Poetry in Motion
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| Tai-chi on Weston Green: the RA's Ben Ellis relieves stress in left foreground |
Tai chi is no longer a mesmerising, if baffling, activity confined to Eastern metropolises or paddy-fields. No more do we shake our heads at film shots of alien, well-drilled but ancient-looking oriental office workers teetering slowly on some flat roof at dawn in Beijing. Here in Thames Ditton and Weston Green, individuals and small groups of residents may be seen in our green spaces from time to time, moving slowly with concentration through a sequence of graceful movements. This ancient practice has been growing steadily in popularity throughout the world, as a means to maintain and improve health and for the combined calmness and vitality it brings to the practitioner. It is accessible to all, including the more elderly.
That tai chi is a martial art may surprise you when you see its slow motions, requiring considerable focus, which seem the antithesis of violence. They lay the foundation for faster moves. The principle is that an assailant's energy is turned against the assailant. The majority here, however, take up tai chi with little thought of fighting, but value it for the beneficial effects that concentrating on those slow sequences has for developing strong legs, supple joints, and good balance, posture and co-ordination. The balances and co-ordination can be unexpectedly challenging and feel very strange to the beginner, but perseverance through the first couple of months pays off, as the brain and body begin to understand what is going on, contact between the feet and the ground becomes firmer, the movements become more familiar and balance more assured. For those who have done more vigorous exercises, the challenge is to slow down and develop "softness", and to discover that great strength comes from relaxation and allowing one's energy to flow. And many find the less strenuous discipline and the close concentration an invaluable boon for relief and management of stress.
The health benefits of tai chi, and accompanying exercises called "qi gong" (pronounced "chi kung"), are well known and documented in medical research, although why blood pressure is reduced and cardiovascular systems improve is not clear. Doctors and health practitioners are now also recommending tai chi and qi gong to all ages to improve mobility and stress coping abilities. Qi gong is an umbrella term given to a vast number of exercises designed specifically to enhance health - some go back over 2,000 years. A piece of silk depicting 42 figures doing exercises has been discovered in a tomb dating back to the first century BC. There are notes besides the figures denoting the health benefits, which can be felt by people carrying out these same exercises today! New qi gong exercises are being added to the canon in modern times, combining current and ancient knowledge to promote good health and longevity.
Even those with mobility restrictions, or who can only carry out limited exercise, may benefit from doing qi gong. While the fittest of athletes, those who do sports for fun and the unfit can also develop endurance, power and focus, through using the whole body in a deliberate, controlled and relaxed way, in tai chi and qi gong. It isn't surprising then that the residents of Thames Ditton and Weston Green, who know a good thing when they see one, are taking up tai chi in droves. The Ember Centre offers classes on Monday afternoons. The age range of those attending is 50-80. Clive Lewis, a spry 70-year old of Church Walk, says: "I took up tai chi at the beginning of this year to preserve a degree of mobility. I find the balance and free-flowing exercise engaging. Poetry in motion, no less! Afterwards you bask in an holistic glow." And Clive is no headshaven Vegan dressed in hessian. He's a well-rounded fellow who likes a nice glass of red and a good laugh. He adds that tai chi can accommodate people in almost any physical state and it is a very sociable activity - strange though that might sound for a martial art.
Tai chi teacher Veronica Ashcroft (photo left), to whom we are indebted for the background for this article, offers courses at Thames Ditton Hall (Tuesdays) and also at Esher College (Wednesdays). One of her students, Mandy Phillips, told us: "I've been doing tai chi for ten years, on and off, and for the past three with Veronica. I find it useful mainly for stress management, but it is also good for skiing and climbing where balance is required." Another, Ben Ellis (our RA Transport and Highways Convener - a stressful position!): "I took it up last March. At my stage of life I needed stress management and an exercise regime. The hardest thing about tai chi is learning the moves, remembering and coordinating them. But it's terrific."
Veronica herself, a resident of Ditton Close, is a fully-qualified teacher who came to tai chi when recovering from ME, and has thrived on it: "I was pleased to find some kind of physical activity that I enjoyed and could cope with - it was after 2 years at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance, followed by 2 years making dance videos on a course at Goldsmiths College that I fell ill, and wondered if I would ever be able to do anything energetic again." After some years her instructor Qu Lei Lei, suggested she became a teacher. "Teaching has been a journey of discovery, both in tai chi and for myself. At first, I could only just cope with the one class a week, needing the rest of the week to recover and prepare for the next class. The following year I offered my services to Esher College. Again it took all week to recover from the two classes and prepare lessons - but this was a move in the right direction. Seven years since teaching my first course, I am probably fitter than I was in my younger days."
Even your editor - he went to a taster at Colets and was most impressed by an instructor there who, sensing a sceptic, asked him to use all his force to shove the instructor in the chest. Somewhat incredulously he finished up on the other side of the studio while the instructor stood there grinning. "I work out regularly, do yoga, and dance several nights a week, but if I have time, tai chi is definitely going on the list…"
our reporting staff
Where to go:
Esher College, Wednesday early evenings; Thames Ditton Hall, Tuesday lunchtimes (new courses in tai chi and qi gong start 25 September): Veronica Ashcroft, tel. 07912 888 955. Website: www.taichiforlife.info
Ember Centre, Mondays, and for disabled / chairbound Tuesdays, Thursdays: Robin Sheldrake, tel. 020 8241 6848