Kitty Frey: Occupational Therapist Classes emphasize the self care/health aspects of taiji : physical, emotional and mental. Modifications are made to keep all students safe in their practice. My first encounter with tai chi was in 1980 while living on the west coast. I took community classes and enjoyed learning the Yang 108. From the first class I felt a grace of movement, mental engagement and relaxation that I had not experienced before. Fast forward to the late 1990's and small town Alabama where my husband and I had moved so he could pursue a teaching career. Busy raising 4 children, I had dropped tai chi but now found time and a class and learned the Yang simplified 24 forms. I had the same experience and decided I would keep up the practice. In 2003 I fell into teaching and discovered Dr. Lam's tai chi for health programs while browsing the internet for forms that might be suitable for older adults or those with chronic health concerns. In 2004 I signed up for a Tai Chi for Arthritis certification workshop in Ohio because as an occupational therapist I needed continuing education credits and I felt it would help my current tai chi students. I've used the program ever since and have had the great pleasure of attending 3 week long workshops exploring other forms such as Fan, Depth of 73, and 42 forms-all of which I have taught(or am teaching) to interested students here in Auburn. I have kept up my TCA 1 and 2 certifications and have also added Depth of TCA, Osteoporosis, Energy and Seated TC, teaching these as it seems appropriate in my community classes. In 2013 I became a senior trainer for Dr. Lam's Tai Chi for Health programs. I use tai chi principles and breathing with my patients at the hospital where I work and have introduced tai chi as a healthy practice to mental health patients and in a pain management course. Since 2010 I have helped host a WTCQD event to educate, have fun, and bring local teachers and students together building a healthier community, and each year this has grown. My tai chi journey has brought me into contact with many wonderful people, teachers and students alike. My students report many benefits from their practice of TC and have developed a support network of friends they care about and so have I. I see great value in the TC for Health programs/instructor certifications to provide safe effective programs and in tai chi in general for educating and empowering individuals to influence their overall health-I know it has influenced mine. I feel my work as a therapist and as a tai chi instructor although separate, complement each other, and what I learn from one discipline can often be applied to the other. I grow with every class I teach or workshop I attend and hope tai chi will always be a part of my life's journey. Contact: 334 821-4639 [email protected]. |
Jesse Cailey: Certified Taichi for Arthritis Instructor in Opellika, AL After retiring in my late fifties from a physically demanding job, I knew would need to stay active so I joined a local gym where I was able to observe a Tai Chi class. I tried the class but became frustrated and gave it up. A few years later at another gym I again encountered a Tai Chi class, this time the Sun style Tai Chi for Arthritis. I started attending this class and although still experiencing some frustration, I also began to make some progress. I began to sense there was much more to Tai Chi than first meets the eye. Well, to cut to the chase, one teacher left, then another, so to continue the class I offered to do what I could to keep the class going. Since then, I was able to get certification in the Tai Chi for Arthritis program but truth is, I'm just as much a student as everyone else; it's just my job to give some direction, give encouragement, and keep it interesting. |
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Jose Torres: Acupuncture & Taichi Advocate I discovered Taichi several months after graduating high school. After only one month of study, I had immediate changes happening, both physically and mentally. Not only did I regain the my long lost flexibility, I regained my mental appetite for knowledge and a new found appreciation for education. I have been lucky to have taught Taichi to freshman and sophomore high school students and I have witnessed the change in their bright minds after just one hour of class. Although Taichi is associated with slowness and therefore old age, it has been glossed over for the benefits it can offer young people; "focus & concentration, mind-body awareness & the ability to adapt." I believe it is one tool which needs to be implemented in our education system, better earlier than later. Contact: (706) 225-9472 [email protected] www.BodhiFactory.com |