Dong Family Style Tai Chi Beginner Level

What This Class Is

Dong Family Style Tai Chi is a meditative movement practice that trains the body to cultivate, circulate, and harmonize life force energy (Qi) while developing the ability to express trained power (jin) through relaxed, connected movement.

Rooted in the Dong Family Style of Tai Chi, a derivative of the Yang tradition, this class emphasizes continuity, whole-body integration, and clarity of intent. The practice weaves together slow, deliberate forms with more expressive and dynamic movements, allowing students to experience both deep internal stillness and responsive flow.

In this class, you will learn:

• Slow-style Tai Chi forms (simplified and more advanced) designed to gather, sink, and refine Qi, nourishing the body and calming the mind

• Tai Chi drills and expressive forms that emphasize circulation of Qi and the issuing of trained power (fa jin) through relaxed, coordinated movement

• Foundational alignment and weight-shifting practices, building structure, balance, and internal connection

• Breath-led, meditative movement, guided by intention (yi), allowing awareness to settle and the spirit to become clear

Each session follows a conscious arc:

• A gentle warm-up to open joints, soften fascia, and settle the nervous system

• Tai Chi forms and drills that cultivate Qi through slowness and circulate it through continuity

• Expressive movements that teach how to issue power without tension, releasing effort rather than vitality

• A closing practice to gather, settle, and integrate Qi throughout the body

As movement becomes continuous and unforced, the mind naturally quiets.

There are generally three stages to learning:

1. Mental Stage - Learning from the mind

2. Physical Stage - Learning from the body

3. Spiritual Stage - You know the sensations

4. HeartFull stage - Added Bonus - Experience Bliss & Joy

Attention turns inward, and the practice becomes a moving meditation—clarifying thought, opening awareness through the heart, and restoring a sense of internal coherence with spirit.

Practiced in standing form, each posture flows seamlessly into the next, guided by breath, intention, and subtle weight shifts that awaken deep postural intelligence and embodied presence.

This practice is less about doing more and more about sensing more, learning how to move with efficiency, grace, and calm authority.

Benefits

Moving Stillness Tai Chi supports the integration of mind, body, heart, and spirit, offering both meditative restoration and functional strength.

Physically, Tai Chi is a slow, weight-bearing, low-impact practice that builds strength through sustained postures, controlled transitions, and whole-body coordination. This supports balance, posture, joint health, flexibility, and bone density—without the strain or stress response associated with high-impact exercise.

Energetically and neurologically, the practice:

• Cultivates and circulates Qi, reducing stagnation and restoring vitality

• Calms an overactive nervous system while improving focus and mental clarity

• Trains the body to release unnecessary tension while maintaining internal strength

• Develops the capacity to issue power (jin) efficiently, guided by intention rather than force

• Encourages heart-centered awareness and a steady, grounded emotional state

The alternation between slow cultivation and expressive issuing teaches the body how to remain calm and centered even during dynamic movement. This ability—to hold stillness within motion—becomes a transferable skill, supporting resilience, clarity, and presence in daily life.

Who This Class Is For

Tai Chi is for all people across all stages of life who are seeking a practice that is both meditative and strengthening, subtle yet deeply effective.

This class is especially supportive for:

• Beginners new to Tai Chi, as well as experienced practitioners refining internal connection with grounding techniques

• No prior Tai Chi experience is required.

• The forms are taught progressively, with attention to alignment, safety, and individual pacing.

Tai Chi is about cultivating vitality, circulating it wisely, and expressing power only when appropriate. A lifelong practice that evolves with you, meeting each season with steadiness, clarity, and quiet strength.

For optimal support, join Radiant Flow Meno-Qigong the same morning. They are set up to be complementary.

Session Details

• 60 minute sessions

• In-Home Studio

• Live Sessions unless otherwise notified

• Download Zoom for Viewing

What you need

• Zoom Capabilities preferably on large screen

• Comfortable loose clothing for easy movement

• Bare foot or flat shoes with no incline

• Quiet space

• 10 x 6 foot space

• Indoors or outdoors with wifi capabilities

Pricing Options

• Single Sessions: $25

For Packages/Memberships you can choose:

• 10 Session Pass: $220

• 20 Session Pass: $400

How to Register

• Single Session: Go to schedule and select specific session date

• Packages: At time of checkout, select your preference: You will still need to book individual sessions. You will have the ability to select multiple sessions at time of purchase or hold your credits and come back to book more sessions.

In Peace, Love, and Gratitude,

Dr. Ellie