Exercise – Energy Work – Mindfulness
New Classes – Summer 2026 at the Alain Rouveure Galleries, Todenham, GL56 9NU
Join us in this wonderful setting for traditional tai chi training, or for the ancient health practice of Qi Gong. No previous experience necessary.
Classes commence Thursday 7 May and will be held on the lawn (weather dependent)
10.00 – 10.30 am – Joint mobility warm-ups and Zhan Zhuang (standing mediation)
10.30 – 11.30 am – Form training (Laojia Yilu)
11.30 – 12.30 pm – Break time in the Himalayan Coffee House and/or additional practice, extra tuition, Q & A, weapons training – straight sword, spear.
12.30 – 1.30 pm – Qi Gong. Over the summer months we will cover Eight Pieces of Brocade, Six Healing Sounds and Yin Yang Qi Gong.
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Welcome
At Cotswold Tai Chi, Valerie Ward helps us to maintain and improve our health and well being in both body and mind. The ancient Chinese systems of Qigong (pronounced – chi gung) and Chen Style Tai Chi achieve this, not through pounding and straining, but through the cultivation of relaxation and gently focused attention.
The classes cater to a wide range of physical abilities and are suitable for beginners as well as more experienced practitioners. Everyone works at their own level but beginners can expect to progress more quickly when there are more experienced people in the group.
Tai chi is about mindfully learning how to move, to integrate the whole body as one unit. This produces improvements to balance, coordination, flexibility, strength and mental well being.
Sessions begin with a series of ‘warm-ups’, to loosen the joints and gently stretch the muscles. We proceed with some breath work or qi gong (energy exercise). Breath control exercises are used in many holistic health promoting disciplines and can be very beneficial on their own. We then settle into a few minutes of standing meditation (Zhan Zhuang). This aligns the body, improving posture, and calms the mind in preparation for your tai chi practice. Once you are comfortable with this, you may like to stay for the later part of the session, where we cover a tai chi ‘Form’, a sequence of movements. This is a little more complicated for new students, but after a few weeks the movements will become more familiar. Small sections are practiced each week so the whole Form gradually comes together. Learning the sequences should be a fun and interesting challenge but it is not the most important aspect of the practice.
We practice Tai Chi to improve:- Balance – Coordination – Posture – Mobility – Internal Strength – Reduce Stress
Classes are held in:- Broadway – Bourton on the Water – Milton under Wychwood – Evesham – Todenham
Private Lessons are also available for beginners or to refine specific skills.
We teach:- Laojia Yilu, Pao Chui (Cannon Fist), 19 Form, Pear Blossom Spear, Straight Sword, Push hands.
Cotswold Tai Chi is affiliated to the Three Counties Chen Taijiquan Association headed by Master Chen Yingjun.
Here is a ‘taster’ of the Silk Reeling technique and The 19 Form from Chen Yingjun’s father, Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang. Happy practice.