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Tai Chi Overiew
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DOES TAI CHI WORK?
Tai Chi work’s its stress relief magic by teaching each student a new type of attention and open awareness. Rather than the scattered inner mental world that most of us suffer in, the Tai Chi open awareness state is mentally peaceful while physically relaxed and balanced.
HOW DOES A PERSON RELAX?
We certainly do not relax by thinking the word “relax” or even trying to “relax”.
The way a person reaches a relaxed state has nothing to do with consciously letting go of muscular tension. Tai Chi teaches the student become more aware of their body feelings and to include the feelings of space and the environment around them. This open state of awareness has been shown to increase the relaxation response of the human autonomic nervous system (parasympathetic). The student doesn’t have to “do anything” in order to relax; just perform the Tai Chi postures slowly with their attention as wide as possible.
Tai Chi done in this state will completely reverse feelings of tension and anxiety within minutes. In fact, 20 minutes of this type Tai Chi can turn around a person’s entire day.
Unfortunately, learning the movements of tai ch alone will not guarantee that you reach this state. The instructor must understand how the tai chi practice operates on attentional states and how the meditative state differs from the waking, thinking mental state.
A UNIQUE PROGRAM
Master Joe Schaefer, has created his tai chi curriculum so that it helps students to reach this state with very little training and then lets them use this new tool for stress reduction and peak performance in their daily lives. He is completely unique in having a Doctorate in brain research while also being a master of Shaolin Kung Fu. Master Schaefer does not speak in riddles and pretend to be a sagely guru from a Kung fu movie. He communicates in terms you will understand and passes on real and useful knowledge to his students.
WHAT ABOUT CHI ENERGY?
Of course Tai Chi practice seeks to allow this vital energy to flow more smoothly in the body. However, a person must learn to reach the open awareness state first before this training can begin. Most westerners have never actually experience the true brainwave state associated with meditation. This is Why Master Schaefer holds a breathing and meditation class in North Austin once a week for all the Austin area students. He will make sure you understand what that state is before embarking on Shaolin-Do's 2500 year old Chi Kung formula for health and longevity
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