Tai Chi is a sequence of gentle movements originally derived from martial arts. It’s often described as ‘meditation in motion’ and is well known for its health benefits and practised for its defence training. Tai Chi is recognized for reducing stress and anxiety; it is a gentle exercise that has minimal impact on muscles and joints, making it suitable for various levels of fitness and age groups.
For the past six years Cheryl Shervington and Sandra Nicholson from White Crane Tai Chi have been travelling from Forbes to Canowindra every Tuesday to teach members of our community. Sandra stated “most of the original students are still with us but we are always encouraging new members as this creates changes to the program keeping it interesting and challenging for everyone.”
Cheryl and Sandra are equally enthusiastic to promote the health benefits of Tai Chi, “Tai Chi gives you control over your body, improves your posture and balance and aids cognitive functioning. At the same time it provides relaxation through focus on breathing and movement allowing for time out from everyday stresses” Cheryl said. The beauty of the program on offer is having two instructors present, enabling them to provide an advanced and modified level that caters to all ages. The instructors work closely with students and allow them to work at their own pace. Sandra described the benefits quite aptly by stating, “Tai Chi is an exercise you can do for the rest of your life.”
By Michelle McCormack