Hunyuan Taiji, as taught at TSI, is a modern system of Tai Chi and Qigong with ancient roots. Its benefits encompass health, spirituality, and martial arts. As human beings, our health and integrity are our greatest assets, and with this practice we seek to increase both. We cultivate stillness to find the root of movement, and employ movement to nurture the return to stillness.
Note: we prefer the pinyin spelling "taiji" but often use "tai chi" on the website as it is more familiar.
Substance not Appearance
Success at Tai Chi and Qi Gong requires shifting your perspective, teaching your body to move in new ways, and unlearning bad habits. This can be challenging. While it is relatively easy to learn moves that look correct on the outside, it is only through incorporating the deeper, fundamental principles beneath these movements that they become powerful for health, martial, and spiritual applications.
TSI’s curriculum is designed to lead students through the profound changes to posture and intent that result in true skill. Our teachers have decades of experience explaining correct techniques while making those techniques approachable - no matter a student’s level of ability.
Proven results from skilled instructors
Scientific evidence for the health benefits of Qi Gong and Tai Chi is continually growing (see here for a small list), but the skill to teach taiji is not easily developed. Master ZhiCheng has been practicing and teaching Taoist cultivation and internal martial arts for more than 50 years, and in that time has changed the lives of many students.
In 2022, Master ZhiCheng taught Qi Gong as part of a scientific study comparing Qi Gong practice with the current best standards of medical care for fatigue (nutrition and exercise) in cancer survivors. The lead researcher, Brown University professor Stephanie R. Jones said, “It would have been hard to predict that people who perform gentle, non-aerobic, intentional movements would show the same level of improvement as those who go through moderate strength training and aerobic exercise. It is exciting that our findings establish that this is indeed the case.” The participants in the qigong group also reported significant improvements in mood, emotional regulation, and stress.
A unified system designed to nourish body and mind
The Taoist Studies Institute teaches the Chen-style Xinyi Hunyuan Taijiquan system 陳式心意混元太極拳 (abbrev. Hunyuan Taiji), developed by grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang 馮志強, which integrates Taoist internal training, qigong, Chen-style Taijiquan, and Xinyi quan (mind-intent boxing) into a comprehensive system. The Hunyuan Taiji system 混元太極 is set apart from other systems of Taiji by its emphases on nourishing the body and the use of mind-intent as fundamental to successful practice. It is both extremely practical and rooted in spiritual insight.
The hallmarks of Chen Style Taijiquan are variation in speed, alternating soft and explosive movements, and a kind of spiraling movement known as Chansi jin (silk reeling energy). Emphasizing lower stances and a more energetic performance, Chen Style has forms suited for both beginning and advanced practitioners.
All classes support each other
Because Hunyuan Taiji is a unified system, material studied in all classes support each other, strengthening different aspects of practice, including,
Note: we prefer the pinyin spelling "taiji" but often use "tai chi" on the website as it is more familiar.
Substance not Appearance
Success at Tai Chi and Qi Gong requires shifting your perspective, teaching your body to move in new ways, and unlearning bad habits. This can be challenging. While it is relatively easy to learn moves that look correct on the outside, it is only through incorporating the deeper, fundamental principles beneath these movements that they become powerful for health, martial, and spiritual applications.
TSI’s curriculum is designed to lead students through the profound changes to posture and intent that result in true skill. Our teachers have decades of experience explaining correct techniques while making those techniques approachable - no matter a student’s level of ability.
Proven results from skilled instructors
Scientific evidence for the health benefits of Qi Gong and Tai Chi is continually growing (see here for a small list), but the skill to teach taiji is not easily developed. Master ZhiCheng has been practicing and teaching Taoist cultivation and internal martial arts for more than 50 years, and in that time has changed the lives of many students.
In 2022, Master ZhiCheng taught Qi Gong as part of a scientific study comparing Qi Gong practice with the current best standards of medical care for fatigue (nutrition and exercise) in cancer survivors. The lead researcher, Brown University professor Stephanie R. Jones said, “It would have been hard to predict that people who perform gentle, non-aerobic, intentional movements would show the same level of improvement as those who go through moderate strength training and aerobic exercise. It is exciting that our findings establish that this is indeed the case.” The participants in the qigong group also reported significant improvements in mood, emotional regulation, and stress.
A unified system designed to nourish body and mind
The Taoist Studies Institute teaches the Chen-style Xinyi Hunyuan Taijiquan system 陳式心意混元太極拳 (abbrev. Hunyuan Taiji), developed by grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang 馮志強, which integrates Taoist internal training, qigong, Chen-style Taijiquan, and Xinyi quan (mind-intent boxing) into a comprehensive system. The Hunyuan Taiji system 混元太極 is set apart from other systems of Taiji by its emphases on nourishing the body and the use of mind-intent as fundamental to successful practice. It is both extremely practical and rooted in spiritual insight.
The hallmarks of Chen Style Taijiquan are variation in speed, alternating soft and explosive movements, and a kind of spiraling movement known as Chansi jin (silk reeling energy). Emphasizing lower stances and a more energetic performance, Chen Style has forms suited for both beginning and advanced practitioners.
All classes support each other
Because Hunyuan Taiji is a unified system, material studied in all classes support each other, strengthening different aspects of practice, including,
- strength, balance, and poise
- stillness and mental clarity
- qi (life energy)
- martial skill and virtue
- compassion
- physical health
- body integration
About the school
The Taoist Studies Institute is a place for people interested in deepening their understanding and practice of the Taoist tradition. Over the last twenty five years, a unique educational program to support this vision has developed. Our curriculum offers participants a strong foundation in Taoist cultivation and energetic awareness through a combination of practices including Taoist meditation, philosophy, traditional medicine, and the arts.
The Taoist Studies Institute is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization founded in 1991 to foster Taoist culture and cultivation. |
Founder & Executive Director
|
Advisory Counsel
|