From A Student of Adele Wenig

For some years now Chinese friends had told me about the benefits of taking up the practice of T’ai Chi Chih. Since I had never enjoyed exercising very much and my busy lifestyle did not lend itself to a regular program of exercise I usually gave up after some weeks.

I have always had bad coordination and have suffered the last 15 years from debilitating headaches which made me lose my equilibrium and suffer vertigo. I had tried in the past Hatha Yoga which I enjoyed to a certain degree, but could never quite master. I injured my neck and, therefore, I stopped doing it.

I started my first lesson of T’ai Chi Chih with trepidation but was ever so pleasantly surprised. I found that I enjoyed the movements much more than Yoga, that I could follow at least most of the instructions given by the teacher who gave each student individual help and support when needed. The first couple of times I went home quite sore discovering muscles I never knew I had. I felt warmth in my neck and back areas, and along my arms and with each additional lesson this feeling intensified.

I am on medication and one side effect is that I have trouble breathing. After a lesson I am totally exhausted but I can breathe easier. I hope to prolong this effect by doing the movements every day at home once I have mastered them.

All in all I believe that the T’ai Chi Chih course is at least for me one of the best exercise programs I have tried so far.

– Renata

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I teach T’ai Chi Chih through the Chabot College (Hayward, California) QUEST Program (classes for older adults). The preceding letter was given to me by one of my students last March. The QUEST Class in T’ai Chi Chih is offered at the Vesper Athletic Club and Wellness Center on Alvarado Blvd, San Leandro, during the Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters. It is a 1/2 – unit, credit/no credit class. For further information call me.

In the Fitness over Fifty classes that I teach, also through the QUEST Program, I have been incorporating some T’ai Chi Chih for centering, balancing, flow and relaxation. It is too soon to see if this if effective because few people do the TCC out of class.

In the same class as Renata attends, I have people who verbally express how the T’ai Chi Chih has helped with balance, increased energy, improvement in activity (specifically one man’s tennis serve) etc. I will try to get them to put it into writing.

Cheer and Chi

– Adele Wenig