/Health

center for

YOGA

• Private Instruction
• Teacher Training
• Massage Therapy

• Open Yoga Classes
• Workshops

• Retreats

Come in and see what everyone is talking about!

29121 Northwestern Hwy. at 12 Mile • 248-386-YOGA

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IF YOU'RE SERIOUS
ABOUT YOUR FITNESS

Let us help you be the best you can be
with 1 on 1 training at our club.
A patient friendly program designed just
for you.to help you reach your realistic
fitness goals. Change your life by
changing your lifdstyle. Muscle therapy
and nutritional consulting available.
Call us today for a FREE consultation.

• Nutritional
Counseling
• Muscle/Massage
Therapy

INTERNATIONAL PHYSIQUE CHAMPION
•TV Celebrity Anchor

PETER NIELSEN'S

Personal Training Club

4119 Orchard Lake Rd. (at Pontiac Tr.) West Bloomfield
Visit our website www.peternielsen.com

• Children's

Fitness Programs

Dick Drasnin, left, and 10-year-old Sky Williams practice Tai Chi.

• Free Consultation

(248) 85570345

Our Exclusive Service Offers:
• Home Space Planning • Packing •
• Unpacking •
• Deluxe Move Packages •
"Everything In Place
The Day You Move"

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(248) 352-2264

Professional Interior Designer,
30 years' experience

Call for a detailed brochure!

this from a book; you need a teacher
who shows you how. And it doesn't
matter how old you are because the
teacher can personalize the move-
ments to each student's capabilities.
In our class there's a 10-year-old stu-
dent and two who are 70ish.”
He said at first he didn't think T'ai
Chi would be much of a workout
"but the movements are the same as
practiced in the martial arts, empha-
sizing muscle control and toning. At
the end of a session, I'm sweating and
my muscles burn.
"First I learned the movements and
then I learned about the proper
breathing and thinking. That's what
makes it so important to me because
it's a physical meditation and relieves
stress. What's more, I don't have to be
in a class to get results; I can practice
in a hotel room when I'm between
flights.
Tim Pruitt, who teaches two class-
es at the Jimmy Prentis Morris JCC,
begins each class with a warm-up that
includes breathing exercises and basic
movements. He then teaches what he
terms the 24 basic movements.
"My goal when teaching these T'ai
Chi classes is ro have students be able
to apply its principles of moving and
breathing in their daily life," explains
Pruitt, who has been studying T'ai
Chi for eight years. "I understand
that the people in my class aren't
interested in competing in the martial
arts and are looking for a more natur-
al way to stay healthy or become
more healthy.
"Middle-aged baby boomers with
had knees or who don't have the sta-
mina for running find they can start

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with the basics and work up to the
more difficult moves as they become
more fit and flexible. Once my stu-
dents figure out that T'ai Chi not
only builds strength but is a mental
discipline, they begin to integrate the --
physical and spiritual, which leaves
them with more energy.
"My goal is to help them become
so familiar with each movement that
they can stop thinking about how to
physically accomplish the movement
and concentrate on using the correct
breathing as they' learn to focus and
acquire a sense of being in tune with „
their bodies."
Serious disciples of T'ai Chi con-
sider it to be both a healing and a
martial art. Indeed, the true focus of
study is not on the physical level, but
emphasizes the practice more on the
mental and energetic levels.
According to traditional Chinese
medicine, the mental component is
considered the most important since
the primary condition that inhibits
an individual from achieving excel-
lence in anything, including one's
own health, is a weak state of mind.
Carolyn Seagull, 43, of Oak Park,
has been taking T'ai Chi classes for
almost a year following back surgery
in 1997. Realizing she needed to do
something to get back into shape
Chi seemed to fit the bill.
"It has definitely been helpful and
enhanced my recovery from surgery, -
says Segall. "My range of motion has
increased and I'm more balanced and
a little more graceful because I can
get centered. Something I didn't
count on \vas that T'ai Chi has had a
very calming effect and makes me feel