements and positions within tai chi are named after an animal or nature. No matter what the variation, all forms of tai chi include rhythmic patterns of movement that are coordinated with breathing to help you achieve a sense of inner calm and relaxation.

Usually, there is a form of tai chi for every personality. Some forms of tai chi are more fast-paced and exerting than are others. However, most forms are gentle and suitable for everyone. So you can practice tai chi regardless of your age or physical ability—tai chi emphasizes technique over strength so you don’t have to be a body builder to excel at this sport.

In fact, because tai chi is low impact, it may be even more suitable if you are an older adult who would otherwise not exercise.

Although most forms of tai chi are generally safe, it’s always smart to talk with your doctor before starting a new exercise routine. This is particularly important if you have a history of medical conditions.

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Perhaps the biggest promoters of China’s Shaolin Temple in the U.S. — hip-hop luminaries Wu Tang Clan — are baffling to the temple’s current abbot.

"I don’t get it," said abbot Shi Yongxin, asked to sample Wu Tang through the headphones of the Financial Times’ Beijing bureau chief. The journalist elicited the abbot’s reaction for a profile on the temple and its rampant pop culture appeal.

If you don’t get it either, here’s a primer.

Wu Tang is a hip-hop group that came out of New York’s Staten Island in the early 1990s. Without Wu Tang, millions of Americans would have never heard the word "Shaolin." As the Financial Times notes, Shaolin "has become part of modern global culture like almost nothing else from modern Chinese society."

The temple first snuck into popular culture via old Kung Fu flicks as its monks have trained in martial arts for centuries.

From these grainy, 1970s films, the myth of Shaolin snuck into American hip-hop via the Wu Tang Clan. Their lyrics are marked by impenetrable slang, drug-dealing street tales and ideology from an all-black Islamic sect called the Five Percent Nation. All of this is filtered through their obsession with Kung Fu flicks and littered with references to Shaolin.

It’s hardly surprising that Shi Yongxin, a 46-year-old abbot who has lived at a temple since his teens, doesn’t "get it."

But the Wu-Tang Clan, having released multiple platinum-selling albums, are largely responsible for American awareness of Shaolin. Or at least a mythologized, distorted version of Shaolin filtered through Hong Kong cinema.

Perhaps the abbot has more in common with his hip-hop progeny than it appears.

Since Shi Yongxin started commercializing the temple through performance troupes, and licensing its name out to cartoons and movies, he has faced repeated accusations that cash rules everything around him.

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Tai chi is a slow motion and low impact exercise that promotes health, mind, body and mental relaxation. It is practiced as an effective exercise for health through a series of flowing, graceful and gentle postures and movements.   

    Classes are now being offered at the Cherokee Life Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:05-10:45am.  The class is taught by Kimsey Taylor, a certified Arthritis Foundation Tai Chi instructor, who is assisted by Skye Littledave and Lynn Taylor.

     The gentle flowing movements contain inner power that can strengthen the body, improve mental relaxation and mobilize joints and muscles. It is especially suitable as a therapy for arthritis because of the slow and gentle movements.  Tai chi improves balance, strength, flexibility and lowers the risk of falls.  It also reduces pain, stiffness, stress and improves sleep quality.

     Other benefits of Tai Chi are:  relieves knee osteoarthritis, improve physical function, self-efficacy, depression, overall health status, high blood pressure and tension headaches.  Tai Chi is a safe & gentle class without pain for those who carry extra weight to get moving.   If you have any medical conditions or medications that can cause dizziness, talk with your doctor before starting Tai Chi.  As with any new exercise program, contact your provider for their advice.   

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Well, I have, and let me tell you, it is something to marvel at. I often take my kids to pirate ship park (also known as Twin Lakes Park) on Seventh Avenue, and on almost every outing to the park, there is an unnamed man there, most likely in his late 30s or early 40s, practicing tai chi.

Watching his body as it gracefully sways back and forth in a hypnotic, slow, meditative and rhythmic pattern is absolutely breathtaking. I have yet to find out the name of this tai chi master, too focused to interrupt.

Originating in China, this phenomenon is quickly gaining more momentum throughout the world with most community recreation departments offering an assortment of daily classes.

Tai chi’s gentle flowing movements are known to relieve the stress we carry around with us day in and day out. Regular practice will improve your physical health by building muscle, lengthening tendons, improving cardiovascular fitness and helping you build a strong core and a balanced body. It can reduce high blood pressure and the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, and help you lose weight, while giving you the tools you need to lead a healthy lifestyle. Tai chi also increases mental clarity, provides a greater sense of patience and can improve your overall quality of life. The intense concentration required for tai chi forces you to live in the present moment, putting aside all of your distressing thoughts.

There are many different styles of tai chi, and each style may have its own subtle emphasis and variation on its principles and methods. There are also several differences within each style. While some may focus on health maintenance and stress reduction, others focus on the strict martial arts aspect of tai chi.

There are five primary styles of tai chi with dozens of new styles developed from them. With all this variation, there is bound to be lots of movements—100 to be exact. Many of the movements and positions within tai chi are named after an animal or nature. No matter what the variation, all forms of tai chi include rhythmic patterns of movement that are coordinated with breathing to help you achieve a sense of inner calm and relaxation.

There is a form of tai chi for every personality. Some forms are more fast-paced and exerting than are others. However, most forms are gentle and suitable for everyone. So you can practice tai chi regardless of your age or physical ability. As tai chi emphasizes technique over strength, you don’t have to be a body builder to excel at this sport. In fact, because it is low impact, it may be even more suitable if you are an inactive person who would otherwise not exercise.

There’s really no better place to live if you want to practice the art form of tai chi (except Asia), and Santa Cruz residents can find classes in several locations throughout the area. Ranging from long sessions to drop-in classes, with a little research you will find the type of class that suits your lifestyle.

Tai chi classes are offered at the following locations:

Scotts Valley Community Center

Tai Chi Natural Health Club

Academy of Martial Arts

Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine and Chi Center

Blooming Lotus Tai Chi

Watsonville Aptos Adult Education

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According to the Traditional Chinese Medicine model, Qi (chee), or energy, is formed from breathing fresh air, eating appropriate food and the genetic constitution we inherited from our parents.

Qi moves along channels through the body. A healthy body has continuous energy circulating that feeds organs, muscles, bones, etc. Problems occur when the flow is interrupted, deficient or excessive.

Physical and mental conditions can affect the flow positively or negatively. Anger can lead to dizziness, headache, chest tightness or shortness of breath. Likewise, physical impairment, like chronic pain, leads to emotional distress.

Tai chi is a "movement system" used to regulate the mind and breathing to control and improve the flow of qi. The regulation of energy flow preserves health and fights disease. Where physical exercise builds physical functioning, tai chi strengthens the mind’s capacity to regulate breathing and improve its use of energy.

This ancient art is a noncompetitive, self-paced system of movement and stretching. A series of postures are performed, flowing one into the next, keeping the body in constant motion.

Tai chi, similar to other forms such as qigong and yoga, has many different styles, but all practice coordinating the breath with rhythmic patterns of movement. When you are in the moment, it’s easier to put aside distressing thoughts, and visualize the positive flow of energy through your body.

Some forms of tai chi are fast-paced and exerting, but most forms are gentle and suitable for everyone. Therefore you can practice tai chi regardless of your age or physical ability — emphasizing technique over strength. Because it’s low impact, tai chi may especially suit older adults who may not otherwise exercise.

These exercises are also appealing because they’re inexpensive, require no special equipment, can be done indoors or out, alone or in a group. Classes can be an easy, safe way to meet and be with new friends where conversation is at a minimum.

Consider asking your doctor before starting a new program, particularly if you have problems with your joints, spine or heart, are pregnant, if you have any fractures, or severe osteoporosis.

Evidence suggests that tai chi may offer numerous benefits beyond stress reduction, including:

» Reducing anxiety and depression

» Improving balance, flexibility and muscle strength

» Reducing falls in older adults

» Improving sleep quality

» Lowering blood pressure

» Improving cardiovascular fitness in older adults

» Relieving chronic pain

» Increasing energy, endurance and agility

» Improving overall feelings of well-being

Instructional CDs and books are readily available, but consider seeking a qualified instructor to gain more benefits and learn proper techniques.

Tai chi classes can be found by contacting your local senior center, health club or wellness facility.

Ask about the instructor’s training and experience, get recommendations if possible and make sure you’re comfortable with his or her approach.

Eventually, you may feel confident to do tai chi on your own, but if you like the social element consider sticking with group tai chi classes.

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Anthony Carimi, 85, was accustomed to doing everything independently — until he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease three years ago.

Now his wife Ona has stepped in. And so has Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art that uses the mind to focus on slow body movements.

As Carimi practices the art that emulates a graceful dance, he fights the progression of his debilitating disease.

This is part of two University professors’ research on Tai Chi’s effects on degenerative diseases.

Li Li and Jan Hondzinski, professor and associate professor of kinesiology, have each been researching the effects of Tai Chi on people with peripheral neuropathy, a disease that affects nerve endings, and Parkinson’s disease.

The research projects use a simplified version of Tai Chi, an exercise that benefits the body without stressing it, Hondzinski said.

The projects are primarily funded by the O’Reilly Family Foundation and Origin BioMed Inc., said Li and Hondzinski.

Peripheral neuropathy can cause pain, numbness, trouble balancing and limited movement.

It usually starts in the big toes, Li said. The ailment affects the sensory nerves farthest from the spinal cord and gradually works toward it.

He said it takes years for the disease to progress, and there is no known medical cure.

"Psychologically, it’s just absolutely devastating," Li said.

Li said the disease’s cause is usually unknown, but it can result from ailments such as diabetes, leprosy or alcoholism.

Though Li had studied balance and gait for almost 20 years, he did not begin to focus on peripheral neuropathy until spring 2004 when a friend was diagnosed.

Li said his friend couldn’t stand without a cane because his feet were numb, but he was still able to walk easily.

"After this conversation, my world was basically crumbling down," he said.

Li said he later discovered a peripheral neuropathy support group and proposed the idea of trying Tai Chi as therapy.

The Tai Chi instructor is Yajun Zhuang, who came to the University from China. Li said he worked with Zhuang and set up a class at the University in summer 2004.

Participants use their feet, knees and hips to support themselves and shift their weight. As a result, people who were once dependent on family and friends have slowly gained independence, Li said.

"It’s good both physically and mentally," said research participant Pris Ashworth, 63. "It’s relaxing in a mental kind of way."

Ashworth said she does not have peripheral neuropathy but still participates in the project as part of the control group. She joined the project in 2006.

Approximately 25 study participants have peripheral neuropathy, while seven to eight don’t have the disease. He said the project has a wait list of about 200 people.

All the participants began the study doing seated Tai Chi, but they have progressed to doing the moves while standing, Zhuang said.

Betty Cook, an 83-year-old participant, said she’s noticed all the participants have gained balance and control.

The effects of Tai Chi extend further than peripheral neuropathy.

Hondzinski and assistant professor of kinesiology Arend Van Gemmert are researching the effects of Tai Chi on people with Parkinson’s.

Hondzinski said Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative disease that affects a part of the central nervous system that controls movement. Its cause is unknown.

It isn’t fatal, but complications like trouble swallowing can be.

She said people’s systems become slower over time, and typical symptoms include muscle rigidity and hand tremors.

Hondzinski’s research examines fine motor control, which involves hand movement, and gross motor control, which involves movement of the rest of the body.

Hondzinski said she started studying the effects of Tai Chi on Parkinson’s when a graduate student approached her with the idea. The research began two years ago, and Zhuang teaches a Tai Chi class for Parkinson’s research, as well.

She said people with Parkinson’s have trouble switching movements, and Tai Chi is beneficial because it doesn’t stress the body or cause joint damage.

Hondzinski said the class has helped participants walk, sit and stand and improved their fine motor skills.

—-

Contact Meredith Will at mwill@lsureveille.com

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SHENZHEN – Not everything at the Universiade is competitive. That doesn’t make it any easier.

A group of 34 monks brought their Shaolin kungfu performance to the Universiade Village theater stage. Shaolin Kungfu in the Wind combines Chinese dance and martial arts. The group consists of kungfu masters aged 12 to 26.

"I’ve been practicing Shaolin kungfu for more than 14 years – 10 hours a day, every day," said 26-year-old Zhang Bin. "The tip of the kungfu iceberg (is learning) how to play with 18 Shaolin weapons. Qigong and … fist position will (also) be showcased."

Since its premiere in Zhengzhou – where the famous Shaolin Temple is located – the show has boasted choreography, imaginative music, high-tech lighting and a stage that evokes the mysterious world of Zen.

10-year-old attendee Chen Shuo said she would never take up kungfu. "It looks painful," said Chen, who wondered why the monks didn’t seem to suffer when they hit their heads with iron plates.

"I sneaked to the backstage to have a look before the show," she said. "I wanted to play with their props, those iron plates, but they were too heavy for me to pick up."

Just two years older than Chen, Zhou Shuaixu is the youngest performer.

Between playing iPhone games backstage, the boy said he started to learn Shaolin kungfu at the age of seven. "We have taken the show to more than 80 countries across the world including UK, Germany, Russia, Malaysia and the Indonesia," Zhou said.

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