Often when people sign up for an exercise class they are considering they need to be getting a workout. Tai Chi is considered exercise until you realize it is more than that. The beginning of Tai Chi you are working on structure and alignment for posture, you open up the diaphragm for breathing deeper, and you increase circulation and massage the heart and organs.
There are other benefits that people quickly realize, and that is how Tai Chi support mental health and wards off declining mental faculties often associated with aging.
Have a look at this special news report to learn more about how taking a Tai Chi class can help you maintain mental wellbeing and clarity.
Are you ready to order your tea for gift giving this season, as well as for sharing with family and friends. Great conversation happens over a cup of tea. At Wine Country Tai Chi Society classes we take a tea break to gather and share more about what is happening in our worlds. Now we gather with our own tea blends!
Inspired by the flavours found in the Okanagan Valley, our blends include grape leaves along with their green tea or rooibos combinations. High in Antioxidants, and low or with no caffeine, these blends are a great way to boost your immune system while enjoying the flavours we find at the fruit stands each season. They can be enjoyed hot or cold, or with a special recipe…stay tuned for those. They are best prepared with water that has been brought up to a boil, but not boiled, and then letting the tea cool to a warm but not hot temperature – the flavours of the herbs and fruits are highlighted this way. Make a second or third cup from your first steep, and continue to reap the benefits.
We have two sizes of bags – 50 gms (small) or 100 gms (large). Be sure to place your order right away as these blends are quickly clearing out with the spread of the word on how they smell and taste!
Have you joined the club and started your Tai Chi journey? Thank you for choosing the Wine Country Tai Chi Society to support your self-care plan, and to provide you with support as you learn and grow with the Tai Chi program.
If you are looking for a t-shirt to order, please use the form here to register your size and style. It is always a delight to have our club shirts on to create a sense of community while we practice, and to share more about Tai Chi with others when we are at club events, or we are wearing the shirt on our travels.
We want to welcome you to the 2023 Fall Schedule for Tai Chi with the Wine Country Tai Chi Society.
To learn more about our programs, be sure to check out the latest videos with explanations of the classes here.
This is the front cover for our introduction video series!
To find the best class and time for you, please go here. Be sure to scroll past the amazing summer schedule at the Gellatly Nut Farm outdoors.
If you are a returning student, or a regular student of the club, be sure to check out the videos for Sabre, Lok Hup, and the Seated Form to learn about how you can advance your Tai Chi practice with additional class time and skills. Click here.
Together we energy and vitality to our daily activities through regular Tai Chi practice and integration.
Our very successful Cape Breton Tea Fundraising is now over. Thank you to everyone that bought tea or made donations towards this event.
Our event was supported by the Cape Breton Tea Company blends. Should you wish to replenish your teas or choose a gift for someone else, please go to https://cbteacompany.square.site.
Our ambition was to shine a light on our new Tai Chi location signs and we will meet that goal. Congratulations to everyone for all the fun with tea sampling in class!
In a recent article released by Tai Chi Basics, they explore the power of meditation and your self-care. For many people it is difficult to sit and be still, or they may have been sitting for hours all day and they really need to get moving, more sitting is not appealing.
This is where Tai Chi comes in. The moving patterns in Tai Chi are a form of Moving Meditation. That is, you gain the quietness, deep breathing, and centered feeling while flexing, strengthening and spiraling the body. This approach enhances the communication between organ systems, creates whole-body movement patterns that strengthen the way you move as you age or lead a sitting lifestyle at work or home, and deepens the breath.
What are the benefits of moving meditation? Calm the monkey mind, stretch and strengthen the muscles and tissue of the body, create a storage center of energy to use throughout your day, to ease sleep challenges, to moved the breath deeper into the body for mental clarity and system support, release of tension in areas that may have been problems for years (neck, shoulder, hip, back, lower back, hamstrings, ankles), restless legs, and more.
Join a class today, celebrate with us on World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day April 29th, and join us in the park all summer long.
Here is the link to the Meditation article by Tai Chi Basics…put Tai Chi on your wellness plan!
We have put together a spring campaign for t-shirts and would love to have you wearing our club colors. You can choose a club t-shirt in royal blue, or you can choose a Year of the Rabbit t-shirt in purple. The last day to order is April 7th. Here is the link to place your order. Sample photos are available on the form.
Wine Country Tai Chi Society is thrilled to be welcoming back, from Awareness Tai Chi in Medicine Hat, Kevin Werre. May 5-7 is your chance to advance your Tai Chi skills while learning more about the subtleness of how Tai Chi weaves through your life.
When we choose a program for exercise, what are we really signing up for? Tai Chi is a slow, gentle, powerful transformation for living!
Most of us sign up for exercise class to help us with getting active, building leg strength, finding some flexibility we may have lost, and to be more energized. We may have tried different sports, walking, hiking, running, yoga, pilates, etc. They may have kept our interest, but not supported all the needs of the body with its aches and complaints. What do you do if your favorite activity is causing you some pain, or you don’t have the strength or flexibility to continue with it?
At this point, you may be thinking about what Tai Chi looks like in the park in the summertime, and how the slow movements look so fluid. Something you always thought of trying, but never did. Why not? What might this ancient art have to offer you and your wellness plan?
On December 3rd, Wine Country Tai Chi Society offered a special workshop to explore what Tai Chi really offers those who sign up for a class – transformation. Michelle Greenwell, of Tai Chi Cape Breton, and a Ph.D. (final) in Complementary and Integrative Health, shared the true healing power of Tai Chi. She encouraged the participants to let go of the old paradigm that they needed exercise. They explored the stress that the idea of exercise brings into the body and where in the body it influences each person. She invited the group to explore the idea of transformation.
Transformation is the opportunity for ease and flow to spread through the body as the organ systems and the energy circuits open and balance. Once in this balanced stated, the systems can operate together in harmony, and they are supported by a constant and abundant energy flow.
The group explored how emotions can appear in overload when there are blocks in the system and the body is stressed. This can lead to feelings of anxiety or fear, or judgment, or anger and resentment without real provocation. Together the group explored how simple movement patterns can harmonize the emotions and release thoughts and ideas that have been through a stressed lens.
The group also explored the power of spiral movement, found throughout all the Tai Chi moves, and how it engages receptors in the body that feed the brain and enhance its function. Through the spiral moves the group felt the difference in whole body harmony, as opposed to isolated movements found in activities that keep the movements straight.
Figure eight patterns were a favorite by the group as they explored how this energetic pattern can harmonize the muscles, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. Found throughout the Tai Chi movements, it was easy to see the layers of power within simple actions.
The group was able to realize some new ideas about their own body and their stress level, and how engaging in Tai Chi daily can release that tension, open up for ease with breathing, and to expand joints, lift the spine, and balance the pelvis and shoulders.
Here are a couple of quotes from participants:
Change your thinking, Change your Chi!
I am so excited about this journey and you sharing your wisdom further inspires me.
Have you been thinking about what to do for your wellness plan in 2023? Have you considered how Tai Chi might be able to enhance your daily energy, increase your strength, expand your flexibility, help you to breathe deeply throughout the day, introduce you to a whole new group of friends with the same wellness goals?
WCTCS is welcoming new students to their classes in January and February. A great place to start is with the Friday classes that raise your body awareness and help you identify where the stress is being held in the body. From there you can expand to other daytime and evening classes based on your schedule. Check out the full schedule in the class listings. You can get connection with the group by emailing winecountrytaichi@gmail.com or calling Yvonne at 778-755-0987 to speak with an instructor. We look forward to seeing you expand your wellness toolbox and build a strong plan for health and well-being success in 2023!
We want to know how you found us, and what kind of difference Tai Chi has made in your life. We would love a review to help others learn more about our club and the opportunities that Tai Chi can provide them, right in their neighborhood.
Please take a few moments and leave us a review! Thank you!
