DeKALB – Every Tuesday and Thursday morning a group of students gather in an Anderson Hall gymnasium to practice the ancient tradition of Tai Chi. Now, that group hopes to share what they’ve learned with the NIU community.
The students are in a Tai Chi class focused on physical and social development over academics, according to Paul Wright, professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education who teaches the class.
The class will host World Tai Chi & Qigong Day at NIU at 9:30 a.m. on April 26 on the front lawn of Anderson Hall. The honors fellowship program and Wright partnered together to create a unique learning opportunity in hopes to reduce stress.
Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese form of exercise that focuses on strengthening movements, meditation and breathing. The Tai Chi course consists of learning about the history of Tai Chi, as well as learning the forms and martial art technique.
“The students in this class are honors students, and they tend to be high achievers. They tend to put a lot of pressure on themselves,” Wright said. “We put a lot of pressure on people in modern society, and it’s just giving those students a minute to stop and think about their stress levels and what causes them stress, and how they respond to stress.”
Wright has 40 years of martial arts experience. He is a certified Tai Chi instructor with over 30 years of Tai Chi experience.
“This is a lifelong passion for me. It’s something I really love,” Wright said.
During the event, Wright and his class will give an introduction to Tai Chi to all those attending. Guests will be able to observe the different forms and techniques of Tai Chi, as well as being able to participate.
Tai Chi master, Guerman Atanassov, will be a guest speaker and participate in the event. Atanassov is one of the highest-ranking masters in the U.S. He is affiliated with the well-known International Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan Association.
“With the fellowship funding I got from honors for the seminar, what I’ve really used that for is to have an expert, a master in Chicago, in an area, come out and do several visits to the class,” Wright said.
Atanassov has visited the Tai Chi class several times during the semester and has provided guidance and instruction to the students.
Wright described Tai Chi as a Yin and Yang, a balancing of the body and mind.
“It’s a way of thinking about the way the world works in terms of our own bodies, the changing of the seasons, the rotations of the planets, like the way nature is in balance. It kind of symbolizes that idea of between different types of extremes, there’s usually a kind of dynamic balance between them,” Wright said.
Tai Chi was originally developed as a martial arts and weapons practice in ancient China hundreds of years ago, but recently it has been used as a more gentle and slow form of exercise.
“It’s gotten so popular in the last several decades across the world because a lot of people gravitate to it as a real gentle form of exercise,” Wright said. “It is good for you physically, because it increases leg strength, it improves balance. It’s also got relaxation, stress reduction qualities, because it’s so meditative.”
Alfie Chadwick, a junior double majoring in leadership management and marketing, said that the class has allowed him to branch out and learn more about the people around him.
“I feel like I am a lot closer with my classmates in this class. As a junior, it’s kind of rare to run into people outside of my major, but because it’s an honors seminar, I am speaking with people in nursing, chemistry majors. It’s really nice to get those perspectives as well,” Chadwick said.
Wright believes that Tai Chi is a great way to become mindful and take care of our mental health.
“I think it’s really a genuine challenge for some students to slow down, to stop multitasking, to stop trying to race through and get to the next thing. It’s more effort than you think for some people to just be like we’re for the next hour and 15 minutes. We’re just going to be real mindful and real precise about how we’re moving,” Wright said.
Junior anthropology major Jaeden Ellasus said she’s been able to apply what she’s learned in the class to other areas of her life.
“One thing I’ve kind of noticed or tried to apply it to is the relationships in my life,” Ellasus said. “Yin and yang, seeing how that presents in the way I interact with people, my friends, family, partners, anything.”
Ellasus said the practice of Tai Chi has increased her self-awareness and mindfulness.
“We ground ourselves physically, doing our different poses, and I think that also connects to grounding yourself mentally,” Ellasus said. “Having that physical and mental connection has allowed me to become a better person and to understand myself better to a point where I can be mentally better for myself and for others.”
