Tai Chi as Meditation.

A talk and demonstration

with Robert Lee

Sunday 13 September, 2015

3pm - 5pm

"Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; the gentle overcomes the rigid." - Lao Tzu

T'ai chi ch'uan is a gentle and contemplative form of martial arts, combining deep breathing with slow, flowing movement. Robert Lee has been a practitioner of tai chi for several decades, and has a meditation practice which spans over 15 years. He is also the Executive Director & Curator of the Asian American Arts Centre, participating in its founding in 1974 and the Asian American Arts Alliance in 1983. 

This talk and demonstration will introduce participants to the practice of tai chi as a form of meditation. It will begin with a warm up, an exercise to  get a sense of the temper and the flow of chi, then a brief section of the form and some walking with tai chi. Participants are welcome to follow some movements or simply just watch.

There are many health benefits attributed to tai chi, such as improving balance, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, immune system response, concentration and a sense of overall happiness. However according to Robert, tai chi's values and qualities are best experienced rather than described. "It is better if there is no 'why' or 'should'. Much like art, it is incommensurable, non-translatable, and categorizing does not convey anything by way of an introduction to its practice. What I've come to practice is tai chi as meditation - an inner path, a silence."

Refreshments will be provided.

Space is very limited. To attend, please RSVP.