natural (and also effortless) to that individual who has achieved balance and harmony between body and mind. During its 1000 years of development, Tai Chi has been considered to be a movement art. This indicates that it is much more than just physical or even energetic movement. It represents a relationship with the experience of change. The spirit that Tai Chi seeks to restore is an understanding of change as a natural life advances. Through the practice of Tai Chi one allows oneself to become a more willing participant in the process of change, understanding that it is unavoidable any ways. The practice begins primarily as a physical experience, but given time, applies the qualities that we seek to develop physically to the emotional, mental, and spiritual levels as well. The purpose of Tai Chi practice is not just about learning a set of moves, nor to become good at defending one’s self, although these abilities may happen during the course of the practice. The main goal of Tai Chi is to give the person an opportunity to become more aware of the natural laws that handles change. It is not just changes in the body that affects physical and structural movement, but somewhat the principle of change and movement that rule every aspect of our lives and the world around us. The exercises of the practice simply provide us with a chance to explore that process of discovery. Tai Chi emphasizes on complete relaxation and is a form of meditation, or what has been called “meditation in motion.” Unlike hard martial arts, soft, slow, flowing movements that emphasize force, rather than brute strength characterize Tai Chi. Though it is soft, slow, and flowing, the movements are performed accurately.HISTORY AND LEGENDS OF TAI CHIThe history of Tai chi is a hard one to record because it is hard to tell which information are facts and which one are legends or stories. There are many legends surrounding the origins of Tai Chi. One sta...
