Common Questions...What is.......?

• Tai Chi or Tai Chi Quan (Chuan) 太极拳; 太極拳 and Qigong are graceful slow movement exercises from China. They were created for better health and wellness which is endorsed by many health organizations for many conditions.

• Qigong (or Chi Kung) is an art and science of regulating internal energy for health, sports or martial arts. Outer qigong would be like Reiki where you send energy out. Qigong is the orginal practice and Tai Chi started out of it.

• Tai Chi (or Tai Ji) or Tai Chi Quan (or Chuan) 太极拳; 太極拳 is an inner martial art and whole body internal qigong for health, meditation, and martial arts. Series of movements are typically practiced as a form. There are many styles and many forms in Tai Chi.

• Tai Chi means supreme ultimate and it is the yin and yang symbol. Quan or Chuan means boxing or thought of as shadowboxing. In western society, we tend to drop the word Quan or Chuan to shorten the words from 3 to 2 words.

• Tai Chi Chih is a form of qigong. Tai Chi Chih means supreme ultimate (Tai Chi) knowledge (Chih). It is 19 movements and a pose created by Jusin Stone in late 1960 to 1974 in New Mexico.

• Community Singing or Sing Outs or Paperless Singing or Singing Circles are a gatherings of people to sing songs that are call and response or paperless singing. No Experience is necessary to join or watch. Usually songs are positive and inclusive of all faiths, people and communities.

• Mediation is way of calming the senses, the mind, body and heart. There are many ways to achieve mediation through stillness, breathe work, slow movement, singing, drumming, muscle relaxation, guided meditation, etc...

• Yoga is similar to Tai Chi and Qigong as they both are meditative and involve movement and stretching. Tai Chi and Qigong are slow or tapping movements with the stretching within the movement where as Yoga is usually a holding pose or stretch until the stretch is achieved.