TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Public Invited To Explore Tai Chi At New Brandon Location

ADVERTISEMENT

By LAURA FRAZIER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2009

BRANDON - Susan Schuler has practiced martial arts for the past eight years, but the form she favors involves gentle, graceful stretching motions instead of the high-impact, fast-paced moves of karate or kung fu.

Schuler is president of the Brandon branch of the International Taoist Tai Chi Society. The nonprofit group was established about 10 years ago on Oakfield Drive and recently moved to Bryan Road, where members will hold a grand opening and open house Feb. 14.

The free event will include demonstrations of the ancient Chinese art, said to develop flexibility and coordination and relax and strengthen the body and mind.

Society centers in 25 countries are staffed by volunteers on a mission to make tai chi as widely available as possible to people of all nationalities, ethnicities and religious affiliations.

The Brandon branch has about 175 members ages 14 to 93. Sessions are offered seven days a week for beginners and advanced students, and satellite classes are held weekly in South Tampa, Sun City Center and Temple Terrace.

Ann Hipson of Seminole Heights takes two classes a week in Temple Terrace and one on Sundays at the Brandon center. She has practiced tai chi regularly for about six years and enjoys mental and physical benefits from the exercise.

"I wanted to calm that incessant internal dialogue, you know, when your mind is always going a mile a minute. Tai chi does that," Hipson said.

The exercise also helps her with balance problems she has had all her life.

"I just feel more centered," she said.

Although tai chi is not as intense an exercise as weightlifting or running, she said, it is more of a workout than people think.

"It's not just standing there waving your arms in a pretty little fashion," Hipson said. "Every part of your body is used with intent. Others can't see that, but you can feel it. It's internal."

The center also offers specialized health recovery classes for seniors and others with health conditions and disabilities.

Schuler said, "We have people doing it in chairs because their health does not allow them to stand."

She recalled one man who came to the center a few years ago in a motorized wheelchair. He told Schuler he was recovering from a stroke he had two years earlier and was unable to walk.

"His daughter was getting married in a month," she said. "He worked really hard, and in about four weeks he was able to use a walker and walk her down the aisle."

Although the society was founded in the 1970s by a Taoist monk, Schuler said its centers are not religious institutions.

"There is no preaching," Schuler said. "We have members who are Christian, Catholic, Muslim and Jewish in addition to Taoist."

She said many members think of the ritualistic Taoist elements and a shrine at the center as cultural, not religious, icons.

"And besides, Taoism as a religion is inclusive," she said. "There is no conflict whatsoever."

The society aims to help as many people as possible improve their health as well as promote cultural exchange among nations and assist people in members' communities.

For the past 10 years, the Brandon group has organized a quarterly litter cleanup day on Oakfield Drive. Members also hold annual food drives for the Emergency Care Help Organization in Brandon and Metropolitan Ministries in Tampa, both of which help the needy in their communities.

"We try to look for opportunities to do things that make a difference," Shuler said.

Reporter Laura Frazier can be reached at (813) 657-4523.

Grand Opening

WHAT: (Grand opening of the Brandon branch of the International Taoist Tai Chi Society; includes tai chi demonstrations and displays and a traditional Chinese vegetarian lunch

WHEN: (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Feb. 14

WHERE: (911 Bryan Road, Brandon

COST: (Free

DETAILS: (813) 685-1211; www.taoist.org

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT