With Thalia Gonda and Val Androutsopoulou (qualified teachers of the European School of T'ai Chi Ch'uan www.meta-taichi.org.uk)

Yang long and short forms 

T’ai Chi Ch’uan, loosely translated as the Great Ultimate Fist, is an ancient Chinese martial art which is also a highly beneficial health system. It helps lower high blood pressure, increases blood circulation, relieves back pain and stress and with regular practice keeps the body flexible, the heart joyful and the mind alert.

The T’ai Chi movements, called Forms, are executed slowly and evenly to promote the flow of qi or energy throughout the body unimpeded. T’ai Chi has also been described as meditation in movement.

Due to the stress we all have to deal with in our lives it is important to find a way to deal with the noise and tension of everyday life and more and more people are looking to alternative methods. Doing the T’ai Chi Forms immediately places us in a state of tranquility where concentration and awareness is demanded thereby giving us the opportunity to really listen to what is going on within us. Practising T’ai Chi brings about a feeling of well-being, aliveness and joy.

The name T’ai Chi was first seen in the Book of Changes or I Ching and actually refers to the yin and yang polarities which symbolize the continual process of change in the universe. Healing exercises and breathing techniques as well as fighting systems can be traced back 4000 years. But the T’ai Chi as we know it today has been accredited to the Taoist sage Chang San Feng. It is said that Chang’s inspiration came from watching a fight between a bird and a snake where he noted how softness overcomes hardness and as a result of this observation he created the first T’ai Chi form.

Apart from training in the T’ai Chi forms there are also special exercises called Chi Kung. Chi Kung means working with the breath or energy. The movements are fairly simple and easy to learn and in coordination with the breath, the ch’i (vital essence) is stimulated and its flow directed through the meridians and throughout the whole system. Both T’ai Chi and Chi Kung calm the heart, keep one centred and open the body up to self awareness and self healing.

The first T’ai Chi workshop in Corfu was in 1989 with Tew Bunnag who started The Centre in Athens and founded The European School of T’ai Chi Ch’uan with centres in England, Spain and Greece. Tew Bunnag who was born in Bangkok, lectures and teaches all over the world.

Saskia Handley

Val Osborne-Androutsopoulou 

Val has lived in Greece since 1974 and moved to Corfu in 1977 with her husband, Dennis, who restored both Lucciola Inn and Casa Lucia. They ran the two locations together until 1987 when the business moved exclusively to the self-catering cottages of Casa Lucia. As manager she has dealt with all aspects of the business: bookings, reception, purchasing, accounts, personnel, maintenance, publicity and correspondence.

After initially concentrating purely on the regular tourist industry, she diversified into t'ai chi workshops and classes inviting teachers from Thailand, China, Greece and all over Europe. These gradually expanded to include yoga, walking tours, painting holidays, writing and poetry etc. She was at the same time practising t'ai chi as well as co-leading classes for local residents, eventually qualifying as a certified teacher in the European School of T'ai Chi Ch'uan. The regular local classes continue and expand; and she also co-teaches some of the workshops.

Alongside this, as her children were growing up, she was involved in setting up and running educational projects in Corfu, in particular the Guilford Youth Centre which provided extra-curricular activities and sports for children of all ages as well as foundation courses for University entrance abroad; and the SOS environmental group made up of several local families whose main activity was cleaning beaches and stretches of countryside, and campaigning for correct rubbish collection and disposal. She is proud that all the children involved in these projects have either gone on to become environmental officers, organic farmers, and ecological activists; or are positively leading their lives in the most environmentally friendly ways possible. Local authorities also took note and responsibility for cleaning up the island and now even have a recycling unit. An alternative, ecological way of living and conducting business is therefore second nature to her.

Τhalia has been practicing t’ai chi for 10 years, learning from Tew Bunnag, Val Androutsopoulou, Saskia Handley, Kamal Thapen and Caroline Merry. She is particularly interested in the I Ching, and the relevance of the seasonal practice of Qiugong. She live in Corfu, Greece and teaches in Greek and English. She learns every day.