The Seal Beach Community Services Department offers T’ai Chi Chih (a simplified form of traditional tai chi) at the Mary Wilson Senior Center. Sign up for the five-week course at register.sealbeachca.gov for classes that start on Jan. 8. Suzanne Roady-Ross, a long time Seal Beach resident and certified instructor, has been teaching the class for the last 10 years. All classes are held for an hour on Monday evenings at the center.
Intermediate classes meet at 5:30 p.m. Beginning classes meet at 6:40 p.m.
Tai chi uses every muscle in your body, and is appropriate for all ages and fitness levels, even for those who haven’t exercised in a long time. No special clothes or equipment is necessary—just flat-heeled shoes or bare feet.
Chinese medicine teaches that “chi” is the vital energy that keeps us alive. When we are stressed or ill, we have blockage in the body’s meridians (or passages) that circulate this life energy. Practicing any form of tai chi helps clear those blockages so the energy can flow. Students find that by shifting their weight from one foot to the other and letting their hands move in different kinds of circles, they can generate “chi.”
