Three and a half years ago I had never heard the word Tai Ji. Today, I could not imagine my life without it. While developing an art/community center, a survey conducted indicated an interest in an exercise called Tai Ji. Having been an avid, and, some may say, addicted, exercise freak my curiosity was peaked. What is Tai Ji? After some research and securing an instructor classes were offered at the center and I decided to enroll.

In the beginning, Tai Ji was a form of exercise to improve balance and coordination and to help relax and strengthen the muscular system. How was this any different from the previous forms of exercise I had participated in? Year two - a year of confusion and frustration...don't give up!...keep practicing! Surely I will understand...sort through my confusion and frustration. The first layer had been peeled away and what seemed simple was now becoming complex. Hmmm, does this sound a little like everyday existence of life? Year three...ahhh...how much Tai Ji has to offer in harmonizing the mind, body and spirit.

Tai Ji is a discipline that helps develop relaxation, good health, balance, flexibility, strength, meditation, self-defense and self-cultivation. Can this be accomplished in three years of study? I have come to realize that Tai Ji is a process requiring a knowledgeable teacher, lots of patience, and daily practice. First, having a good teacher is a must. The teacher will impart only as much information as the student needs to help keep the student grounded as the process unfolds. Then comes the patience and daily practice. Through patience and daily practice, the flow of vital energy (chi) needed to achieve these benefits will be enhanced. My interest in Tai Ji lies with the health and self-cultivation aspects, yet all of the above seem to be like links in a chain. The chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Today, Tai Ji remains simple and yet complex. Frustrating...No! well, sometimes, Exciting...YES! The often-used expression "Tai Ji-A Way of Life", I sometimes think of in another way "Tai-Ji- The Way of Life", life that is full and then empty, life that is hard and then soft, life that is open and then closed. How interesting that through the soft circular sequence of the movements of Tai Ji, one experiences full and empty, hard and soft, open and closed. And so it is with the circle of life.

I want to share a quote I read not long ago. I would certainly give credit where credit is due but do not know the original source.

"Between movement and stillness there comes a perfect moment when all things sing together; sky, sea, sand, and earth; their song is Peace"

For me, the ultimate Tai Ji will be when I can feel movement in the stillness and stillness in the movement. That is when I will know there is harmony within.

Three years to attain the ultimate?...No...a lifetime?...Yes...Tai Ji is A Way of Life.