A Gentle Art

Beginners Tai Chi

with martial artist, Dino Blanche

3-5pm, Sunday 8 November, 2015

T'ai chi ch'uan is a gentle and contemplative form of martial art which can be practiced for self-defense or for the improvement of health and stress reduction. Combining deep breathing with slow, flowing movement, the meditative practice of Tai Chi rebalances our qi, or vital life force, turning nervous tension into vibrant positive energy and increasing our capacity to cope with stress.

Dino Blanche teaches Tai Chi as a form of martial art, emphasizing its abilities to fight stress and the associated ill health and bad temperament it causes each of us. Stress is what stimulates the fight or flight reflex, but the martial stances, gestures and controlled breathing pattern of Tai Chi communicates to one's subconscious that you are protecting yourself, which produces a calm mind and balances your central nervous system. Dino says, "Through taking on a Tai Chi attitude you fight back those hurtful thoughts and worries that vex and trouble your gentle heart. With Tai Chi, we learn how to relax, face the world with openness, fearlessness, and find the sacred warrior's path in everyday life."

For this beginner's workshop at Inner Fields, Dino will instruct you in three basic breathing (Qi Gong) exercises and teach you ten movements of the Laughing River Tai Chi Form. 

Dino Blanche is the founder of The Laughing River, a martial arts training and consulting agency in Queens, NY, which specializes in Jujitsu, Tai Chi, meditation and 'Reverse Gravity Training'. He has been teaching martial arts for forty years and his programs are award winning and internationally recognized. For more information, visit www.thelaughingriver.com