Tai Chi, Qigong and Meditation Class Information

Sarah Jayne Baker has been a Tai Chi Practitioner for more than 35 years, trained through the Bryan Nuttall and John Reed – with direct lineage to Li Deyin a founding master of the Beijing Short Form.

Sarah Jayne teaches the many principles and applications with a dash of fun and shows direct links between this ancient “soft” martial art and everyday life with practical ways to use Tai Chi in the modern world – not just something to practice in class.

At is simplest Tai Chi is a falls prevention system, teaching students how to gain confidence in movement through creating stability. Gaining understanding of the form and philosophy it is built upon, leads to the understanding “motion is lotion”, and Tai Chi is a powerful low impact, strength building, gentle exercise that also brings mindfulness to those studying.

At it’s most complex Tai Chi is considered a complete health system that improves lung function, mental health and improves internal organ health too, all while being simply focussed on slow precise movement.

Beijing 24 Short Form

In post WW2 war China, the government were aware that the Chinese population was not only expanding rapidly in numbers but also in physical size with many citizens falling into overweight and obese categories. The government started an initiative to improve the health of the nation creating a standardised Tai Chi Form “The Beijing Short Form” by bringing together key movements from a broad spectrum of form styles. This standard has
been taught as a compulsory subject to all Chinese citizens since it’s inception, with initial classes beginning in kindergarten at the age of two.

Applications

Tai Chi Form can be applied as a method of self-defence, while the Beijing Short Form is taught primarily for health benefits, martial application is taught where appropriate, helping to keep the form true to its roots.

Qigong and Meditation

Qigong forms a good foundation for Tai Chi and can be studied on its own, like Tai Chi the movements are slow, precise, and mindful, usually performed in small repetitive sets. They help to promote good circulation and aid the Tai Chi movements. A Meditation is completed at the end of each class and vary from breath work and active listening, to guided meditations, helping to re-centre us after engaging with Chi bringing calmness to body, mind and spirit.