Tai Chi with Bill

9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Wilkinson Public Library
Program Room

Event Details

Start your week with the centering and flowing tradition of Tai Chi! This class  is an introduction to Classical Tai Chi's Southern Wu style. In this class we will take movements from the form to learn the internal dynamics within the moves of the form. You will learn the six major internal dynamics. Using select moves we put the internal dynamics into play to work on our balance, relaxation and stress management, lower back mobility, rooting, full relaxed belly breathing, mindfulness of movement, and situational awareness: Tai Chi as mind and brain exercise. 

Heads up: if roads are particularly snowy or icy, our instructor may have to cancel, so be sure to check the calendar accordingly.

This is a donation-based class. The class is suitable for beginners, as an intro to Tai Chi through experienced Tai Chi students of any style, from adolescents to seniors. This class is not physically demanding; we use a "small step, small frame" with a precise range of movement, but because of the ying-yang contrast within each move, we get a large reward- so it is accessible to all ability levels. 

About Southern Wu Style and the Instructor: 
Stephen Hwa, seeking to reduce the drop out rate within tai chi form classes, generally decided to offer in this curriculum what has been traditionally saved for advanced students much later in the Tai Chi learning process. This is the internal work on how to move the body from within the tan tien, the core of the body, and which really makes the practice come alive. This is the element that is not seen when onlookers observe a Tai Chi player's performance of the form and is a combination of the mind's participation and the coordination of the ying/yang dynamic within the muscle, fascia, and tendon layers of the body. 
Bill Cranstoun's enthusiasim for Tai Chi started in the mid 1980's with the popular style of the time; since then he has this to say about his evolution:
"In the nineties I learned a long set Yang style while living in Germany with Chan, Kwok-wah. I studied the large frame privately for 3 years and also taught beginner classes. The more I studied the more enthusiasm I garnered. 
Then in 2004 I found Master Hwa's Classical Tai Chi online & watched the videos on internal discipline.  I was immediately fascinated... whenever I could I studied with Master Hwa.
I have worked in the physically challenging profession of construction for forty years. In the long term and in the short term with accidents and minor injuries this practice has helped me maintain not only health but a wonderful level of well being in daily life.
I have shared the joys of Classical Tai Chi in many classes throughout the years and thank Master Hwa for his generous nature in making these teachings so easily available."

Event Type(s): WPL Programs, WPL Fitness Classes
Age Group(s): Adult, Fitness