Thursday, June 29, 2017


"As the Earth turns 
as it circles the sun, 
so you turn 
as you circle the tai chi."
  

Saturday, June 24, 2017


Sophia Delza: 
American Tai Chi Pioneer


Sophia Delza (1903-1996) was an American tai chi pioneer, 
one of the first to widely promote tai chi in America. Originally 
a professional modern dancer and choreographer in New York City, 
as a young woman, Delza gave many public performances of 
Spanish and modern dance. 


In the 1920s she earned a science degree at Hunter College 
and then entered graduate school at Columbia University. 
Eventually she moved to Paris to further study dance. 
Upon returning to New York she began working in Vaudeville, 
film, and stage productions, dancing with James Cagney 
in the Grand Street Follies of 1928.
 
In 1948 she and her husband moved to Shanghai, China for 
three years, where she taught modern dance and studied Wu Style 
Tai Chi and sword forms, with the famous tai chi master, 
Ma Yueh Liang.  



In 1954 she returned to the US and gave the first documented 
public tai chi demonstration in America at New York's Museum 
of Modern Art. 



That same year she started The Delza School of Tai Chi Chuan at Carnegie Hall. By the 1960s she was writing articles, lecturing, making television appearances, and demonstrating tai chi to 
many audiences. 


She wrote her first book on tai chi,
T'ai Chi Ch'uan: Body & Mind in Harmony,  
in 1961, which is credited with being the first English 
language book on the subject of tai chi. 




During her teaching career, Delza taught tai chi for health 
at The United Nations, The Actor's Studio, SUNY Purchase, 
and the University of Hawaii.

Sophia Delza died in Manhattan in 1996 at the age of 92.

She wrote four books on tai chi including,

The T'ai Chi Ch'uan Experience: 
Reflections and Perceptions 
on Body-Mind Harmony

and

Tai Chi Chuan an Ancient Chinese Way 


Sophia Delza was one of the first to teach tai chi in the US, 
breaking ethnic and gender barriers to bring tai chi to the 
Western world in the form of instruction, books and television.




Friday, June 23, 2017


"In all things seek balance - 
strive for perfection 
while enjoying what you do."


"Tai chi is slow, though 
if you are doing it correctly, 
you won't even notice."

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

Monday, June 19, 2017


Can Tai Chi Really Slow Aging?
A New Study Has The Answer

Saturday, June 10, 2017

'Defeating Stress': UC Irvine Professor Studies Benefits Of Tai Chi




'Defeating Stress': 
UC Irvine Professor 
Studies Benefits Of Tai Chi

It's 4 p.m. on UC Irvine's campus and 
a group of students - some of them well past 
college-age - are gathered for a lesson 
in stress reduction. 

CBS Los Angeles - Pat Harvey reports.

 

Friday, June 9, 2017


"Tai Chi Hands: Strong yet gentle, 
relaxed yet vibrant, expressing 
and concealing the internal life force."



"Tai chi can bestow 
healing, health, and conditions 
that promote happiness."


Tuesday, June 6, 2017


"Tai chi is opening 
all the windows 
and letting life breathe 
through your home."

Friday, June 2, 2017


"In slowness you may 
experience the fluid atmosphere 
surrounding and within you."




"Learning tai chi is like
learning a beautiful song... 
sung in silence." 


- Image: Hangzhou, China Tourism