November Practice Tips

The changes in the weather can be challenging, but tai chi can help. Not only does tai chi help ground you physically by improving your balance and posture, it helps you to manage your ch'i. During these dark, cold-weather months, t'ai chi can help you keep your energy balanced. Doing simple breathing exercises and movements boosts your immune system, and keeps you in synch with nature by replenishing yourself.

Our next series of classes will start in January: a beginners class on Sunday evenings at 7 pm, and a "Tai Chi Essence" class on Thursdays at 6 pm. Both of these classes are appropriate for beginners or experienced players. Stay tuned for further details. Please visit our website for further information about our group, or call 612-822-5760.

Great River Tai Chi 30th Anniversary Open House October 18

Join us at Great River Tai Chi Sunday, October 18th, from 3-5 pm to celebrate our 30th anniversary!

 At this fun event, we'll have demonstrations of t'ai chi, films, drawings for door prizes (including free classes), and refreshments. Free, all ages welcome.

The event will be held at our studio at 1940 Hennepin Avenue South (at Franklin) 2F. Parking on street by building; busses #2, 4, 6, 12.

For further information, please call 612-822-5760.

October Practice Tips

Brrr! It's cold out all of a sudden! But did you know that you can keep warm by doing tai chi? Relaxing helps the blood flow better, and focusing the mind—if you work at it—can enable you to direct the ch'i where it's needed, like the toes and fingertips.

Tai Chi: Your Gateway to Health

Tai Chi for health? You betcha: balance, relaxation, lower blood pressure, coordination...the list goes on. Now here's what one article says: "Studies have long shown that tai chi improves balance. Now research demonstrates it may also protect the area of the brain responsible for the sense of touch. In a recent Harvard study, 50- to 60-year-olds who did tai chi had a more acute sense of feeling in their fingertips, equivalent to that of people nearly half their age."("The brain-power workout" India Today 9/16/09).

So here's your chance to try it out: Great River T'ai Chi will be offering a beginner's class starting this Sunday, September 20th, from 7-8 pm. Let this class be your gateway to health! Ten weeks for only $140. Register at door. New students will be admitted through mid-October; tuition will be pro-rated.

Great River has been offering tai chi classes for 30 years!
1940 Hennepin Av. S. 2F (at Franklin), Mpls.
For further information, call 612-822-5760.

Great River Director Article Published

Great River T'ai Chi Ch'uan's director Barbara Davis writes about the nature of t'ai chi in this month's issue of the Edge Magazine. She writes: "T’ai chi creates a space not just of one individual’s internal being, but rather, at the same moment, you are in a connection beyond your self, to the room you’re in, to the people around, to the world outside." You can read the complete article online, or pick up a copy at Present Moment, Tao Foods, The Wedge, or other locations throughout the Twin Cities and Minnesota. Davis was a participant in the International Taiji Symposium in Nashville this summer.

Great River Tai Chi Free Class in September

Thirty years of classes, thousands of students—now's your chance to try it yourself at Great River T'ai Chi! Our fall classes kick off with a FREE CLASS, Sunday, September 13th at 7 pm. Come learn why tai chi has become one of the world's leading tools for improving your health and well-being.

New beginner's tai chi classes will start the following week on Sunday, September 20th at 7 pm. Ten weeks for $140. Wear comfortable clothing. No preregistration necessary.
Classes are held at 1940 Hennepin Avenue South 2F (at Franklin) just south of downtown, in the Jawahir Dance Studios above Burch's Pharmacy, and near the Wedge Coop. For car and bus directions, see the panel at the right.

Call us at 612-822-5760 for further information.

August Practice Tips

The climate here in Minnesota doesn't allow for extended outdoor tai chi practice, so now's the time to get out there and do it! Feel what a difference it makes to have fresh air, a gentle breeze, to hear the birds chirping, squirrels chasing around, and butterflies fluttering. What do you learn from them?

Summer Tai Chi Classes

Celebrate Great River's 30th anniversary Sunday, June 14, 6pm Free Talk "T'ai Chi for Sports." T'ai Chi can be a wonderful enhancement for other sports such as tennis, golf, running, and basketball. Learn some basic moves and concepts at this talk. 1940 Hennepin Av So (at Franklin), 2F.
Sunday, June 21, 6 pm, New Beginners 10-week class, tuition $99 anniversary special ($140 regular price)
Sundays, ongoing—7 pm, Intermediate 2 (ongoing, form study focus is second half of form)
Thursdays—6 pm Intermediate 1 (ongoing, form study focus is first half of form)
Thursdays—7 pm Advanced (form, push hands, sword)

More anniversary celebrations to come this fall!
Call 612-822-5760 for further information about classes, and see our website (link at right) for more details about Great River.

Edith Davis Memorial Acupuncture Access Bill Passes Minnesota Legislature

The Equal Access To Acupuncture Act and as a Memorial to Edith R. Davis, Minnesota’s pioneer acupuncturist passes and has been signed by Governor Pawlenty! This act requires health insurers who cover acupuncture delivered by doctors and chiropractors to also reimburse for acupuncture by licensed acupuncturists. The importance of this bill was in allowing the consumer fair access to the practitioners who are most highly trained in the field, the professional licensed acupuncturists. This bill was supported by the acupuncture association, acupuncture schools and the Minnesota Chiropractic Association.

Edith Davis, mother of Great River T'ai Chi director Barbara Davis, was one of Minnesota's pioneer acupuncturists, a founder of the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Association of Minnesota, founder and President of the Minnesota College of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, on numerous national acupuncture commissions, founder of the Healing Point Traditional Acupuncture Clinic, and most recently served on the legislative committee of the acupuncture association.

The association wrote, "This bill is dedicated to honor the memory of Edith R. Davis, a pioneering acupuncturist in Minnesota who for the safety of the public, the benefit of the profession and her love of people deemed it necessary that education, certification and licensing of acupuncturists be a fundamental requirement for practice. Edith labored tirelessly until her death at the age of 87, in May 2008. We are forever grateful for her inspiration, her support and her life."

Tai Chi for Balance

A recent New York Times article (4/7/09) reported that just six weeks of Tai Chi helped improve balance in people who'd had strokes. "While the exercise group showed little improvement in balance, the tai chi group made significant gains when they were tested on weight-shifting, reaching and how well they could maintain their stability on a platform that moved like a bus." Read more....