In our Tai Chi Skill Building series, each week is designed as more than a lesson in learning the next movements of the Tai Chi form. Before we begin moving, students are invited to create the conditions for exploration: to slow down, notice, reflect, choose a goal or intention, and consider what they would like to discover through the lesson ahead.

Tai Chi: Movement That Supports the Whole Person

Tai Chi brings together gentle movement, attention, posture, coordination, and breathing. Research has associated regular Tai Chi practice with improvements in psychological well-being, including reductions in stress and anxiety, while systematic reviews have also reported improvements in subjective sleep quality. Research examining cognition suggests potential benefits for aspects of cognitive and executive function, particularly in older adults. Together, these findings help us understand why students may experience Tai Chi as much more than physical exercise.

Breathing is woven naturally into this experience. Rather than forcing the breath, we create space for posture, movement, and attention to work together so that breathing can become easier, fuller, and more comfortable. Research into Tai Chi in respiratory populations has also explored improvements in exercise capacity and some measures of pulmonary function. These studies do not mean that every person will experience the same outcome, but they add an important scientific perspective to the traditional experience of Tai Chi as an integrated mind-body practice.

Why We Begin With Nature

At the beginning of our weekly program, participants encounter photographs of nature accompanied by ideas to ponder. This is intentional. Before asking the body to learn something new, we first invite the person to arrive.

A systematic review by Jo, Song, and Miyazaki examined 37 studies investigating the physiological effects of viewing nature. Across studies using photographs, videos, virtual environments, plants, flowers, and other natural elements, the researchers found evidence that viewing nature can support physiological relaxation and stress recovery. Measures used across the studies included heart rate variability, blood pressure, heart rate, EEG, and measures of brain and autonomic nervous system activity.

That makes the opening photographs more than decoration. A quiet image of water, trees, sky, flowers, or landscape can become part of the transition from the activity of the day into a space of observation and possibility.

Read the systematic review: Physiological Benefits of Viewing Nature

Writing Toward the Future

Our journal prompts are also deliberately future-facing. We are not only asking, “What happened?” We are asking questions such as: What would I like to experience? What am I noticing that could open a new possibility? What might become available if I approach this movement, idea, or week differently?

There is a growing research base around positive future-oriented writing. Studies of the “Best Possible Self” approach, in which people write about a positive future they envision for themselves, have found benefits for well-being, optimism, and positive affect. A 2019 meta-analysis included 29 studies with 2,909 participants, while a 2025 systematic review of positive expressive writing found the most consistent benefits for well-being and positive affect, with future-oriented Best Possible Self exercises among the approaches showing the most consistent benefits.

Our Tai Chi Skill Building journals are not the same intervention, and we are not claiming that these studies directly test our program. What they do provide is a fascinating scientific context for why intentionally imagining, describing, and exploring a desired future can be a meaningful part of preparing for learning.

Preparing Before the Lesson Begins

Notice how much has already happened before we learn the next Tai Chi movement. We have viewed nature. We have shifted our attention. We have considered a goal. We have written toward possibility. We have become curious about what we might notice. Then we enter the class and begin exploring movement, music, breath, structure, space, and the internal experience of the Tai Chi form.

This is one of the ideas at the heart of BioEnergetic Wellness: learning can begin by preparing the conditions for observation rather than rushing immediately toward an outcome. The student remains at the centre of the exploration, discovering what changes, what becomes easier, what feels different, and what new possibilities emerge.

And Students Are Already Feeling the Difference

One participant shared after our third class:

“The power of this work has provided me with a new framework for presenting yoga; it has changed my life.”

That reflection beautifully captures why this series is about skill building rather than simply memorizing a sequence. The Tai Chi movements give us a structure, but the explorations around them invite students to consider how movement, awareness, intention, creativity, and observation can influence everyday living and the future they are creating.

You Can Still Join Us

If this way of exploring Tai Chi speaks to you, you are welcome to join the Tai Chi Skill Building series. The first four lessons have been recorded and are ready for viewing, together with the class assets and supplemental materials, so you can begin from the start and move through the explorations at your own pace while joining us for the lessons still ahead.

Registration is available here on the Greenwell Center website. Come curious. Bring your journal. Allow the photographs, questions, music, movement, and Tai Chi form to open a conversation with what may be possible next.

Research Mentioned in This Article

Jo H, Song C, Miyazaki Y. Physiological Benefits of Viewing Nature: A Systematic Review of Indoor Experiments. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2019;16(23):4739.

Si Y, Wang C, Yin H, et al. Tai Chi Chuan for Subjective Sleep Quality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. 2020.

Wang C, Bannuru R, Ramel J, Kupelnick B, Scott T, Schmid CH. Tai Chi on Psychological Well-Being: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2010.

Wayne PM, Walsh JN, Taylor-Piliae RE, et al. Effect of Tai Chi on Cognitive Performance in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. 2014.

Carrillo A, Rubio-Aparicio M, Molinari G, et al. Effects of the Best Possible Self Intervention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLOS ONE. 2019;14(9):e0222386.

Hoult LM, Wetherell MA, Edginton T, Smith MA. Positive Expressive Writing Interventions, Subjective Health and Wellbeing in Non-Clinical Populations: A Systematic Review. PLOS ONE. 2025;20(5):e0308928.

The post Before We Begin to Move: The Science Behind Tai Chi Skill Building first appeared on Greenwell Center for Holistic Health.

with Dr Roger Jahnke OMD

In this captivating presentation, Dr. Roger Jahnke, OMD, explores how Tai Chi and Qi Gong transform physiology—reducing stress, balancing nervous and hormonal systems, and fostering holistic wellness. At the Greenwell Center for Holistic Health, we embrace this powerful synthesis, bringing it into our Tai Chi Cape Breton and online Movement & Music programs to help you discover, release, and harmonize stress patterns in your body.

1. Calming the Stress Response

Dr. Jahnke highlights that meditative movement reduces sympathetic nervous system activity—the primal stress response—prompting a shift toward parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) dominance. Studies have shown:

• Lower cortisol levels, reduced heart rate, and decreased blood pressure arise from regular Tai Chi practice .
• Comparable improvements in prehypertensive individuals practicing Tai Chi versus cardio highlight its cardiovascular and stress-relief benefits (businessinsider.com).

At the Greenwell Center, guided practices in our Tai Chi classes and Movement & Music course actively tune these stress pathways, offering participants both immediate calm and long-term stress resilience.

2. Hormonal & Chemical Shifts

Practice of Tai Chi and Qi Gong has been linked to:

• Increased noradrenaline excretion (reflecting stress modulation),
• Lowered urinary catecholamines and salivary cortisol,
• Improved mood—less tension, fatigue, anxiety, depression (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, frontiersin.org, sciencedirect.com).

These tangible physiological shifts align perfectly with the embodied experiences in our Greenwell programs—where participants often report a deep sense of emotional clearing after sessions.

3. Enhancing Mental Well‑being

Comprehensive literature reviews affirm that:

• Tai Chi reduces stress, anxiety, and depression (Effect Size ≈ 0.66) and boosts mood (ES ≈ 0.45) (bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com).
• Qi Gong enhances balance, functioning, and quality of life, particularly in older adults (nccih.nih.gov).

These findings correspond with the sense of “flow, balance and clarity” experienced by many in our Movement & Music course, where sound and rhythm amplify the mind-body harmony.

4. The Synergy of Music & Movement

Our online Movement & Music program fuses biomechanical flow, breath, and sound—amplifying the relaxation and neurophysiological benefits of Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Emerging science suggests that rhythmic movement combined with music supports:

• Greater emotional synchronization and heart–brain coherence,
• Deeper flow states, along with reduced anxiety and physiological arousal.

Participants regularly note a more profound ease and emotional resonance when sound is added—supporting Dr. Jahnke’s insights on the powerful integration of meditative movement.

Your Greenwell Center Experience

Tai Chi Cape Breton

• In-person classes rooted in community and place-based wisdom
• Cultivating strength, flexibility, and inner stillness through flowing forms
• Monday 9 – 10:30 am at the Hillsborough/Glendyre Hall
• Wednesday 9 – 11 am at the Inverary Manor Music Room in Inverness
• Thursday 6:30 – 8 pm at the Creignish Community Hall

Online Movement & Music Course

• Live and recorded sessions with Tai Chi, Qi Gong, breathwork, and music
• Guided exploration of stress patterns and self-regulation strategies
• Accessible tools to foster harmony across all systems—nervous, endocrine, muscular

Selected Research References

• Jin et al.: Reduced cortisol, catecholamines, and mood disturbance from Tai Chi (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
• JAMA Network Open (2024): Tai Chi lowered prehypertensive blood pressure more effectively than cardio (businessinsider.com)
• NCCIH (2022): Qi Gong improved balance, depression, and quality of life
• Liu et al. (2021): Meta‑analysis revealed Tai Chi and Qi Gong reduce depression, anxiety, cortisol in adolescents (frontiersin.org)

Invitation to Harmony

Drawing from Dr. Jahnke’s wisdom and rigorous science, our programs at Greenwell Center bring theory into lived experience. Through mindful movement, breath, and music, discover how gentle practices can unlock profound shifts in your body, brain, and spirit.

Join us to experience first-hand how Tai Chi Cape Breton and our Movement & Music course can help you release stress, harmonize your systems, and thrive with grace and resilience.

Interested in attending a class or learning more? Reply to this post or visit our calendar and events page in the shop for schedules, links, and enrollment options.

The post The Physiology of Tai Chi and Qi Gong first appeared on Greenwell Center for Holistic Health.