Spring 2024 Schedule
April, May, and June 2024
24 Posture - Short Form
Monday Mornings 10 am - 11:15 am
Sid Olufs - Instructor
&
Tuesday Evenings 6:15 pm - 7:15 pm
Kat Wood - Instructor
NO CLASS 4/30
Great Class for Beginners
This class focuses on the Standard Tai Chi Chuan 24 Posture Short Form. A wonderful form to learn for beginners looking to start their Tai Chi journey. Helps to develop a basic sense of body-mind awareness, balance, and flow within the Tai Chi movements. Most begin with the Short Form and “graduate” to learning the Long Form after they feel a bit more comfortable with the basics as practiced in the Short Form.
Beginning 108 Posture - Long Form
Tuesday Mornings 10 am - 11:15 am
Sid Olufs - Instructor
This class is for those looking to move from the 24 posture short form into the Long Form. We’ll proceed relatively slowly, focusing on the fundamental principles of Tai Chi Chuan, the basics of stepping, moving from the base and waist, and the general feel of flow through the forms.
This offering is somewhat different from our Tai Chi classes. Here is the registration process:
1) If you are paying the monthly fee for classes at the Center, then please register using the registration form to let us know how many people will be there. Your monthly tuition covers the donation.
2) If you do not attend our other classes at the Center, we request that you register so we know how many are attending, and we request a donation to the Center of $5.00 per meditation class visit. You can donate through the website's "Donate to the Center" option, or you can donate by cash or check in person.
Merlino Meditators
First and Third Tuesdays 4:45 pm - 6 pm
Callista Brown - Instructor
Somatic meditation practice and instruction are offered to beginning and experienced meditators. All practices are guided, so participants do not have to have any prior meditation experience.
Each session includes lying down somatic meditation protocols, shamatha-vipashyana sitting meditation, and compassion practices.
In addition, short dharma talks on “The View,” i.e., foundational Buddhist topics, will be presented and discussed. We focus on making connections between meditation view and practice on the cushion and in daily life.
The view and the practices we engage with are drawn from the Tibetan Buddhist “householder” tradition as taught in the lineage of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and Reginald A. Ray.
Newcomers are welcome as always. To attend in person, you need only arrive at the Center.
Tai Chi Movement
Wednesday Mornings 9:30 am - 10:45 am
Bobbi Youtcheff - Instructor
Great Class for Beginners
Tai Chi is best learned with a sense of play! This class’s approach to exploring Tai Chi Movement will include a variety of ways to tap into the body-mind connection through Tai Chi postures and flowing forms. This class is ideal for those with at least some fundamental Tai Chi experience, and for those looking to better develop their balance and cultivate and work with their energy.
Advanced 108 Group Practice Session
108 Posture - Long Form
Saturday Mornings 8:15 am - 9:15 am
Bryan Smith - Lead Instructor
Not so much a class as it is a place for those familiar with the Long Form to practice with a group of other practitioners. To begin with, we revisit our traditional drill work and will then proceed into the Long Form itself. We typically make it through the entire form 2 to 3 times with short breaks between each recitation of the form.
Beginning 108 Posture - Long Form
Saturday Mornings 9:30 am - 10:30 am
Bryan Smith - Instructor
This class is ideal for those ready to begin learning the Long Form.
Continuing 108 Posture - Long Form
Saturday Mornings 10:45 am - 11:45 am
Bryan Smith - Instructor
This class is ideal for those already familiar with the Long Form and are looking to refine and deepen their current understanding of the forms. A typical class usually consists of one or two recitations of the complete form with discussion and instruction on important focuses and details inside of the movements.
Yang Sword Form
Saturday Mornings 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
Sid Olufs - Instructor
The Yang style 54-posture sword form is useful for encouraging students to focus their intention beyond the body, out to various parts of the sword. A famous saying from Yang Chengfu is: do not separate your mind from the sword therefore your spirit can be focused.
Here is M. Xie BingCan performing the form: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjlDZlXfKP4
A tree as great as a man’s embrace springs from a small shoot;
A terrace nine stories high begins with a pile of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles starts under one’s feet.
— Lao Tsu
