I have ben a teacher for over 30 years. When I decided to offer Tai Chi in the schools I wanted to train teachers so that they can use the movements in the classroom before tests to calm the kids down and get oxygen flowing to their brains to concentrate better. I also wanted them to be able to use it to help ADD and ADHD kids, to give focus to a discussion on bullying, to calm kids down who are feeling hyper.

So I decided I needed to simplify Tai Chi so a teacher could learn it quickly and use it easily in the classroom. Teachers have little extra time in the day. Sometimes Tai chi can be hard to learn, but these simple movements using Tai Chi and Qigong are very well received and produce a wonderful change in atmosphere.

You might look at my website www.taichiforkids.com.

Sorry i don't know how to make this connect directly on the blog.

the CD for the older kids would be great for a community group looking for stress release, focus, calmness, well-being and a nice feeling of working together.

If it looks interesting, let me know and we can talk more about how to use it.

Cari

This is the first time i have blogged and was excited to see comments, but it took me a while to reply. Kit, it is great that your town is interested in health and stress release. Let me know if you want to try a form of Tai Chi that is easy to learn. It can be difficult and some people become discouraged before they really learn it and before they begin to feel the benefits. It doesn't have to be hard to be good.

I hope the drum circles are a great success. I would love to hear.

Cari

Cheers,

Leave it to you to find a video where the acid dancers are more fun to watch than the drummers. Somehow I think the whole idea of the drum circle and Tai Chi have been lost in the translation.

Thanks for the morning laugh!

Mitch, I like the explanation someone posted on Wikipedia, especially since it quotes Mickey Hart from Grateful Dead:

"A drum circle is any group of people playing (usually) hand-drums and percussion in a circle. They are distinct from a drumming group or troupe in that the drum circle is an end in itself rather than preparation for a performance. They can range in size from a handful of players to circles with thousands of participants.

In 1991, during testimony before the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging, Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart stated:

Typically, people gather to drum in drum "circles" with others from the surrounding community. The drum circle offers equality because there is no head or tail. It includes people of all ages. The main objective is to share rhythm and get in tune with each other and themselves. To form a group consciousness. To entrain and resonate. By entrainment, I mean that a new voice, a collective voice, emerges from the group as they drum together. "

The health benefits that have been proven range from stress reduction to circulation and mobility for seniors.

Check out YouTube. You'll find plenty of videos. But my main recommendation is to catch a film called The Visitor that will be out on DVD next month.

Kit... sorry for my ignorance, but what is a drum circle?

Cheers,

I have a special interest in your blog and ways to enhance the health of others through various methods. I was recently appointed as our department's representative for the City of Newport, Oregon on the Health Promotion Committee. It isn't easy to come up with ideas that haven't been instilled in us from grade school as far as healthy lifestyles go.

In my first challenge on this committee I am currently in the process of starting a drum circle, not only for city employees, but for the entire community and the surrounding cities here on the coast. So far the response has been encouraging. Once we have our first drum circle I will probably be blogging about it.

Good to have you here. I hope to read more from you.