What is key in Tai Chi?

1. What is key in Tai Chi? Eric P. Trunnell, PhD Associate Professor Department of Health Promotion & Education University of Utah Salt Lake City, Utah 84112 eric.trunnell@health.utah.edu

2. What is key in Tai Chi? Tai Chi Classics: From posture to posture, the energy is unbroken. Principles: Circularity in Curves, arcs, circles not linearity. [Continuous, coordinated, connected]

3. Key Points in Tai Chi • Proper Alignments • Pulsing: Opening and Closing • Piercing the shell (working with internals) • Energy work • Releasing and Dropping (Sung) energy • Meditation in Movement • Paying Attention • Rhythm and Flow in Opening and Closing • Dissolving

4. It’s the Wine, not the Container!Tai Chi Classics (TCC) • TCC: Separate and combine. • TCC: Empty and full must be clearly differentiated. • TCC: One part moves, all parts move; one part stops, all parts stop. • TCC: The big moves the small, the small changes the big.

5. Scale #1: Based loosely on Bandura’s Self-Efficacy Theory Please rate (1-10) how confident you are in your ability to… • Release any tension in your body. • Align your joints and extremities. • Empty one leg and fill the other. • Lower your tailbone. • Bend and stretch. • Moderate your extensions to 70-80%.

6. Self-Efficacy Tai Chi Scale Please rate how confident you are in your ability to… • Coordinate my movements within each posture. • Place my attention on my body when doing the form. • Shift my awareness when moving. • Be engaged in doing Tai Chi. • Be open to learning and practicing. • Move seamlessly from one posture to the next.

7. Changing Focus of your TCC Scale to other levels and situations (Bandura)? • Scale #1: Focus is on person’s ability to perform the behaviors and skills you had just learned during the training. • Scale #2: Focus is on performing behaviors and skills in different levels of difficulty and different situations. • Level of confidence (degree) in paying attention while performing TC form when in low, moderate, and high (level) stressed situations (generality).

8. Example of Items on Scale #2 Situation #1: Sung in everyday activities Please rate your level of confidence in… • Dropping my energy (sung) when standing at a checkout at the grocery store (low). • Dropping my energy (sung) when I am walking to class (mod). • Dropping my energy (sung) when I am walking fast to get to class (high).

9. Scale #2, Cont’d Situation #2: Alignments, while walking, hiking Please rate each item your level of confidence in alignments while walking… 4. Proper alignment while walking to class (low). • Proper alignment while walking the lake in the park (mod). • Proper alignment while hiking in the hills (high).

10. Scale #2, Cont’d Situation #3: Performing cloud hands in activities with different degrees of stress. Please rate your level of confidence in pulsing your joints while performing… • Cloud hands in class (low) • Cloud hands in front of a small group (mod) • Cloud hands in an auditorium for Junior High students (high)

11. Immediate Effects of Tai Chi • Acquire a still & tranquil mind • More present and mindful • Greater degree of flowing movements • Produces a sense of flow in life • Smoothes out the transitions and lessens gaps • Increase balance and circulation by activating 5 fluid systems

12. Long Term Effects of Tai Chi • Effects all five levels of our being over time • Physical, mental, emotional, soul, and spirit • Research shows Tai Chi… • Improves circulation, diabetes management, sleep, immune system, and balance • Improves strength, balance, and flexibility • Helps in Arthritis (joints), multiple sclerosis (balance), CVD (circulation)