My Tai Chi class at Laingholm Eleven is designed to help participants grasp the fundamentals of Tai Chi and to support them in making Tai Chi a part of their daily life. Let’s assume that the participant’s goal is to get 100% of the benefits that learning Tai Chi from this class has to offer. Below I will explain how the investment of personal time (practice) corresponds to what percentage of the benefits you can attain.
Attending the Weekly Tai Chi Class = 20%
Regular attendance of the class sessions amounts to approximately one fifth of what you can get out of this class. This assumes that you practice Tai Chi only in class (one hour per week) and do not even think about Tai Chi outside of class.
Five Minutes of Daily Tai Chi Practice = +20%
By practicing Tai Chi for just five minutes per day you can double the benefits that you get from this Tai Chi class. Essential detail here is that the practice has to be done every single day, not combined into one session across multiple days. For example 10 minutes every second day or 35 minutes once per week will not be the same as 5 minutes every day.
Thinking About What Was Taught = +10%
The act of remembering and thinking about what was taught in the last class through the week can substantially improve your progress. The goals here are to digest the information instead of letting it just wash over you, and to confidently remember the main content of the previous class when coming to the next class.
Fifteen Minutes of Daily Tai Chi Practice = +10%
Lengthening the daily Tai Chi practice session from five to fifteen minutes gives enough time to really get into Tai Chi and to practically focus on the important details that were taught in the last class. You will benefit from additional practice and make faster progress in class.
Fifteen Minutes of Daily Meditation Practice = +10%
Practicing meditation techniques for fifteen minutes per day, before practicing the Tai Chi exercises, will noticeably improve your mental state and enjoyment of doing Tai Chi. This is exactly how our Tai Chi class is structured and you will essentially be having a daily mini practice class of your own.
To sum it up, just five minutes per day can double the benefits you receive from coming to Laingholm Eleven Tai Chi class. With ten more minutes per day and a bit of reflection you can triple the benefits you gain. Add meditation and you will be getting 3.5 times more out of the class. How much of this you want to do and how much you want to benefit from the class is up to you – this is not a requirement.
If you put all of the above in place you will be coming to each class having digested the previous lesson and ready to learn more. You will not spend class time revising what you did not practice or forgot from last week. Instead your classes will be for learning, and your home practice will be for practicing.
The last 30% are reserved for those who have already implemented the first 70% and successfully maintain this routine.
Enjoy your practice, and practice for your enjoyment.