Faulk TaiChi

Learn the beautiful, flowing movements for health and relaxation.

Summer Light

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What is special about summer for you? Many of us are eager to be outside, go for long walks by a lake or in a park, enjoy a picnic with our family, stroll through our neighborhood farmer’s market, attend an outdoor concert or a movie night on our lawn chair at a community gathering, watch boats glide along Lake Superior.

What do you like the most? The freedom of walking out the door in shorts and sandals, taking binoculars and camera to watch and listen to the birds, relaxing outside with friends over a glass of wine. All good possibilities. We think mostly about “doing”, being active because we have a sense of freedom to move around and go places when we know it will be light well into the evening.

We are in the season of Yang energy – activity, blossoming trees and flowers, bright colors, heat, light. While we are out “doing” we want to pay attention, enjoy the moment. Take it all in.

Recently my sister and I went to Starved Rock State Park in northern Illinois. It’s amazing to drive across flat terrain, rich farmland filled with corn and soybeans and then. . . huge trees, winding roads going up, up, up to a natural filled park. Looking out over a panorama of green trees as far as our eyes could see, we listened to a variety of singing birds, felt a summer breeze, marveled at small red berries we happened to see because we were still and paying attention to everything around us.


The sun shining brightly highlighted the various shades of green on the thousands of leaves surrounding us. It was mesmerizing, the stillness and calm of those moments. The light outside and how nature took it in, made it beautiful and we, in our stillness took it all in and thoroughly enjoyed the moments.

What moments of summer have made you feel this way?

Celebrating 25 Years!

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Wow, it’s amazing to be celebrating my 25th year of teaching Tai Chi! It is an honor and so humbling to teach a centuries-old practice that has transformed my life, helped me re-learn to walk, feel balance and stability and has been the main influence for getting off medications I took regularly in my 30’s and 40’s.

I’ve been so inspired by stories of many students, who, with courage and determination have managed pain, arthritis, stroke recovery, anxiety and stress, etc. through Tai Chi practice, coming to class when it wasn’t easy.

Faulk Tai Chi Class

Here’s a class in 2003 where the quiet energy and being in the moment come right through the stillness of the photo.

Chinese New Year Tai Chi

This photo is in the first Heartwood location on Maple and Davis, across from Bennison’s Bakery, (2004, I think)

Faulk Tai Chi

Tai Chi class at Heartwood on Dempster, around 2012, upstairs in what is now the Shrine Room. Our regular classes were in that room before we moved to the Skylight Room.

Chicago Tai Chi Testimonials

Chicago class in 2015 or 2016, dedicated students who shared great Tai Chi energy together at our class in the Fourth Presbyterian Church.

August, 25, 2024 — Celebrating 25 years in Evanston park at Lake and Chicago

After Tai Chi, a wonderful lunch at Chinese restaurant, Peppercorns, in downtown Evanston

At Peppercorns with Nancy Floy, Founder and Co-Director of Heartwood and Larry Akey, Director of Meditation Programs.

Thanks to Nancy for her vision, for bringing Heartwood to life and for leading me to Tai Chi. For all the individuals in these photos and for all others whose lives have crossed with mine through Tai Chi, our energy continues to connect across the miles. It’s a privilege to teach and share Tai Chi with you.

I’d love to hear your comments and memories of Tai Chi and how it’s positively impacted your life.

Spring Equinox

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This year the day of Spring Equinox was extra special. At the very hour when that point of equinox occurred, we were moving our energy in a Tai Chi class, focusing on balancing our Yin and Yang. We noted that bringing intention and attention to our balance at the moment of balance between of dark and light, felt so relaxing, put us so in the moment. A moment of letting go, a moment of lightness of being.

Tai Chi at Heartwood —- Evanston, Il 3/20/23

Without the dark, we can’t see the light. We honored that and also felt joy that it was evening and still light outside, admitted we were looking forward to longer minutes and hours of sunlight in our days.

This is a great time to focus on our balance, physical and emotional. Are our days filled with doing and achieving, and then wondering where the time went? Are we taking some time to stop, reflect and just be? Are we paying attention to the trees, the birds, noticing what’s around us in nature? And, are we breathing, taking time to intentionally breathe?

Focused and relaxed

Tai Chi gives us the opportunity to balance, to move our energy together and feel our Yin and Yang as equal energy forces. We are very grateful.

Coping in a Difficult Time Reflections

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We all need ways to cope with uncertainty and fear that invade our lives. I asked my students how Tai Chi has been helping them cope with these difficult times. May we all have moments of calm and ways to reduce stress and anxiety. Read how David is experiencing that through Tai Chi:

“1. Through the pandemic, tai chi has been my constant. With so much uncertainty and change in our current lives, wondering (and not knowing) on a daily basis what the future will bring, tai chi remains unchanged: the warm up exercises we do and the form itself provide constancy. The moves remain the same week after week; the energy which infuses them are the same. Doing tai chi provides reassurance, the comfort of the familiar.

tai chi

“2. Getting through the pandemic can be overwhelming — so much to think about, worry about, wonder about, to do. Life is simply more complicated these days. What once took one step now takes six.

“Tai Chi is a welcome and much needed antidote to this. Tai chi shifts your focus to small, elemental things — the position of your foot, the sweep of an arm, the bend of your elbow, the inhale of a breath, the weight of your leg as it presses into the ground, providing mental and physical balance as it sends roots deep into the earth.

ying yang

“3. The community Tai Chi has provided has been a gift. With so much we can now do whenever we wish –  with an app, or a YouTube video or a streaming service — meeting weekly (via zoom) in real time, live, to practice Tai Chi creates true community. Knowing that we all are moving in unison, at the same exact time, in our respective homes, creates a powerful energy which cannot be duplicated on one’s own.”