The Bird Flaps Its Wings

T’ai Chi Chih relaxes this QualMed member

Published in Being Well, a Medical coverage magazine

Ask Suni McHenry what she’s doing as she glides her arms and torso through the air, and she might just tell you she’s pulling taffy. Or carrying the ball.

Suni McHenry, a QualMed member, is an accredited instructor of T’ai Chi Chih. That makes her an expert on the 19 movements that define this gentle, unique art–movements with poetic names like joyous breath, daughter on the mountaintop, and bird flaps its wings.

This soft-spoken friendly woman has no trouble demonstrating the flowing steps that make up the non-contact art of T’ai Chi Chih. But explaining the benefits of the art isn’t nearly so simple.

“Everyone gets something different out of it,” McHenry says. “For some, practicing the movements is a joyful experience. For others, it’s a path to relaxation.”

And since paths to relaxation are becoming hot-ticket items in the fast-paced ’90’s, T’ai Chi Chih is finding new fans all the time, she says.

“It’s hard to unwind after a hectic day at the computer,” McHenry explains. “But T’ai Chi Chih helps by slowing down the mind and body. The way it works is that the mind begins to unwind as the body goes into motion. As you concentrate on the movements, you leave the stresses of work behind.”

Stress management was already becoming important in 1974 when T’ai Chi Chih was born. Its originator is Justin Stone, an American who sought to create a unique art similar to, but easier than, the ancient Chinese art of t’ai chi chuan.

“Mr. Stone understood that t’ai chi chuan wouldn’t catch on in this country because there were over 100 movements to learn,” McHenry says.

“Americans were just too busy.”

So Stone invented the simpler T’ai Chi Chih, abbreviating the age-old Oriental art to include just 19 movements*. Today T’ai Chi Chih is practiced throughout the United States and in five other countries.

“It seems Americans aren’t the only ones trying to cope with stress these days,” McHenry notes. “T’ai Chi Chih’s time has come.”

*Although some of the information in the article is not entirely accurate, nevertheless it is, I think, a positive step for medical institutions like QualMed, to acknowledge the benefit of the T’ai Chi Chih and include an article in their publication. Suni