Have you ever wondered what “Tai Chi” means?
“Tai Chi” is short for “Tai Chi Chuan“.
The lower dantian in taijiquan:
yin and yang rotate, while the core reverts to stillness (wuji) The product of the effect of taiji on wuji to produce a state between that of wuji and the taijitu. A depiction of the state a taijiquan practitioner aims to attain. Also called the ancient taijitu.
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The chi in this instance is the Wade-Giles transliteration of the Pinyin jí, and therefore it is not a reference to chi or qì (ch’i, “life energy”).
Tai Chi (or taiji) means ‘The Supreme Ultimate’ and encompasses philosophical and spiritual concepts.
The concept of the taiji (“supreme ultimate”), in contrast with wuji (“without ultimate”), appears in both Taoist and Confucian Chinese philosophy, where it represents the fusion (balance and integration) of (the complementing) Yin and Yang into a single ultimate, represented by the taijitu symbol 
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The term ‘Chuan’, literally ‘fist’ or ‘boxing’, actually means ‘Martial techniques’ here.
Tai Chi Chuan is an extremely effective form of self-defence “movements” originally adapted from some of the best techniques of Kung Fu.
Many forms of tai chi exist, and newer, shorter (and easier) routines have been devised, so that we can benefit from tai chi practice from the start.
Want to try tai chi?
Emanuela of PilatesFitness has been running simple but effective tai chi sessions since the early 2010s. Since March 2020, we have been doing daily tai chi online (with mostly beginners), so we can continue to benefit from its calming, soothing, yet energizing (one might say “balancing”) properties in these times of increased need.
We also ran a bit of an experiment/case study relating to our daily tai chi practice and these were the results: Tai Chi Case Study – Effects in Lockdown
Practising daily at the same time is a great way to give a healthy structure to our days as well as to keep an element of socialisation, no matter what the current lockdown or social distancing policies may be. And practising together is more fun! For some, it may well be more effective.
Please contact me to find out more or sign up.
References:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tai_chi