Tai Chi One Day Retreat

Tai Chi One Day Retreat

The goal of this retreat is to give you a full day to clear your mind and focus on your practice. The format follows the essence of a traditional day of temple training – including aspects of internal energy, meditation, physical training, interaction, and form practice. There is a balance of training and resting/”doing” and “not-doing” throughout the day, assuring it is attainable for all fitness capacities.

TIME: 9:00-5:30.

9:00-10:00 Initial discussion, Breath work and Qigong: set the intent and start the day with both stationary and moving breath and qigong work. This will be different qigong than that which is done in regular class.

10:30-11:30 Tai Chi: review and refine your form, with interesting twists thrown in to keep your practice fresh

11:30-12:30 Lunch: bring your own lunch.

12:30-1:30 Tai Chi Foundation Support: Here we will work on flexibility, mobility, strength and balance – some of the key physical fitness aspects to increase your capacity for Tai Chi. This session will follow the ethos of Tai Chi, so the exercises done will be safe, gentle, and attainable while offering a stimulating holistic health challenge. The goal will be to introduce simple routines that each participant can take home with them

1:30-2:30 Free Time: take a break, have a nap, meditate, wander the yard, read a book, do some free practice, get to know your classmates…

2:30-4:00 Tai Chi Interactive/Discussion/Form Practice: Push-hands discussion and practice- this is a fun interactive experience that challenges our physical reactions and gets deep into mental awareness/responsiveness work. Push-hands is a very powerful look into the Tai Chi concepts of receptivity and discovery. From working together in Push-hands we will then discuss further and fold the learning into our individual Tai Chi form practice.

4:00-4:30 Free Time: relax, or use this as an opportunity to discuss insights from the afternoon session with your classmates

4:30-5:30 Relaxation Stretch/Meditation: finish the day with an easy group Tai Chi form, then relaxation focused stretch for tension release and a final meditation

What to bring:

Yoga/exercise mat

Lunch, snacks, water bottle

Clothing options: light long sleeves/hat/sunscreen for sun protection if we go outside; change of clothes to mitigate any sweaty sessions inside; etc

Payment: cash or check upon arrival

Lunch and food details: Bring your own lunch. There is a refrigerator at Cedar Wind if you need it. There is a stovetop to reheat, but very little in the way of pans/etc and no microwave, so I suggest bringing a lunch that is ready to eat. Bring snacks, and consider bringing a bit more than you may think as a full day of practice may work up an appetite! If you enjoy bringing food for others you are certainly welcomed, but, to keep it simple, there are no potluck or food sharing expectations.