BodyWisdom Media: Tai Chi for Beginners

I recently purchased several Tai Chi DVDs in hopes of learning Tai Chi or at least becoming familiar with the 24 basic moves before making a fool of myself in an actual class. Actually, I just wanted to learn the moves first because I become confused and easily distracted if there are a lot of folks around so I wanted to become familiar with it first, thinking it would then be easier for me to join a class. Anyway, that's kind of besides the point.As I said, I got several DVDs. Out of all of them, this has proved to be the absolute best for learning the basic movements. The lessons are broken down into 8 segments, so for example, in 1A I learned the opening, Separating the Wild Horse's mane and White Crane spreads its wings and in 1B (the second part of the first segment) I learned Brush Knee & Step Forward, Playing the Lute, and the closing. The teacher goes through each posture/movement slowly several times and then more fluidly before putting the postures together into a flow of movement (my own term). The way the DVD is set up, I was able to play the 1A part every day for a week until I felt I could go on to part 1B. At that point, I would play part 1A and then part 1B until I felt ready to go to part 2A and so on. I can move at my own pace to learn. Most of the 8 segments are further broken out into 2 parts and the first is usually about 30 min and the second (the B part) is a bit shorter.One of the things I like, in addition to being able to learn posture by posture at my own pace is the fact that the teacher will pause and explain what I could be doing wrong, e.g. bending my upper body backwards or lifting a shoulder--that sort of thing. It's incredibly helpful. And I like the way everything is broken up into manageable chunks. I haven't worked my way through all 8 segments yet--I imagine it might take me several months--but I am in no hurry and I'm learning at a pace I can deal with.I'll admit that I left a lot of the philosophical information untapped at the moment. I can always circle back around to pick that up as I wish. For now, I'm just interested in learning the basic short form.Oh--I'm not only a beginner but a senior and thank goodness, the lessons so far have been absolutely doable. When I first got the DVD, I did go through the first lesson and draw little stick figures along with notes about the positions to help me understand better when trying to duplicate the movements. That helped a lot, too.The other DVDs are okay, but as far as actual segments that I can play to make up an exercise session of a length that I can handle, this has beenby far the best. And the instructor does an excellent job of describing/showing what you should be doing, helping you practice it, and noting where you may be going wrong as you commence your Tai Chi journey.If I had it to do over again, i.e. buy DVDs, I would simply purchase this one. I imagine that I will use some of the other ones I bought at a later point, although for some reason, I found one or two of the other ones to have kind of irritating teachers. That's entirely personal. I like the teacher on this one the best out of all of them.So, yeah. This is an excellent beginner's DVD for learning Tai Chi and is particularly well suited to senior beginners.

This is a great instructional video for Tai Chi. Unlike other videos, when your back is to the screen or you are on an angle, the verbal instructions are clear enough that you can complete the movement without straining your neck!I particularly like how the sequences are repeated multiple times-firstly to get the mechanical aspect down and then repeated to attain greater fluidity of motion.The warm up exercises are great on their own to help in range of motion and flexibility.Highly recommend this for beginners.

Great dvd good technique

I liked it alot this DVD is very easy to follow And not rushed. I watched it first to understand it. I always wanted to try Tai Chi for Beginners And I'm so glad I picked this one. It is for people who need to learn to relax And improve your health. Very relaxing voice with slow and easy movements. I cannot do heavy and strenuous exercises anymore so this Tai Chi works out great for me.

BodyWisdom Media: Tai Chi for BeginnersTai Chi Lessons Gone DigitalI bought this DVD because I’m really interested in the health benefits touted by tai chi practitioners. I have always wanted to take a class or join a group, but I’m kind of shy. I also worry about looking clumsy and foolish. I guess I’m afraid of failing, which is pretty dumb. I guess I have always been this way. That’s why I prefer to just exercise at home. Basically, I rely on my fitness DVDs and the little home gym that I’m slowly building. For the past year, I’ve spent most of my time on HIIT workouts demonstrated in my The Biggest Loser and Jillian Michaels DVDs. However, I felt there was something missing from my workout routines. I was doing crunches, planks and burpees, but nothing was helping me to find my center or inner balance. But then one day, I came across this relaxing program playing at my physical therapist’s office. It was called, “Tai Chi for Beginners.” Thanks to the typical 30-minute wait in the waiting room, I was able to watch an entire 30-minute lesson. (There are eight lessons on the disc.) The tai chi master’s name was Chris Pei and his voice had a calming effect. He was graceful and his explanations were easy to understand. Right then, a switch went off in my head. So I asked my physical therapist about the DVD and she said that Tai Chi was instrumental in helping her to lower her blood pressure. She believed in it so much that she wanted to share it with her patients. I purchased the DVD as soon as I went home.The Bottom LineI like this DVD because of Chris Pei’s easy to follow instructions. I am surprised at how much content he packs into this disc. There are eight lessons, which equates to 3.5 hours of instruction. Another thing that I appreciate is how Pei gives modifications for people who lack flexibility such as my parents. I’ve been trying to get my parents into tai chi, so having these modifications is valuable to me. These lessons are great for people who zero tai chi experience. I really feel that I’m learning from a master who genuinely who genuinely wants to impart his knowledge to others. The production value of the DVD is not super high, but it doesn’t need to be. I’ve wasted good money on tai chi DVDs by GAIAM that were too difficult to follow along with.