Tai Chi Skill Building

Exploring the Metaphors, Movement & Meaning Within the Tai Chi Set

What happens when we move beyond simply remembering the sequence of a Tai Chi set and begin to understand what the movement is asking the body to do—and what it may offer our well-being?

Tai Chi Skill Building is a 12-week experiential series that takes a deeper look inside the movements of Tai Chi. Expanding upon explorations developed through Movement & Music and Symphony of Radiance, this series brings together movement, music and visual art to reveal new dimensions of the Tai Chi experience.

Each week, we will explore the metaphors within the Tai Chi set—considering not only the name and imagery of a movement, but how that metaphor can help us understand its quality, intention and expression.

Through guided movement exploration, participants will develop greater awareness of structural alignment, whole-body integration, weight transfer, spiralling actions, coordination, breath and flow. We will also explore how integrated whole-body movement can create gentle compression, expansion, rotation and movement through the torso, offering a new way to consider the relationship between Tai Chi movement and the internal organs.

The series will be enriched by intuitive musicians Brenda Bowen Cox and Donna Hutchison, whose live musical responses invite participants to experience rhythm, resonance and movement in new ways, and intuitive painter Marian Egan, whose visual interpretation will add another layer through colour, shape, imagery and artistic expression.

Rather than music and art simply accompanying the Tai Chi, they become part of the exploration—helping us see, hear, feel and understand movement differently.

From Learning the Set to Understanding the Movement

Whether you are refining familiar Tai Chi movements or developing your skills, this series invites you to become curious about what lies beneath the choreography.

What changes when the structure is better organized?
Where does a movement originate?
How does the whole body participate?
What does the metaphor reveal about the quality of the movement?
What can we notice internally as we move with greater integration?
And how might these discoveries become useful beyond Tai Chi, within everyday movement and well-being?

Over 12 weeks, we will slow the movements down, explore their details, experiment with their possibilities, and then bring them back into the flowing Tai Chi set.

The goal is not simply to perform Tai Chi better. It is to develop the movement literacy and internal awareness that allow you to experience Tai Chi more fully.

12 weeks • Experiential skill development • Movement • Live intuitive music • Visual art • Whole-body integration

Class Dates:
September 8, 15, 22 & 29
October 6 & 27
November 3, 10, 17 & 24
December 1 & 8.Come explore the movement behind the movement—and discover how the metaphors of Tai Chi can deepen your skills, awareness and experience of well-being. This is a great opportunity for people who travel away from regular in person classes.

BioEnergetic Habits: A Qi YINtegration Program

Michelle Greenwell — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:29:32 +0000

Qi YINtegration: BioEnergetic Habits

A 12-Week Exploration of the Energy We Create Through Daily Living

What if well-being is not only something we practice, but something we create through the way we live?

Every day, we are creating the conditions for our well-being. How we breathe, move, eat, rest, think, interact, focus and respond to our surroundings can support vitality and flow—or gradually contribute to patterns of depletion and stagnation. Qi YIN Integration: BioEnergetic Habits is a 12-week experiential series designed to help you become curious about the energetic patterns hidden within everyday life. Rather than focusing on “good” or “bad” habits, we will explore a different set of questions:

What gives me energy? What uses energy? What helps my energy move? What helps me renew?

Each week, we will explore a different dimension of daily living through movement, breath, posture, Five Element theory, biofield awareness, Figure 8 patterns, intention, sound, colour, nature, creativity and other approaches developed through the Qi YINtegration series.Together, we will investigate areas such as structural organization and posture; breath and rhythm; nourishment and hydration; movement; emotional patterns; attention and mental load; relationships and environments; Five Element habits; creativity and joy; rest, recovery and renewal.The emphasis is on awareness through experience. You will have opportunities to notice what changes in your own posture, breathing, movement, attention, emotional state and sense of vitality as we experiment with simple ways of influencing energetic flow.

Each week will also introduce a small BioEnergetic Habit Experiment that can be incorporated into daily life. These are not about adding another task to your wellness routine. Instead, they invite you to discover how small shifts within activities you are already doing may change the energetic ecology of your day.

Over the 12 weeks, you will begin creating your own BioEnergetic Habit Map, recognizing the experiences that tend to:

ENERGIZE • CREATE FLOW • CONTRIBUTE TO STAGNATION • DEPLETE

The goal is not to create a perfect wellness routine. It is to develop greater awareness of your own patterns and discover practical ways to encourage flow, adaptability, renewal and well-being throughout everyday life.

By the end of the series, you will have explored how your daily choices and experiences interact and layer upon one another—and how you can intentionally create a Living Ecology of Being that supports the way you want to feel, participate and flourish.

12 weeks • 1 hour each week • Experiential learning and exploration Thursdays 5:30 – 6:30 pm Atlantic. Sept 10, 17, 24, Oct 1, 8, 29, Nov 12, 19, 26, Dec 3, 10, 17 (no class Oct 15, 22, Nov 5) A zoom link and google drive file will be sent upon registration for the online portal.

Come curious. Come as you are. And discover what your everyday habits may be telling you about your energy.

What You’ll Explore

Across 12 weeks, we will explore the everyday experiences that contribute to your personal energetic ecology:

Your Energetic Day — Discover where energy expands, flows, becomes stagnant or feels depleted.

Structure Creates Flow — Explore posture, alignment, the spine and the energetic influence of how you organize your body.

Breath, Rhythm & Space — Notice how breathing, pacing, pauses and transitions influence your experience.

Nourishing the Field — Explore hydration, food, tea and sensory nourishment through a bioenergetic lens.

Movement as Energetic Nutrition — Experience how simple movement, spirals, Figure 8s and Tai Chi can support flow throughout the day.

Emotional Energy Habits — Become curious about emotional patterns, holding, expression and recovery.

Attention Is Energy — Explore focus, screens, distraction, thought patterns and mental load.

People, Places & the Biofield — Notice how environments, relationships, boundaries and connection influence your energy.

Five Element Habits — Explore Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water as qualities expressed through everyday living.

Creativity, Joy & Spiritual Vitality — Rediscover the energetic influence of music, art, nature, curiosity, meaning and joy.

Rest, Recovery & Renewal — Explore the difference between stopping and truly creating opportunities for renewal.

Creating Your Living Ecology — Bring your discoveries together to intentionally create daily patterns that support how you want to live and flourish.

You won’t be asked to create a perfect routine or follow someone else’s prescription for wellbeing. Instead, you will develop your ability to notice, experience, experiment and choose.

Your daily life becomes the laboratory—and your own experience becomes an important source of information.

The post BioEnergetic Habits: A Qi YINtegration Program first appeared on Greenwell Center for Holistic Health.