rThe Retirement Community (That Has It —

more peaceful.
practice the movements daily,
even if it's only 10 minutes at work.
In fact, I expect to use T'ai Chi
throughout my life; it's been invalu-
able.
The basis of T'ai Chi is centering
the mind and keep the mind interest-
ed and involved in what's happening
at present. From this state of atten-
tion comes the possibility to change,
correct and heal.
To help this process, T'ai Chi uses
the lower abdomen as the body's cen-
ter in the sense that it's the movement
and feeling center. Using this specific
body awareness, a person can distrib-
ute the attention throughout the
body providing a well-balanced rela-
tionship between the mind and body.
Unlike the Western view that one
must work hard to stay healthy, in
T'ai Chi health is understood to be
natural to people who achieve balance
and harmony between mind and
body.
Finding a good T'ai Chi teacher is
very important, according to Jack
Pesis, instructor at the Kahn JCC in
West Bloomfield. Making it more
complicated is that there is no rating
system for T'ai Chi teachers, such as
the black belt system in karate.
What's more, because T'ai Chi is
expansive, with many styles empha-
sizing different aspects of the art,
although there are commonalties, dif-
ferent teachers emphasize different
styles.
"What you want is someone with a
good foundation in T'ai Chi and
then you can learn the differences in
style," explains Pesis, who practices
dentistry in Farmington Hills. "To
ger a good teacher, you need to know
about your instructor's training and
whether his teachers were well-quali-
ficd and received authentic training."
A good teacher challenges each
student to achieve the most complete
level of involvement while making
the experience enjoyable. Students are
taught that T'ai Chi is a long-term
commitment, with emphasis on
steady progress.
"I tell students that T'ai Chi is not
so much exercise as it is a training,
and one of the aspects of this training
is an understanding that we grow and
improve when we place ourselves in
challenging situations," said Pesis.
"The essence of T'ai Chi practice is
not just to learn a set of movements
but to become aware of what governs
change in our bodies and the changes
around us." El

We're thankful to haveyou and your fa m
members living at The Trowbridge.

To find out more about The Trowbridge

Call Donna at (248) 352-0208

24111 CIVIC CENTER DRIVE
SOUTHFIELD MICHIGAN 48034

,

Forest City Management Inc. Apartment Division does not discriminate on the basis of handicapped
status in the admission or access to or treatment, or employment in its programs and activities.
Equal Housing Opportunity/Equal Opportunity Employer

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11/27

CASUAL FURNITURE AT COMPLETELY RELAXED PRICES

1998

Detroit Jewish News

127