• ABOUT
• Wushu Greeting
• Wuji (Standing)
• What is Qi?
• Meditation
• Self-Defense
• Breathing
  • Editorial Statement
  • Editorial Statement 2
• Daily Practice
  • What to Wear
  • Key Points of Practice
  • GONG
• What is Taiji?
  • Why so slow?
  • Principles of Practice
  • Arthritis & Fall Prevention
• What is Qigong?
  • Benefits
  • Ba Duan Jin
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Taiji & Qigong Effect

Movement for Health

Jillian "Jilly" Phillips
Péng Mùlán 彭木兰
Columbus, OH (USA)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

I discovered Taiji in 2009 and after twelve (12) "introductory classes" I knew that it was something I needed to continue. The benefits can only be fully imagined when you experience the process firsthand. While it cannot promise to eliminate everything that ails you completely, it does a good job of making things that are manageable less constricting while providing the practitioner with those wonderful "ahhhh" moments. Movements, slow and deliberate with awareness of your body, are the key. It doesn't happen all at once, but it does happen IF you commit to doing something for yourself and take the time to learn it. In 2013, I spent 48 days in China that included 30 days at the Wudang Kung Fu & Tai Chi School to get a more up close & personal experience, and I got every bit of that and more.

My college degrees are in English Language & Literature/Creative Writing, with a very small minor in art, and I have a doctorate from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. (I didn't follow the normal schedule for college after prep school, so I must say that all of that took a very long time.) I freelance various creative writing projects that find their way to my desk.

I keep true to a practice of Ba Duan Jin (Eight-Piece Brocade) to begin the day. Since I actively teach it, Tai Chi for Arthritis & Fall Prevention, (a short version of SUN style), is reviewed as well for the ongoing and elusive perfection that is the nature of Taiji. Yang24 & Sun73 are part of a continuing learning process that I try to fit into the week.

I teach four (4) regular classes with a total of seventy six (76) students, (one for TCA Part 1/new students, one for TCA Part 2/continuing students, one for an advanced combo, and one for Qigong), for a physician whose patients (and close relatives) benefit from the knowledge. The three (3) TCA classes incorporate standing movements that assist in body awareness and balance. All classes have several wheelchair-bound students for the seated Taiji that helps to keep their joints and muscles from wasting away. The fourth class is for those students who want to learn Qigong movements that focus entirely on stimulating and/or rejuvenating each organ of the body. All of the classes are slow and relaxing while making it possible for the students to remember what they have done so they can include the awareness of moving & breathing in their daily lives.

I encourage the students who are not dealing with severe health issues to attend workshops to learn other perspectives for their practice, and to also get a taste of how the other half lives!