The pre-conference workshop is Tai Chi @ Work instructors training, designed to help manage stress at workplace effectively and turn it into a source of strength. Do you know WHO lists stress at work as one of the top ten key determinants of poor health? In this workshop you will learn to use Tai Chi to improve productivity and fulfilment. Also in this workshop, experienced Tai Chi practitioners can expect to improve their Tai Chi by incorporating the key Tai Chi principles into the forms. A special discount will be offered to those who attend both workshops. See link for more information.
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- Does the speed and length of time of practicing Tai Chi have an effect on how the body respond to the practice? Find out from Rae Moeller her experience and study into this often discussed topic.
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We congratulate our USA June workshop scholarship recipients, and take this opportunity to find out more about them.
AUD $69.85 Full Price Now AUD $44.85 (save $26.00) plus postage
Euro €40.25 Full Price Now Euro 25.75 (save €14.50) plus postage
UKP £28.10 Full Price Now Pound £18.10 (save £10.00) plus postage
April 19-20th, Sydney, Australia
- Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors training workshop
- Tai Chi for Arthritis Update and Part II workshop
- Tai Chi for Diabetes Instructors training workshop
- Tai Chi for Diabetes Update and Enhancement workshop
May 15-16, Adelaide, Australia
Tai Chi 4 Kidz Instructors training workshop
Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors training workshop
Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors training workshop
Pre-conference: Tai Chi @ Work Instructors training workshop
One week Tai Chi Workshop with Ten Courses
Exploring the Depth of Tai Chi for Arthritis workshop
Therapeutic Tai Chi for physiotherapists and occupational therapists
- Tai Chi for Arthritis Instructors training workshop
- Tai Chi for Osteoporosis Instructors training workshop
For more information about these and other workshops conducted by me or my authorised master trainers, go to the Workshop Calendar
Paul Lam, M.D.
Insurance Cover for Tai Chi Instructors
Rosemary Palmer opened the meeting and welcomed everyone who was present.
Topics discussed included:
• Insurance is necessary when teaching publicly as part of a risk management policy and procedure.
• Generic Volunteer insurance was mentioned and needs to be investigated.
• Tai Chi Association of Australia (TCAA) financial members who teach Tai Chi as a health promotion activity may seek insurance cover from OAMPS Insurance brokers under their “Complementary and Alternative Medicine Scheme”, i.e. is non combative Tai Chi.
• Sports Cover was suggested by Rosemary as providing Martial Arts insurance cover
• Australian Kung-Fu (Wu Shu) Federation (AKWF) offers to its members insurance cover which does not have non contact restrictions.
• AON insurance was spoken about by both Maree Lamb (physiotherapist) and Rani Hughes (Occupational Therapist) as another insurance broker who serves health and allied health professionals.
• Queensland Keep Fit Association Incorporated (QKFA Inc.) instructor membership fee includes insurance cover. Instructor members of QKFA Inc. may reside in other states of Australia. Contact elainedimock@bigpond.com for details
• Insurance cover was necessary when Tai Chi leaders/instructors were hiring venues.
• It was reported to the meeting that volunteer Tai Chi leaders providing Tai Chi sessions for the Arthritis Australia in the states of Queensland, South Australia and Northern Territory had insurance cover provided in this situation. Clarity about volunteer insurance cover in the other states of Australia is required.
• Other legal requirements involving music licence, food handling, teaching children and working in Residential Care institutions were discussed.
Lesley Roberts, master trainer from UK
£2,500,000 £55 per annum
£100,000 £15 per annum
Brief outline of the policy - Public Liability £5,000,000 indemnity limit (with malpractice) Instructors only providing legal liability cover to all third parties up to an indemnity limit of £5,000,000 on any one claim.
Personal Accident (injury) This is for instructors and students providing benefits in the event of injury whilst participating in the sport. For example death benefit £15,000, loss of limb(s) and/or eye(s) £15,000, permanent total disablement £15,000, & temporary total disablement £40 per week (limit 52 weeks).
Instructor Insurance Plans:
This premium provides Public Liability and Personal Accident cover for those instructors whose work includes teaching Taiji form, weapons, pushing hands and safely structured applications.
This premium provides Public Liability and Personal Accident cover for other instructors of Taijiquan who are engaged in vigorous routines and contact work e.g. whose students train for and enter competitions, and for instructors of Xingyiquan and Baguazhang.
Fitness and Wellness Insurance Agency
Phone:
Premiums vary according to the number of classes taught each week, whether the instructor owns the studio, sells DVD’s etc. Because of different situations it is difficult to name a consistent premium. However, rates in the past have been significantly less than other insurance companies offered. In order to get the group discount instructors must be members of TCHC.
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Find out the name of the organization’s Activities Coordinator. Contact them and arrange a personal meeting to outline your programme. If this isn’t possible send brochure or leaflet together with introductory letter explaining the programme and its benefits.
A workshop needs to be promoted approximately 4-6 months in advance so participants can plan well ahead.
Be professional – get back to the coordinator quickly with replies to questions they may have. Maintain contact with them. However keep in mind that Activities Coordinators are busy people– yours is not the only programme – so don’t waste their time with irrelevant material.
Run on time and stay on track. Ensure that everyone understands and improves as the workshop progresses, and that they are enjoying it. Small group practice works well after the teaching segment.
It is good PR to email a couple to the organization and also to participants – and stay in touch.
Be aware of the energy (the chi) and where the power is generated from.
The Influence Of Speed And Length Of Time Practicing Tai Chi, Rae Moeller
per second) may entrain, control or balance a vast neuronal network. Thus, the slow motion movements of Tai Chi forms may result in this kind of neural control.”
The same result can be achieved by practicing four Yang 24 forms, to the left side, then to the right side, then left, then right, developed by Ed Hayes of Touch of Tao school in Yuma, AZ, creating a longer period of time in that meditative state. I believe that more repetitions of the TCA and TCD forms will produce the same results.
Brain Function, Healing and Conscious Evolution” can be found on her website,
Seriousness of Purpose
"Every movement brings a change; every hour makes a difference."--Zhuang Zi (475-221 bc)
This has become the credo for my own practice and for the classes I teach. I believe that every movement, every effort, no matter how small or subtle,sets in motion positive changes in mind, body and spirit. It would be a thrill and an honor to spend time at the conference learning from others more experienced than myself, who also live and teach with this purpose. My intent is to always be ready to learn, to train as much as possible, to be a healthy example, and to create an encouraging atmosphere in my classes. Attending this conference will, I believe, help me to continue on that path.
Intent and Goals
1) To continue to evolve into an inspiring teacher by having superior training;
2) To continue to expand the classes I offer to the community;
3) To continue to work with the Arthritis Foundation as a speaker and demonstrator in order to raise awareness of the disease and the benefits of doing T'ai Chi;
4) To complete my Master's Degree in Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture with the intent of utilizing T'ai Chi more and raising the profile of T'ai Chi as a healing modality;
5) To complete research studies in the school setting about the benefits of children practicing
T'ai Chi to facilitate learning;
6) To remember to have fun, count my blessings and look for the beauty in everyone!
Community Service History
I have been a speaker and T'ai Chi Instructor for the National Association of Women's Clubs
in England from 1997 to 2003. My work was to raise awareness of the health benefits of T'ai Chi and provide classes for women of all ages. During my time in England,I also presented
age-appropriate T'ai Chi sessions for children in the Liverpool school districts as well as for the
deaf community. Upon moving to Minnesota in 2003, my community service has been with the Arthritis Foundation in the Twin Cities, as a speaker and also as a T'ai Chi for Arthritis instructor. I endeavor to raise awareness of Arthritis through self-help classes as well as through T'ai Chi classes, and conduct classes for children at the Family support groups.
2. This article written by Mark Reinhart, supported his scholarship application for the USA June workshop
It’s not about me. It’s about our art. The old saying goes: You don’t pick art… art picks you! I consider myself blessed to have been selected by art in its many manifestations, although with that blessing comes responsibility. I’ve taught the arts for forty-one years, and during that time, have seen the healing component of approaching just about every aspect of life artistically. The healing aspects of music and art have been well documented. Now it’s our turn to bring to the fore the truly miraculous healing dimension of Tai Chi. I believe that empowering people to take a proactive role in their healing, along with providing them viable tools for day-to-day health maintenance, is the responsibility of we as Tai Chi teacher-practitioners. We dedicate our lives to the cultivation of our art and have experienced the positive effects of doing so, but there needs to be a balance; a giving back. That balance is to share with others the gift of self-empowerment that personal cultivation of Tai Chi has given us. After all, isn’t the purpose of acquiring knowledge to elevate the quality of life of others through sharing your knowledge?
Being established in my area as a Tai Chi/Qigong teacher-practitioner, I am often asked to speak at many varied support group meetings, e.g. fibromyalgia, lupus, MS, diabetes, etc. Over the years I’ve noticed that my talks have become the same for all groups. I try to have people focus more on what is right with their lives as opposed to what is wrong. Tai Chi and Qigong offer a type of reconnection for people; a sense of regaining control over what sometimes seems like hopeless and uncontrollable situations. It allows them to get back in touch with themselves and their bodies and with time, dedication, and cultivation, allows the healing energy of the body to flow.
Everything was summed up by a student of mine this past week. Andrea had heard me speak last year at a fibromyalgia support group meeting. She began attending classes religiously. Monday morning after class, she came to me with tears of joy. “I just wanted to tell you that I made it through the entire weekend taking only 2 aspirins!” When we first met, Andrea was taking 325mg of percocet every 4 to 6 hours!
Could there be a better reason for continuing on this path? I can’t think of one.
3. This article written by Norma Ferrell, supported her scholarship application for the USA June workshop
My name is Norma Jean Ferrell. Please consider my application for the scholarship award to attend the 2008 USA Tai Chi Workshop. I appreciate the opportunity to share my personal intent to grow and deepen with Tai Chi in my life and to promote health and wellness in my community.
My first Tai Chi class and teacher inspired me to continue practicing and learning Tai Chi. My class was offered through a hospital wellness program in Savannah, Ga. I was employed by the hospital as a massage therapist at the time. Some of my massage clients attended the Tai Chi class and I wanted to experience the type of exercise therapy that was supporting their healing from strokes, arthritis, fibromyalgia, Parkinson’s Disease, cancer, high blood pressure and stress. I knew from my first class that learning and practicing Qigong and Tai Chi offered life changing benefits for mind, body and spirit. I continued taking the class learning the Yang Short Form and knew that I would continue learning Tai Chi for my wellness and to share with others’.
Earlier this year, I relocated to North Carolina and was very fortunate to begin a new Tai Chi Class taught by Caroline Demoise. Upon reading Caroline’s book and Dr. Lam‘s book, I knew that I wanted to join her class and also pursue the certification programs to teach TCA and TCD. I completed both programs in 2007. I am grateful for their influence and teachings in my life.
I will begin teaching my first class in April 2008 for seniors in their retirement community. I continue training and learning from Caroline’s classes and substitute teach for her when she is away. I am currently talking with facility directors at fitness centers, senior living facilities and working with my massage clients individually to share the health benefits of the practice of Tai Chi. One of my massage clients has MS and is in a chair primarily. I am teaching her Tai Chi in her chair when I go to her home for massage.
Currently, I volunteer at the Cornucopia House Cancer Support Center in Chapel Hill, NC and for the Family Support Program at Duke Medical Center in Durham, NC on the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Unit. I provide massage therapy for cancer patients, family members, and caregivers. In the past, I served as a health facilitator for Casting for Recovery Breast Cancer Survivors Retreat. I led the breast cancer survivors in warm-up exercises and presented information on Lymphedema. I speak at Support Group Meetings, Massage Classes, and Lunch & Learn Classes offering information about self-care and wellness.
I am a massage therapist, seeing clients in my private practice office in Durham, NC, in client‘s homes, at the Integrative Health Center in Chapel Hill, NC and Uzima Springs Wellness in Knightdale, NC.
My gross annual income is approximately $16,000. I meet national and state licensure requirements and am a member of the American Massage Therapy Association.
I would be honored to receive a scholarship award and attend the 2008 USA Tai Chi Workshop.
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Warning: Dr. Lam does not necessarily endorse the opinion of other authors. Before practicing any program featured in this newsletter, please check with your physician or therapist. The authors and anyone involved in the production of this newsletter will not be held responsible in any way whatsoever for any injury which may arise as a result of following the instructions given in this newsletter.
