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Learn the beautiful, flowing movements for health and relaxation.

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Tai Chi Students Comment

July 12, 2023 By Arlene Faulk Leave a Comment

The Tai Chi Classics, often considered the “Tai Chi Bible”, contain the principles and fundamentals of Tai Chi. In the first section, Master Chang San-feng (ca. 1200 C.E.) wrote, “Once you begin to move, the entire body must be light and limber. Each past of your body should be connected to every other part.” Whether I’m teaching beginning or experienced students, I often refer to both of these principles – relax and feel all parts of your body as one, moving together.

Let’s start with relaxing the body (and mind). Usually, I’m not light and limber when I begin class. It’s the focus on proper alignment, feet hip-width apart, soft knees, then starting to move through gentle movements that help me and my students begin to relax.

Faulk Tai Chi class

When we focus on breathing and moving our energy throughout our bodies, we are focusing on just those things, nothing else. That helps us start to relax.

During the last several weeks, students have informally been offering comments on their experience in class. “I had so many things on my mind when I walked into class, and during the class, I felt all that stress fade away.” “It helps me relax when you remind us to breathe.” “I’m starting to get it, It’s a process and I don’t have to be perfect.” “I was dragging when I came to class and by the end I felt much more energy, good energy.” “My back does not have so much pain and I’ve learned my alignment has been way off. “I’m learning how to walk more slowly and pay attention.” “All the students moving together helps me relax and feel not only my energy, but the powerful energy the group is creating.”

studying tai chi

We, together, learn to relax, “be limber and light” even when we don’t walk into class feeling that way. We start to let go and share our energy with each other through our Tai Chi moves. What a wonderful discipline and practice Tai Chi is!

Filed Under: Tai Chi Classes Tagged With: letting go, mindfulness, relaxing, Sharing energy, tai chi class

Showing Up

August 1, 2018 By Arlene Faulk 1 Comment

tai chi class Evanston

This was a week of “a-has” for some of my Tai Chi students. One woman, who has been in my classes about three years told me she really is feeling the energy move through her body in a relaxed way, right from the first two moves, Preparation and Beginning. “I knew my energy has been moving in previous classes, but I really felt it in class today! I felt it right away.” Another student, having been on vacation in Great Britain for over two weeks, walked in saying she wasn’t sure how much she would remember. After class, she told me, “I did o.k.. I remembered much more than I thought I would. It’s good and I’m glad to be back.” Her body remembered even though her mind had doubts. Another student, back after a 5000 mile driving trip said she really wanted to move her Qi through Tai Chi, feel the energy with others moving together through relaxed, flowing movements.

After class last night two students approached me, saying, “we want to thank you. Not only do we feel more relaxed and calm, this class hit deeply, in a personal, spiritual way.”

tai chi movements

It’s not me; it’s students connecting with their internal energy, guiding it in specific ways — mindful, relaxed, with attention to proper alignment. I am a catalyst, a guide for students to find a pathway to best possible health, using Tai Chi and QiGong movements as our vehicle.

Each of these students is committed, makes healthy practices a priority, shows up. Showing up – that’s the key. Showing up even on days when it’s hard to get out the door, when energy might be low, when the to-do list is long. Showing up can be the beginning of change, can be the path towards improved balance, in our bodies and in the way we live.

All these students show up. How do you show up for yourself?

Filed Under: Change, Energy, Mindfulness, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, Tai Chi Classes Tagged With: calmness, feeling Qi, focusing, relaxing, tai chi balance

A Word for the New Year

December 30, 2017 By Arlene Faulk 4 Comments

As one year sunsets and another dawns, my thoughts turn to what is to be revealed, as yet unknown. A new year. New possibilities. New challenges.

sunset
change with the seasons

I am not one who makes New Year’s resolutions. What I decided to do is focus on a word, a word that I want to be mindful of and manifest as best as I can in starting a new year. It only took a few minutes for the right word to surface – ROOTED. I use this word often, even start all my Tai Chi classes with this word – “Bring yourself into the room. Feet parallel, hip-width apart, knees soft. Visualize your feet and legs like a tree, rooted deep into the earth. See if you can make the roots a little bit deeper.”

As we make our roots deeper and stronger below the earth, we will become more stable above the earth. Stable, centered, balanced, strong – isn’t that what we all would like to be and have every day? If I were not so involved with Tai Chi, I might have used the word “grounded.” That’s a good word, too, because it suggests a connection with the earth and being stable, both physically and mentally.

trees

Being rooted allows the body to move in a coordinated way. The body moves as a unit, all parts synchronized, coordinated and relaxed. I aspire to that and know it is a process not an end, nor a static state. Being rooted allows the mind to relax and focus only on the moment.

I aspire to be rooted in my standing and in my walking. I aspire to be rooted in kindness and in giving what I can to help others improve health. I aspire to be mindful and focused on the moment so I can actively listen.

What is your word for the new year? I really want to know, because if you share, it will help many others along the way.

What is your word that you want to be mindful of and manifest?

Filed Under: Change, Energy, Listening to our Body, Mindfulness, Tai Chi, Tai Chi Classes Tagged With: manifest a word, mindful, relaxing, rooted, trees

Do You Know What “Relaxed” Is?

May 21, 2017 By Arlene Faulk Leave a Comment

faulk tai chi chicago

Two days ago, as I was writing a chapter in my book, I literally went back to the moment I first learned what it feels like to “relax”. Go there with me.

It is October, 1990. Rancho La Puerta in Tecate, Mexico for a week. I have been coming here for 10 years with good friends, Kathie, Dena, Carla, Linda and often, others. This beautiful place, south of San Diego is familiar, comfortable. No phones in the room. No television. Lots of Rummikub playing. The world outside of here does not exist right now. Ah. . . silence, the smell of jasmine, healthy food, massage, deep pink bougainvillea, exercise, massage.

In my red and black leotard with black tights to my knees, I am sitting on a large, padded mat in an outdoor pavilion. The only enclosure is a roof overhead to protect us from the sun; the rest is open to outside. Sheri, a tall, slender young woman, maybe mid-twenties, is our instructor for stretch and relax class. I am captivated by the very thin braid that gently flows down the left side of her head, almost to her waist. She has a multi-colored cloth woven into the braid. The rest of her shiny, blond hair is straight. What a great look!

“Roll your shoulders up, breathe in. Exhale, and roll your shoulders down,” she says while walking around among the 20 or so people in the class. I feel a tiny breeze float through our space, tune in to the singing of a couple birds above us in a tree. I am glad to be here.

About 30 minutes into the 45-minute class, Sheri says she wants us to do a little experiment.

“Do you know what ‘relaxed’ is, what it feels like? Let’s all lie down on our backs. Just be comfortable with your arms at your sides.”

Very methodically, she leads us through bringing awareness to our body. “Tense up your toes. Hold. Release. Next, tense up your feet. Hold. Release.” Step by step she instructs us to move up our body, tense up each part, hold, then release. After we move up to the top of our heads, she tells us to just take time to be here, feel the moment, still, relaxed.

“If you have any remaining tension in your back, let it go. Let it go out of your body and into the mat.”

We lie still for a few minutes, with soft music playing, helping us further relax. She asks us to sit up, very slowly, taking our time.

“One last thing as we close,” Sheri says, pausing to give us time for our eyes to re-focus, for us to return to where we are in the pavilion. “We often think about ‘relaxing’ as something we want to do. We might go watch the sun set, sit by a lake and stare at the water or sit on our couch and read a book. Those are good things, but. . . relaxing is not adding something, not adding a new activity. ‘Relaxing’ is letting go of something we are already doing.”

At that very moment, I realize that I thought I knew how to relax, but not really. Letting go of something I am already doing – I want to remember that and put it into practice.

Filed Under: Breathwork, Energy, Inner Balance, Listening to our Body, Paying Attention Tagged With: life lesson, relaxing, stretching

“Letting Go”

April 3, 2016 By Arlene Faulk Leave a Comment

Gulfport

“Letting Go” has been a recurring theme that I’ve written about on my blog.

I told the story of my learning that ‘relaxing’ is not something to add to what we need to do. It asks of us to let go of something we are already doing. Then we can start to relax.

Sometimes “letting go” requires establishing a new habit before we can get rid of the old.

“Letting go” often includes an emotional attachment to something or someone and on the surface we might not even be aware that it exists. We have to become aware before we can start to “let go”.

Tai Chi is about “letting go”, focusing on the moment so our mind empties out and we can start to relax as we intentionally shift our weight.

tai chi move

Recently, it occurred to me that “letting go” of something I immensely enjoyed, has opened new horizons for me. First, after five wonderful years teaching a Tai Chi class for seniors, the sponsoring organization decided not to continue with the class. It was a scheduling and location problem. After four stimulating and fun years of teaching high school students Tai Chi, I decided not to continue. The commute was long and I found that I was using 4-5 hours of my time, twice a week for a class of 45-minutes length. It was hard to let that one go, but I did. I recommended an outstanding teacher who is working out very well. And I still continue to teach Tai Chi classes that I love.

I am so excited! Currently I am working diligently on a book. Many people have encouraged me to tell my story of remarkable healing and transformation. They tell me I could inspire and motivate a wide audience. So I’m doing it, meeting with my writing coach weekly, writing scenes, getting feedback, writing more, reading more. . .

I am also in the midst of completely revising and updating my website, making it mobile friendly, simplifying, adding all new photos. This is fun.

Both my writing coach and website designer have Tai Chi experience, understand and feel the energy and have had me as a teacher. They both get me. What a plus!

Stay tuned for updates on my book writing progress. Stay tuned for announcement of my new website.

“Letting go”, as in my case, may be letting go of something you enjoy, maybe even love. It has to happen to make space for a new thing to appear.

Filed Under: Arlene Faulk, Change, Energy, Paying Attention, Tai Chi, Tai Chi Classes Tagged With: creating space, letting go, relaxing

Tai Chi and Me – by Eileen Harakal

October 15, 2013 By Arlene Faulk 1 Comment

EHphoto

I didn’t think I could do it. I’m not athletic, not a dancer, not very adept at anything that requires physical skill. I’m an artist, a writer, end of story. Besides, I was too old -60-and not limber, out of shape. There’s no way I could do tai chi.

Seven years later having taken classes almost weekly with Arlene Faulk through the Fourth Presbyterian Church, I now know how to do the Sun style, including advanced moves, and the shorter, very relaxing Wudang style. I do tai chi almost every day now, no longer amazed that I can remember the long sequence of steps that feel like a form of body language to me. Thanks to Arlene, I “speak” tai chi ch’uan! Always learning, always improving, but fluent enough to be comfortable.

Arlene is my kind of teacher — patient, even-tempered, methodical. She leads us in one or two new moves at a time, repeats till it feels familiar, then adds a couple more. She also explains the Eastern “why” of what we are doing, and is always open to questions. Arlene is concerned with our proper alignment, but she never corrects a particular individual who is off. She tells us as a group the right way to do a move, so no one person every feels negatively singled out. Also, it doesn’t matter what level of skill you develop, because each person gets encouragement within the group. We hear important phrases from her over and over: “Don’t forget to breathe” and “keep your feet hip-width apart” and “move from the waist, not the arms.”

After awhile, with practice and focus, for as long as it takes — and all students have their own pace–the movements come more naturally. The two best side effects of tai chi are balance and deep breathing. One day, after leaving class and crossing Michigan Avenue, I had a slight accident. My right foot went into a pothole in the middle of the street. I heard Arlene telling us to “ground our feet like the roots of a tree”, so I planted my left foot firmly, lifted my right one out of the hole, and walked on — no damage! I could have ended up on my face. Does tai chi make you fool-proof? Certainly no, but doing it for a long time may make you more sure-footed. And the deep-breathing that is a part of the exercises Arlene leads us in will oxygenate every cell in your body, the way nature intended. Arlene often notes the “good energy” in the room as we work our way through the various moves. I feel it, along with a degree of self-confidence in my physicality that has been a total surprise.

Filed Under: Arlene Faulk, Breathwork, Change, Listening to our Body, Mindfulness, Tai Chi, Tai Chi Classes Tagged With: always learning, hip-width stance, relaxing, rooted like a tree

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Arlene Faulk

Arlene Faulk

After a years-long struggle to understand and conceal debilitating symptoms while I ascended the corporate ladder, I found comfort and healing through Tai Chi and Chinese Medicine.

My new memoir, Walking on Pins and Needles, is the story about the power to control our lives and move in the direction of possibility. Read more...

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FROM TAI CHI STUDENTS

Tai Chi makes me feel calm, yet energized. Because of my practice, the small irritants of life affect me less.

Tai Chi student

I had back surgery, was in pain and had little range of motion. Tai Chi practice at Heartwood has helped me increase flexibility, my range of motion and my overall stamina.

Tai Chi student

Arlene teaches the Tai Chi form in such a gentle and connected way that many movements now feel utterly natural and healing.

Tai Chi student

I've even shared some of the exercises with my bike club to help reduce injuries. They really work!

Tai Chi student

I've always been a klutz and have regularly lost my balance and fallen when walking outside. Arlene taught me how to stand and walk properly through Tai Chi. I really can't believe it: I haven't fallen in four years since I've been taking Tai Chi with Arlene!

Tai Chi student

I love Arlene's Tai Chi classes. She helps us understand not only what we're doing, but also why we're doing it. That really helps me take what I learn in class and apply it to my daily life.

Tai Chi student

I'm really inspired by what Tai Chi has done for Arlene. She is a great teacher, who is calm and very patient. She has really helped me not to be so hard on myself.

Tai Chi student

I play golf and had a lesson after school, on the same day we had Tai Chi class. My coach commented, 'Your posture is amazing and all of the balance issues that we have been fighting for so long seem to have just taken a vacation.' I mentioned to him that I thought it was due to Tai Chi.

Tai Chi student

Tai Chi relaxes your entire body and promotes peace and proper breathing. The more I manage to breathe properly while doing any activity in my life, I generally tend to do a lot better at it. I benefited from Tai Chi because it managed to help me with my breathing skills even more.

Tai Chi student

Tai Chi really gives my body strength to put up with the pains of my breast cancer and back problems. Tai Chi is 'sneaky'. You don't think it's helping, but eventually you realize it's helping you.

Tai Chi student

For me, Tai Chi brings comfort and quiet amidst all the chaos and change.

Becky, Tai Chi student

In just a few months, the practice has become perhaps the most nurturing element in my life during COVID times, when sustaining a commitment to anything else has been challenging.

Barb, Tai Chi student

The community Tai Chi has provided has been a gift. With so much we can now do whenever we wish --- with an app, YouTube video, or streaming service --- meeting weekly (via zoom) in real time, live, to practice Tai Chi creates true community.

David, Tai Chi student

I really enjoy our time together and I've found Tai Chi a great way to "keep moving," not only during this pandemic but also as a regular practice with a wonderful integration of mind, body and spirit.

Martha, Tai Chi student

Tuning into the class and seeing familiar faces of the other students brings a nice sense of community and connection during this time of separation and isolation.

Julia, Tai Chi student

I love the walking practice because it helps me slow down and focus only on the moment.

Tai Chi student

Tai Chi has made me aware of how I’m standing and where my weight is. My balance is improving.

Tai Chi student

I hear Arlene saying to listen to my body and only do what I can do. That helps me relax.

Tai Chi student

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Tai Chi Class Calendar

September 2023

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
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  • Tai Chi Level II
    Tai Chi Level II
    Starts: 5:30 pm
    Ends: September 4, 2023 - 6:30 pm

    Location: Heartwood Center, 1818 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202, USA


    Description:

    Tai Chi class for experienced students (3+ years)

    More details...
•
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  • Faulk Tai Chi Class
    Faulk Tai Chi Class
    Starts: 5:30 pm
    Ends: September 5, 2023 - 6:30 pm

    Location: Heartwood Center, 1818 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202, USA


    Description:

    Beginner’s Class - no experience needed

    More details...
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  • Tai Chi Beginners
    Tai Chi Beginners
    Starts: 5:15 pm
    Ends: September 7, 2023 - 6:15 pm

    Location: Gratz Center at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E Chestnut Street, Chicago


    Description:

    Online class for continuing students

    More details...
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  • Tai Chi Level II
    Tai Chi Level II
    Starts: 5:30 pm
    Ends: September 11, 2023 - 6:30 pm

    Location: Heartwood Center, 1818 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202, USA


    Description:

    Tai Chi class for experienced students (3+ years)

    More details...
•
12
  • Faulk Tai Chi Class
    Faulk Tai Chi Class
    Starts: 5:30 pm
    Ends: September 12, 2023 - 6:30 pm

    Location: Heartwood Center, 1818 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202, USA


    Description:

    Beginner’s Class - no experience needed

    More details...
•
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  • Tai Chi Beginners
    Tai Chi Beginners
    Starts: 5:15 pm
    Ends: September 14, 2023 - 6:15 pm

    Location: Gratz Center at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E Chestnut Street, Chicago


    Description:

    Online class for continuing students

    More details...
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  • Tai Chi Level II
    Tai Chi Level II
    Starts: 5:30 pm
    Ends: September 18, 2023 - 6:30 pm

    Location: Heartwood Center, 1818 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202, USA


    Description:

    Tai Chi class for experienced students (3+ years)

    More details...
•
19
  • Faulk Tai Chi Class
    Faulk Tai Chi Class
    Starts: 5:30 pm
    Ends: September 19, 2023 - 6:30 pm

    Location: Heartwood Center, 1818 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202, USA


    Description:

    Beginner’s Class - no experience needed

    More details...
•
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  • Tai Chi Beginners
    Tai Chi Beginners
    Starts: 5:15 pm
    Ends: September 21, 2023 - 6:15 pm

    Location: Gratz Center at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E Chestnut Street, Chicago


    Description:

    Online class for continuing students

    More details...
•
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  • Tai Chi Level II
    Tai Chi Level II
    Starts: 5:30 pm
    Ends: September 25, 2023 - 6:30 pm

    Location: Heartwood Center, 1818 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202, USA


    Description:

    Tai Chi class for experienced students (3+ years)

    More details...
•
26
  • Faulk Tai Chi Class
    Faulk Tai Chi Class
    Starts: 5:30 pm
    Ends: September 26, 2023 - 6:30 pm

    Location: Heartwood Center, 1818 Dempster St, Evanston, IL 60202, USA


    Description:

    Beginner’s Class - no experience needed

    More details...
•
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  • Tai Chi Beginners
    Tai Chi Beginners
    Starts: 5:15 pm
    Ends: September 28, 2023 - 6:15 pm

    Location: Gratz Center at Fourth Presbyterian Church, 126 E Chestnut Street, Chicago


    Description:

    Online class for continuing students

    More details...
•
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20 Years Faulk Tai Chi

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