Our Personal Stories

In my forties a number of people suggested that I would benefit from and enjoy Tai Chi. At the time I thought I did not have time to add another activity to my over-busy life as a parent and full-time worker. Two decades later, prompted by my 60th birthday and a health scare, I arrived…

I have only been a student of Tai Chi since the start of this year, under the guidance of Joy Muir at the Moonee Ponds branch. Joy asked if I would consider writing an article regarding my experiences so far and I feel it appropriate to offer a bit of my background to give some…

“Look, that is Mt Everest” our Sherpa AD coolly pointed to a distant snow capped mountain peak amongst a couple of other similarly snow capped peaks. I, along with 11 other trekkers from Malaysia and Australia looked excitedly towards the direction where AD was pointing. It is difficult to describe how I felt at that…

Late last year I missed a few of my Friday Tai Chi sessions as I was participating in Bowls Victoria Over 60 Singles State Title. To qualify for this title you first have to win your Group/Region. The state is divided into 16 Group/Regions of which there are up to 35 clubs in each. Any…

Tai Chi has many benefits, and for me a valuable one is that it helps me to feel that I ‘own’ every part of my body. Seems an odd thing to say but not all of us are aware of how we move. Some of us will swear our right arm is in a perfect…

My name is Michele Cunningham and I belong to the Eltham Centre. I noticed a problem with my balance about 6 years ago and initially thought it was age related. However, when it became more pronounced I sought medical help. It was difficult to describe; some doctors said it was vertigo although I constantly said…

Edna Neubecker turned 99 last July, and is now in her 100th year. The first time she did Tai Chi was during a trip to China on a Shanghai street in 1983.  She remembers a group of ladies being instructed by another wearing white gloves.  The exercise looked beautiful so she and her friend joined…

Over the years, I’ve heard Grandmaster Eng Chor say many times to practice tai chi first thing in the morning. I’ve tended to view this as an unattainable goal. In fact not even a goal, more with an air of wistful romanticism… “Wouldn’t that be lovely, but it’s not for me.” There were many excuses:…