The role of a Tai chi instructor as life coach

Hero's Journey -- Life Coach

Life Coach -- Hero's Journey

As a Tai chi instructor, I meet many people who enroll in my classes hoping to gain better physical and mental health. Some people are just looking for a way to bring more peace into their lives and others are looking for a physical regime that will help them mediate the seemingly uncontrollable aspects of their lives. One of the reasons that I like to have all my students tell a little bit about why they enrolled in my class and what they believe they can achieve through Tai chi is that it affords me opportunities to be of more help than just through my formal Tai chi instruction.

I am always a little hesitant to initiate a conversation about life changes with someone who is older than me, but most of the time, an older person is more aware of the benefits of good advice -- both the giving and the receiving. By giving advice, I am made more aware of my own personal filters through which I view life experiences -- both my own life and others' lives. And having to articulate what I believe and describe what I practice helps keep me on point in my personal and professional lives. So, you can see why I am interested in helping people take the principles of Tai chi to the next level -- it helps me as much as it helps them.

Goal Identification

I read some good advice recently. "Be clear about your purpose and even write it out in a sentence…[and] try to anticipate objections" that those you strive to help will argue or pose ("Writing Technology," n.d., p. 317). Before I approach someone about deeper Tai chi experiences, I do write down the purpose of the contact and my intention with regard to helping my student. What I wrote down for you was this: Assist my student to explore other avenues to reduce her pain, reduce her weight, increase her mobility, and increase her inner peace. All of these objectives can be achieve to some degree through Tai chi ("Harvard Magazine," 2010). But the objective that will have the most impact on your ability to achieve the other three objectives is reducing your weight. In fact, Peter M. Wayne, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Tai chi and Mind-Body Research Program at Harvard Medical School's Osher Research Center, says that "A growing body of carefully conducted research is building a compelling case for tai chi as an adjunct to standard medical treatment for the prevention and rehabilitation of many conditions commonly associated with age" (Harvard Health," 2009).

I propose that you might like to attend additional tai chi sessions that are particularly geared toward students with weight issues. At these sessions, the group devotes time to discussion of activities and life changes from which they are deriving positive benefit. The combination of support from like-minded people and focused Tai chi sessions imparts the energy and provides the opportunity to meet weight reduction goals. Would you be interested in these tai chi sessions?

Definition

Tai chi can be described as "meditation in motion" but experts report that it is also "medication in motion" ("Harvard Health, 2009). Mind-body practices, such as Tai chi, are often associated with an origin in Chinese martial arts. But the modern emphasis on this ancient practice is its value as a treatment or prevention form many health problems, especially those associated with aging. The benefits of Tai chi are particularly salient for people too frail for other forms of more robust conditioning, or for people who experience joint stiffness, impaired balance, or poor awareness and body-in-space awareness ("Harvard Magazine," 2010).

Conclusion

Tai chi is a multicomponent intervention that embeds movement, breathing, attention, and visualization. It can also provide rich psychosocial interactions with others if practiced in a group or class. These aspects of tai chi can impact many physiological systems simultaneously. Individuals who regularly participate in tai chi are found to have enhanced mood, reduced stress and anxiety, greater muscle strength, and improved self-esteem (Wang, 2010). I am excited and privileged to help describe a path to greater overall well-being for you. I hope that you will be comfortable discussing this opportunity and that together we can define a plan for your continued journey toward greater health and peace. I just want to thank you for listening to what I have to say about tai chi as a lifestyle choice.

References 3

Harvard Health Publications: (2009). The health benefits of tai chi. Retrieved http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Womens_Health_Watch/2009/May/The-health-benefits-of-tai-chi

Harvard Magazine: (2010). Easing ills through tai chi available. Retrieved http://harvardmagazine.com/2010/01/researchers-study-tai-chi-benefits [Supplied source -- Author / editors unknown, date unknown, book title unknown, publisher unknown] Section IV Writing Technology, p. 317.

Wang, C. Bannuru, R. Ramel, J. Kupelnick, B. Scott, T. Schmid, CH. (2010) Tai chi on psychological well-being: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 10, 23. Retrieved http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6882/d 23/01/2011

Web MD: (2011). Health benefits of tai chi and Qigong. Retrieved http://www.webmd.com/balance/health-benefits-tai-chi-qigong Accessed 23/01/2011