What is Tai Chi?
		Tai Chi is short for Tai Chi Chuan. It is a thousand year old system of exercise, healing, moving meditation, and martial art.
		What do the words, "Tai Chi Chuan," mean?
		Definitions:
		• Tai means "supreme" or "ultimate."
		• Chi means "life-force" or "universal energy."
		• Chuan means "fist."
		Translation: The way of harmony through movement in meditation... or the ultimate fist.
		Where did Tai Chi Originate?
		According to the legend, "Bodhidharma," traveled to China in the fifth century A.D. Visiting a Shaolin monastery in Northern China, he noticed the poor health of many of the monks. Giving them a series of breathing exercises and moving postures, these forms evolved into the Shaolin martial art, and over hundreds of years branched off and grew into the present systems of Tai Chi.
		What are the benefits of such practice?
		Tai Chi increases vitality, so that mind and body function more fully in harmony. This natural way of living allows us to be more in tune with ourselves and our environment; to realize that we, human beings, are an active part of this mysterious Universe, not separate from it all. Short-term benefits - a matter of months - include greater flexibility, stronger legs, improved cardiovascular and lymphatic systems, finer balance, overall better health, and an uplifting of spirit. Long term benefits include more energy, reduced stress, enhanced concentration and relaxation, greater awareness, inner peace... and an ever-growing appreciation and respect for life.
		What are its basic principles?
		In practice, relaxation, dynamic balance, and being aware come into constant play. The philosophical roots of Tai Chi Chuan can be found in an understanding of the natural law of duality. In the Tai Chi Classics, author and master Waysun Liao writes, "Two equal powers, Yin (female, negative) and Yang (male, positive), oppose and yet complement each other... Our Universe is programmed in such a way that the two powers exchange their essence, and existence comes from this." In the eloquent sixth century B.C. literary masterpiece, the Tao-te-Ching (the Book of the Way), author and mystic Lao Tzu further states: "All things have their backs to the female and stand facing the male. When male and female combine, all things achieve harmony."

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