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| Motion Health Newsletter |
A free publication written and distributed by
Palm Beach Tai Chi at Motion Health Institute.
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| Grand Opening - What a Party! |
Let me first say WOW! We had such a wonderful grand opening party. I saw
many old friends, many current and former students of Master Guiffre's and met many new people as well.
Thank you so very much to everyone who came and showed your support and friendship. It is greatly appreciated.
I'm very excited about the continued evolution of this newsletter. My goal is to provide
short but educational material which will give you a glimpse into what we teach at our school.
Our curriculum is about much more than the martial arts aspects of Tai Chi. It includes education in how to apply
the principles of Tai Chi in our daily lives to achieve a more balanced and healthy lifestyle.
In this edition we have articles submitted by two long time students of our internal arts school.
Thank you Paul and Evelyn for your exceptional efforts and wise contributions.
Finally, I wanted to mention a new special we just started. We are continuing with our
grand opening specials through the month of March. But we've also just added a new special.
Over the last several weeks I've had many people ask me about Tai Chi. What is it? How does it work? What's involved?
They're trying to find out if Tai Chi is a right fit for them. They want to sign up for classes but don't
want to commit to a 12 week course. In response to this, we've developed a 6 week mini course.
This 6 week course is designed to give you an introduction to the concepts of Tai Chi, Nei Gong and Qi Gong.
Through this one course you'll begin to experience the health benefits of Tai Chi.
We've set the price for this 6 Week Mini Course at only $79. That is really a great deal
for the amount of material covered.
Space is limited in these classes so Click Here
to sign up now. If you're not sure
Tai Chi is right for you, this is the way to go.
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| Class Schedule |
| *** Classes Now in Session *** |
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Please note. We have added a new class on Sunday. This class will begin as soon as
we have enough interest. If you would like to attend a class on Sunday please let us know.
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| Tuesday | |
9:30 am | |
Tai Chi Essentials |
| Tuesday | |
7:00 pm | |
Tai Chi Essentials |
| Wednesday | |
7:00 pm | |
Tai Chi Essentials |
| Saturday | |
9:30 am | |
Tai Chi Essentials |
| Sunday | |
12:00 Noon | |
Tai Chi Essentials |
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All classes are one hour in length
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Click Here for more information on classes and prices
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| First Principle of Balance |
One of the first topics we cover in our curriculum are the five essential principles of balance. The first principle is
our "vertical line inside". Our top center of head cooperates with the sky above, meanwhile,
center between legs cooperates with the earth below. With these two opposites cooperating our spine remains long and healthy.
Although a simple concept this one principle can have an immediate and profound impact on your physical balance.
What do we mean by balance? In the following article Instructor Evelyn Ogren begins to explore the definition of balance as it is used here.
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| What is Balance? |
What is BALANCE? Here we mean physical or mental equilibrium and stability, achieved by conscious change in Yin Yang
forces. To be balanced means change in some form, seeking out alternatives, and recognizing positive and negative
aspects of the phenomena.
In Taijiquan practice, balance is obtained through consciously establishing the center of
gravity in the waist-legs relationship: "Top of head cooperates with sky above"? Keep your eyes straight ahead and
imagine Baihui point on the top of your head is moving up; you feel like you are being pulled up as the spine straightens.
Resist the response for knees to straighten. Keep your knees flexed so that "the center between legs" (Huiyin point)
will be in a
straight line with Baihui point above. You have attained "central equilibrium". You feel suspended from the sky but
a firm rooting of the feet going down into the earth below.
Confirm you are balanced: Raise and lower your sight a little.
Feel how your body wants to fall frontwards or backwards - you've lost your balance.
Lock your knees and see how you feel.
If Baihui point cooperates with sky above and simultaneously HuiYin point cooperates with the earth below,
you will remain balanced.
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Written by
Evelyn H. Ogren, Instructor
Palm Beach Tai Chi
Motion Health Institute
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| Acupoint Spotlight |
Acupoints of Chinese medicine are an integral part of our curriculum. In this article Student-Instructor Paul Tsang
details the various
acupoint involved in the basic concepts of the first essential principle and our posture of preparation.
In order of preparation
(1) Gongsun (Spleen 4). This acupoint of Ancient Chinese Medicine is just above the base of the 1st "big-toe" &
literally means "Grandfather - grandson" referring to it's close relationship as a Luo or connecting point from the
Spleen to the Stomach channel and promotes the health of both these channels. Also, Gongsun is a Confluent point
connecting to the Penetrating or Chong Mai channel (also called the Sea of Blood). Blood is the Mother of Qi and
carries our Qi vitality - according to Taiji principles - following the direction of our mind.
From Gongsun we cultivate a path of vitality - following the direction of our mind - up through the inside surfaces
of legs up to the center between legs - to connect with our second acupoint (2) Huiyin (Conceptual or Ren channel
point Ren 1) - literally meaning "meeting of Yin" this point is the meeting place of Chong Mai, the Conceptual or
Ren channel & our Governing or Du channel promoting the health of our vital organs & our spine/brain nervous systems
respectively. Huiyin is therefore an important point for connecting these three "Extraordinary" channels.
From Huiyin - we follow the direction of our mind upwards through the center of our body to the top center of head,
vitality naturally ascending - until we reach our third acupoint
(3) Baihui (Du 20) . This acupoint literally means : "a hundred meetings" as it is the meeting point of many channels
in the body, especially good for focussing the Mind, vitality naturally ascends to the vertex of the head during our
preparation for Taiji.
Reference source "A Manual of Acupuncture"
-Deadman, Al-Khafaji & Baker
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Written by
Paul Tsang, Student-Instructor
Palm Beach Tai Chi
Motion Health Institute
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| Tao Te Ching Excerpt |
An excerpt from verse 11 of the Tao Te Ching
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Wu is nothingness, emptiness, non-existence.
Clay is molded to form a cup
yet only the space within
allows the cup to hold water
Walls are joined to make a room
yet only by cutting out a door and a window
can one enter the room and live there
Thus, when a thing has existence alone
it is mere dead-weight.
Only when it has wu, does it have life
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| Signing Off |
| Thanks for reading! |
That's it for this edition of Motion Health Newsletter. I hope you found at least one or two useful items
to help you attain a more balanced and healthy life.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more information about our school
feel free to contact me directly or visit our website. I hope to see all of you at classes real soon.
-Bill
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