My Intense Journey to Becoming a Tai Chi Instructor

I’ve been so busy lately. I haven’t had a chance to share my experience training to become a certified Tai Chi for Balance Instructor. In one word? Intense.

The day was packed from start to finish. We began by learning how to teach the 8-Form Tai Chi routine step by step. We broke each movement down to ensure it could be taught safely and clearly. Just when my brain was starting to feel pleasantly full, we took a short break and enjoyed a guest speaker. Then Suman introduced us to an entirely different set of warm-up exercises—new to me, and wonderful.

Lunch was Free Spin Pizza—graciously paid for by Dr. Lee herself. Afterward, we returned to work. We warmed up again and reviewed what we’d learned earlier. Then we continued refining how to actually teach the complete 8 Form routine.

When we finished the 8 Form routine we were “tested” by each other. We broke into groups of three and ratted ourselves out. If we had a problem we asked the others for help.

Next came instruction on cooling down after class, followed by how to adapt the material for seated participants. The final segment covered practical topics—insurance options and information on joining the local instructor membership group.

By the time we finished, I was very glad I hadn’t taken Suman’s prior weekend classes. This certification day alone was enough to fill my cup—and my brain. My cup runneth over.

But skipping those earlier classes meant I still had a little money left to “burn,” you might say. Naturally, I spent it on Suman’s instructional DVDs. The 8-Form DVD came with the course. I bought Qigong for the Lungs, Qigong for Energy, and the Tai Chi 10-Form DVDs separately. 10 Form is similar to, but slightly different from the 8-Form routine.

I went home absolutely exhausted—too tired even to unwind—but happy. Truly, it was a fabulous day.