Since I lead Moving Mondays with Marcia on the Global PAD Association’s Youtube Channel each week, with a focus over the next 8 weeks on Tai Chi, I thought it would be a good idea to give you a little background on it.
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Tai Chi is so old that there is no written record of its beginnings, and as old as it is, Qigong is even older. It’s the great grandmother of Tai Chi and Acupunture. Legend has it that one day, the Taoist monk Chang San-Feng was distrubed by the sounds of a snake and a crane fighting in his court yard. Each time the crane’s sharp beak stabbed at the snake, the flexible and swift serpent twisted out of reach; and the crane’s wings, like shields, protected its long neck from the snake’s striking head. According to the myth, from observing this battle, Chang San-Feng developed the art of Tai Chi Chuan. It is based on the concept of yielding in the face of aggression.
Another fabled myth depitcts Chang San-Feng seeking the fabled elixir of life, a liquid formula that reputedly makes one immortal. While in a deep sleep after an exhausting search for the elixir, the movements of Tai Chi Chuan were revealed to him in a dream. After careful reflection, it occurred to him that perhaps the secret of the elixir was related to these movements. He noted that Chi (energy) in the body exhibited several properties similar to liquids. It flows, for example, through the many acupuncture channels. He also noticed that when Chi flows in abundance, good health prevails, and when it is blocked, dis-ease soon follows.
By performing the movements revealed to him, Chang San-Feng realized he could develop and cultivate Chi and incorporate it into his body as an essential life and health-giving force, like an elixir. Chi, like water, can be affected by certain natural forces, such as the gravitaional pull of the moon. He realized that the liquid elixir could actually represent Chi.
QI (Chi) means the activity of all life. Qigong means working with Qi to become strong.
The Tai Chi symbol (Ying/Yang symbol) is used to depict the principle of opposites connected in harmony. It illustrates the desire for avoiding extremes, the desire for mental and physical balance, and the desire of living in harmony with the various powerful forces in the world.
Breathing is a key component of Qigong and Tai Chi. Dantian means energy center or centered breathing. There are three dantians in the body, The lower dantian is located about 3 inches below the bellybutton and 3 inches within. It is our energy engine and the center of both our balance and our breath. Dantian can also mean the field where you cultivate the elixir of life. When we do dantian breathing, we breath from our center or solar plexus, pushing our bellies outward as we inhale through our noses, then contracting our bellies inward as we exhale through our mouths.
The five basic principles of Tai Chi are: relax, sink, move from the waist, separate full weight and empty weight, straight spine, and fair lady’s wrist. Tai Chi is soft, flowing, gentle, limber, and supple. It is never rigid or tense.
PAD: The Lived Experience 
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