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Arts & Culture

T'ai Chi - Health And Happiness With David-Dorian Ross

David-Dorian Ross (pictured), author, lecturer and eight-time T’ai Chi U.S. national champion, demonstrates why this ancient Chinese martial art is the ultimate exercise for body, mind and spirit.
Courtesy of Adam Brown Photography
David-Dorian Ross (pictured), author, lecturer and eight-time T’ai Chi U.S. national champion, demonstrates why this ancient Chinese martial art is the ultimate exercise for body, mind and spirit.

Airs Saturday, December 15, 2012 at 7 a.m. on KPBS TV

David-Dorian Ross will be live in the KPBS studio on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012 at 9:30 p.m.!

"T'ai Chi - Health And Happiness With David-Dorian Ross" introduces viewers to the practical benefits of the Chinese martial art of T’ai Chi. Host David-Dorian Ross, author, lecturer, and eight-time T'ai Chi U.S. national champion, demonstrates why this ancient Chinese martial art is the ultimate exercise for body, mind and spirit. He offers an engaging and detailed description of the practical benefits of T'ai Chi, and the special health and wellness advantages of each part of the forms.

T’ai Chi In The Park

Join David-Dorian Ross for for class every Saturday morning at 9 a.m. at Huntington Beach Central Park (behind the library). All levels and ages are welcome. Get the details

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Give at the $60 level during our TV membership campaign and receive the "T'ai Chi - Health & Happiness With David-Dorian Ross" DVD. This gift also includes enrollment in the myKPBS Savers Club which features a directory of best-in-class offers from Entertainment Publications and a KPBS License Plate Frame (if you're a new member). A two-CD set is available at the $90 level and a combo package is at the $150 level.
Courtesy of David-Dorian Ross
Give at the $60 level during our TV membership campaign and receive the "T'ai Chi - Health & Happiness With David-Dorian Ross" DVD. This gift also includes enrollment in the myKPBS Savers Club which features a directory of best-in-class offers from Entertainment Publications and a KPBS License Plate Frame (if you're a new member). A two-CD set is available at the $90 level and a combo package is at the $150 level.

What’s so exciting about T’ai Chi? Everyone knows that dynamic good health depends in part on physical exercise. But what kind of exercise is best? Weight training for strength? Pilates for six-pack abs? Yoga for flexibility?

T’ai Chi is a workout that is simultaneously a system of self-defense, a shield against disease, a means of meditation and a beautiful dance. Practiced by more than a billion people throughout Asia and around the world, T’ai Chi Ch’uan has been called “the ultimate exercise” for body, mind and spirit.

Fitness researchers have determined that regular T’ai Chi practice gives us the same cardiovascular benefits as high intensity aerobics, but without the dangerous high impact.

It can help with weight loss and tone the muscles in a stress-reducing format. T’ai Chi practice improves coordination and balance, so much so that the American Medical Association recommends it for all people over 65 as a way of reducing falls (the leading cause of early mortality for people in that age group).

T’ai Chi has been shown to reduce the pain and swelling of arthritis, lower long-term blood pressure, stabilize the symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, normalize insulin levels for diabetes patients, reduce chronic low back pain and increase the immune response (important for cancer patient recovery). T’ai Chi practice has also been shown to improve mood, mitigate depression and help stop anxiety attacks.

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While those health benefits might be reason enough to take up the practice of this ancient art, there is an additional and often overlooked benefit. T’ai Chi is a living philosophy, a practical blueprint for living a life that brings happiness, fulfillment and that elusive spiritual goal, inner peace.

The fundamental lesson behind all of T’ai Chi’s benefits can be summed up in one word: balance. All of its amazing health benefits come from bringing the body, mind and spirit back into balance. The same goes for every other aspect of life: relationships, family, career, self-esteem and creativity. When life is in balance, everything works better.

His television shows, books, seminars and instructional DVDs (including the #1 selling DVD T’ai Chi Beginners’ Practice) have already introduced thousands to his down-to-earth, informative and highly personal style of teaching. Ross is famous for taking this ancient Asian style of kung-fu and translating it for modern Western audiences in a way that makes it accessible, fun and often funny.

This program is part of our TV Membership Campaign. Support quality programming you depend on from KPBS. Join or renew today!

Preview: T'ai Chi - Health And Happiness With David-Dorian Ross