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.

Body Signals

The signals we send to our body often reflect “please let me make bad choices for my wellness and consider to still function optimally, please!”

How long are you sitting frozen at your desk or in a car? How much time do you spend laying on a soft couch watching videos or curled up with a book? What message are you giving to your body by prioritizing your desires for sedentary activity?

How Does Your Body Signal You?

Our posture is signaling us about its status, but most of us don’t know how to understand or even acknowledge the signals. The picture above shares a common posture that people will take either sitting on a chair, or on a couch. This posture can indicate some challenges within one of the systems in the body. Also, it can be a challenge that is not just structural, but perhaps, chemical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. So much information when we are ready to listen.

Through the Touch for Health programs, Qi YINtegration, and Tai Chi, Dr Michelle Greenwell, CIH, can help you to discover the messages being sent by your body. The messages work two ways, as you discover what your body is sharing about its wellbeing, you can begin to understand why you choose postures and frozen positions and how they are affecting you.

Tai Chi for Wellness

Many research projects have shared the power of Tai Chi to support different ailments. The postures and patterns provide support to all the systems in the body. They create the space for wellness programs to all be enhanced by adding Tai Chi.

Recently, while looking at the research, an article by Mount Sanai grabbed attention. What is Tai Chi not good for?

Are there conditions that should not be treated with tai chi?

“Tai chi is typically safe for everyone, regardless of age or athletic ability, and can be modified for most health problems. People with limited mobility, even those in wheelchairs, can learn and successfully use tai chi. In one study of 256 sedentary adults 70 to 92 years of age, tai chi decreased the number of falls and the fear of falling compared to stretching. Those who practiced tai chi also had improved functional balance and physical performance after 6 months. However, tai chi is not meant to replace medical care for a serious condition. Talk to your doctor and your instructor about any health problems or recent injuries you may have, or if you are pregnant.”

Most people consider Tai Chi an exercise form, and they treat Tai Chi as their workout, stretch time, strength building, or relaxation time. However, Tai Chi is a way to understand the signals of the body and to respond to the signals, all while by being supported by special movements that bring harmony to all the systems.

How Do You Learn More?

Ready to sign up for a class? What are your options?

Online classes like Tai Chi, Qi YINtegration, and Movement Made Easy

In-person classes in Inverness County for Tai Chi Cape Breton

You can find the schedule here.

You can learn more in the descriptions.

Are you ready to take a workshop and gain some new skills? Send a message to us with your intentions and we will let you know about the next workshop series, and special events.

Start Your Learning Today…

The post Health Care and Movement first appeared on Greenwell Center for Holistic Health.