Authentic Tai Chi classes in 
Welwyn and St Albans 

Surprisingly, the primary purpose is NOT to get better at Tai Chi. We recommend regular (daily) practice for the three reasons below:  

 

Cultivate Qi

A garden will grow by itself, but your plants can become weak and grow poorly without attention. If you cultivate your garden, it will be healthier and give you more happiness. If you cultivate your qi (or circulating life force) it will show in your health & wellbeing.

 

Alternative exercises, such as fitness classes, running, cycling, and sports, are also healthy and fun. But to do them you already need to have good qi. Tai chi can be practised even when your qi is weak, and helps to build up your inner reserves of qi.

​

Pay attention to yourself  

Maintaining a daily practice is difficult. On the face of it there are always valid reasons to skip it - eg a list of other things to do. However, the real truth is often that we are avoiding paying attention to ourselves in case we don't like what we see. Our past experience is that focusing too closely on yourself isn't positive!  
 

Can you feel the tension in your body - and relax? Can you accept that you don’t do tai chi perfectly - and relax? Can you see all your other imperfections – and still relax? And by relax we mean switch off the self-critical voice in your head which says you are 'not ok' as you are. 

​

This aspect of tai chi is more important than the precise form of the postures. So, you don’t really do tai chi when you learn the postures in your weekly class. You do tai chi in your personal practice when you pay attention to yourself AND allow yourself to feel you ARE ‘ok’ just as you are. 

​

BTW…Your teachers probably have the same struggles with practice!

​​

Make ‘meditation’ a habit

Some people find it difficult to sit still and ‘meditate’. They can find it easier to develop a meditative habit via the slow, graceful movements of tai chi practice.

During practice, we choose not to give negative feelings our attention. Instead we focus on positive intentions to love and care for ourselves and others. 

​