Tai Chi Crossroads: June 2017

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

"In tai chi we focus

mind, energy, and

spirit in each movement."

Monday, June 19, 2017

Can Tai Chi Really Slow Aging?

A New Study Has The Answer

HUFF POST By Shelley Emling 05/29/2014

huffingtonpost.com

Seeking to roll back the clock? Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese martial art, may be the answer.

A new study published in Cell Transplantation found that Tai Chi can help raise the numbers of stem cells — CD34 cells — important to a number of the body’s functions and structures.

According to the study’s authors, Tai Chi “has been confirmed to benefit” patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease and fibromyalgia. In addition, Tai Chi also appears to help with balance, blood pressure and stress reduction.

To evaluate the potential life-lengthening effect of Tai Chi, researchers conducted a year-long study comparing the rejuvenating and anti-aging effects among three groups of volunteers under age 25 who engaged in either Tai Chi, brisk walking or no exercise at all.

“We used young volunteers because they have better cell-renewing abilities than the old population and we also wanted to avoid having chronic diseases and medications as interfering factors,” said study author Dr. Shinn-Zong Lin of the China Medical University Hospital, Taiwan, in a release.

According to the study’s authors, Tai Chi “has been confirmed to benefit” patients with mild to moderate Parkinson’s disease and fibromyalgia. In addition, Tai Chi also appears to help with balance, blood pressure and stress reduction.

The new study found that those who practiced Tai Chi enjoyed a significantly higher number of CD34 cells than those in the other groups.

“This study provides the first step into providing scientific evidence for the possible health benefits of Tai Chi.” said Dr. Paul R. Sanberg of the University of South Florida, Tampa, in a release. “Further study of how Tai Chi can elicit benefit in different populations and on different parameters of aging are necessary to determine its full impact.”