Tai Chi at The Tree Room

With the arrival of Debra Colkett to the Tree Room, comes a new addition to our range of offerings – as well as appointments for arts psychotherapy, family counselling and reiki tai massage, Debra is also running two regular Tai Chi classes – on Tuesdays mornings and Wednesday evenings. Debra has been practising and teaching Tai Chi for 30 years with direct descendants of the original Yang family. (Read more about the birth of Tai Chi here).

Many of us may know Tai Chi only from the images we’ve seen of it being practiced in early morning group sessions in Chinese public spaces, but Debra describes Tai Chi as a moving meditation. It combines deep breathing and relaxation with flowing movements. Originally developed as a martial art in 13th-century China, Tai Chi is now practised around the world and recognised as giving many health benefits.

Its gentle exercises make it suitable for people at all levels of fitness and it requires no special equipment. The benefits of awakening your life energy through Tai Chi are: Improved posture, circulation and energy flow, better overall health, a sense of calm, clearer thinking and a general sense of well-being and confidence to manage what our busy modern lives throw at us. It is ideal for inactive people wanting to raise their activity levels gently and gradually. Also, many of the Tai Chi movements can be adapted to people with a disability, including wheelchair users.

However, Tai Chi is a workout that can also be as strenuous and invigorating as aerobics, even though it looks simple and relaxed. I found this out first-hand when my partner and I attended Debra’s first evening class - you will likely use muscles that you didn’t know you had! The class was definitely achievable, though and Debra is brilliant at making sure every single pupil is getting the hang of the moves. By the end of the class I felt I had learned a lot and can’t wait to go back next week!

Another pupil, Keith, 48, said the following: “The teacher was relaxed and knowledgeable and engaged with pupils well. She explained the training in an easy and friendly manner with a little humour. The class was good fun and we’ll be back!”

Maybe we’ll see you at next week’s class?

Yang Style Tai Chi, £8pp, drop-in or pre-book – Tuesdays 10 - 11am/Wednesdays 6:15 - 7:15pm