JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser.

Reset Password

Enter the email address you used to create your account. We will email you instructions on how to reset your password.

Forgot Your Email Address? Contact Us

Reset Your Password

SHOW

Tai Chi for Aging with Strength and Tranquility

Trailer

01: Tai Chi Fit in Paradise

On the Hawaiian sand and with the beautiful Pacific Ocean in the background, your instructor takes you through a tai chi practice that includes a warm up, two workout sessions, and a cool down. As you listen to the waves and watch their motion, you’ll gently move side to side and up and down with the classic tai chi postures Embrace the Moon, Penetrating Heaven and the Earth, Cloud Hands, and more.

46 min

02: Tai Chi Fusion: Fire

This practice combines tai chi with the martial art of kung fu, which translates to high-level work. Together, they combine into a practice focused on intensity, the most intense workout of the series. Discover how to bring the fire into your whole being, mind, energy, and spirit, while still maintaining a physical practice that is appropriate for your body and physical capabilities. Explore the classic postures of Snake Creeping through the Grass, Solitary Whip, and more.

40 min

03: Tai Chi Fusion: Iron

Combining the principles of weight lifting and tai chi, this practice is a lesson in contrast and mindfulness. As you practice with your weighted sticks—or with lightweight wooden spoons from your kitchen, as you choose—contrasting aspects of life will become apparent: heavy and light, what you do and do not do, what you notice and ignore. Explore the classic postures of Playing the Pipa and Seizing the Sparrow’s Tail, among many others.

59 min

04: Tai Chi Fusion: Bamboo

Your instructor teaches this gentle workout in a beautiful bamboo forest. Combining yoga and tai chi in a practice that emphasizes the principle of surrender, you will learn about gratitude, benevolence, and generosity, especially toward yourself. The two disciplines progress seamlessly through the workout and include the classic tai chi postures of Sinking the Chi and Fending Off the Monkey, among others.

57 min

05: Tai Chi Fit: 24 Form

This diverse practice includes four separate workout options, as well as a warm up and cool down. As you follow along with your instructor along at the pace and intensity that works best for you—and you will be continually encouraged to do exactly that—you will be exposed to a wide variety of classic tai chi postures, including The Fair Maiden Weaves the Loom, The White Crane Spreads Its Wings, and Bouncing on the Toes Seven Times to Drive Away All Illness.

73 min

06: Tai Chi Fit over 50: Balance Exercises

Since the mid-1990s, the American Medical Association has recommended tai chi as the number-one form of exercise for maintaining balance and fall prevention. In this program, you’ll be encouraged to do the workout the way you need to do it with respect to your own balance—holding on to a wall or even keeping just one finger on the back of a chair for stability. As you work on building the muscles needed for balance, you will explore the use of weighted tai chi balls as well as the classic postures of Old Woman Digs in the Garden and The Monkey, among others.

36 min

07: Tai Chi Fit over 50: Seated Workout

There are many different reasons for any individual to do a seated workout. In this program, you’ll learn that practicing tai chi from a seated position can be just as beneficial and challenging as standing. You’ll follow your teacher’s gentle movements from his own chair as you explore the classic tai chi postures of Embracing the Moon and The Opening of Your Heart, among many others.

35 min

08: Tai Chi Fit over 60: Gentle Exercises for Beginners

This program provides the most gentle option for tai chi beginners—of any age. As with the other programs in this series, there is nothing to learn or memorize. Just follow along with your instructor as he moves slightly up and down and gently side to side. With his easy manner and relaxed sense of humor, you’ll feel immediately comfortable in this ancient form of exercise. And while you’re following along, you’ll also be exploring the classic tai chi postures of Opening the Door and The Twisting Dragon, among others.

36 min

09: Tai Chi Fit over 60: Healthy Joints

While pain and inflammation in the joints can keep us from doing the things we love, lack of activity makes the joints weaker and leads to a downward spiral. Tai chi is well-known to heal the joints with some simple movements, even practicing just a few minutes a day. While you’re copying your instructors gentle movements in this program, you’ll be exploring the classic tai chi postures of Princess on the Mountaintop and Holding Up the Heavens like a Pillar.

48 min

10: Tai Chi Fit over 60: Live Longer, Feel Younger

As your instructor points out, if you want to live longer and feel younger, then you have to look at the people who live long, fruitful lives and do what they do. The best way to take care of your human machine certainly includes a routine tai chi practice. With his relaxed and humorous style, your instructor invites you to “have some fun,” as you continue on the path of your tai chi practice—exploring the classic tai chi postures of Cloud Hands and Sinking the Chi, among many others.

42 min

Overview Course No. 80170

Practiced in the East for centuries, the flowing movements of the ancient martial art of tai chi have been known to promote health and inner harmony. According to the 2019 Harvard University Women's Health Watch, "tai chi is often described as meditation in motion, but it might well be called medication in motion" for its uses in prevention and treatment of health issues. Welcome to Tai Chi for Aging with Strength and Tranquility, led by International Master Tai Chi Instructor David-Dorian Ross. With his calming voice and easy manner, he encourages you to just follow along and copy his healing movements.

As he explains throughout the course, there is nothing to memorize here and nothing to learn. As long as you keep breathing, smiling, and copying the flowing movements in whatever way you can, you're doing everything exactly right. The goal of the course is for you to enjoy the many benefits that come from tai chi's gentle movements—not for you to memorize the tai chi forms or focus on the technique of any particular posture. Simply by copying the movements of your instructor, you'll have the opportunity to deepen your physical practice, as well as your understanding of the tai chi philosophy.

In all the workouts of Tai Chi for Aging with Strength and Tranquility, David-Dorian Ross stresses that tai chi practitioners shouldn't be concerned about whether they're seated, touching a wall for stability and balance, or standing in the center of the room. "Is it comfortable? Is it fun? Does it feel beautiful?" he asks. "We don't care about how it looks. We care about how it feels inside." Enjoy!

View Full Details

About

David-Dorian Ross

Tai chi and qigong are often referred as "treasures of Chinese culture"; studying them is like holding a beautiful jewel, where each time you turn, you see a new facet.

ALMA MATER

San Francisco State University

David-Dorian Ross is the founder and CEO of TaijiFit and the creator of the TaijiFit mind-body exercise program. He has a B.A. in Human Movement Studies from San Francisco State University, has completed graduate course work in Physical Education and Chinese, and is currently developing a project with the head of the Harvard Medical School research department to study the stress-reduction benefits of tai chi (taiji) in the workplace. Trained in China with championship martial arts coaches, Mr. Ross has had an illustrious career in competitive tai chi, winning seven U.S. gold medals, two world bronze medals, and a world silver medal—the highest awards ever given to an American for international tai chi performance. He was the founder and chief instructor of the Honolulu T’ai Chi Academy and a certified continuing educator for the American Council on Exercise. Mr. Ross is the host of the PBS series T’ai Chi: Health and Happiness and the author of five books on health and wellness, including Exercising the Soul: How Tai Ch’i Connects You to Your Authentic Self. Since 2012, he has collaborated with international action film star Jet Li on a mission to introduce tai chi to 100 million new people worldwide by the year 2020. Professor Ross participated in our Professor Chat series. Read the chat to learn more about how to bring your whole life into better balance and harmony through the practice of Tai Chi and Qigong.

View Full Details