The 18 Therapies are a series of gentle movements for cultivating inner body awareness in relation to your thoughts and external stimuli, including impacts from the past. It is a practice for developing equanimity and peace of mind, supporting your physical, mental, and emotional capacities to be resilient in the circumstances of your life.

This 20-week online course supports tuning in to the tensions held in your body and slowly learning how to release those tensions through subtle yet powerful practices of alignment, relaxation and centering. Specifically, this course is taught from the perspective of my learning from oral teachings about the Yang style principles of tai chi chuan brought to the west in the 1960s by Cheng Man-ching. This course is framed as preparation for pursuing the 37-posture form, yet it can also serve on its own. It is particularly suitable for anyone wanting a less demanding opportunity to learn while still focusing on the core principles.

I have learned the 18 Therapies from Rich Ianuzzi, whose teacher for this exercise was Maggie Newman. My approach will be interpretive, meaning that I will emphasize the principles of tai chi as I experience them manifesting in the movements of the 18 Therapies. Each week we will focus on one therapy, slowly stringing them together until all 18 are practiced in a fluid sequence.

Classes take place over Zoom, on Mondays from May 25th through October 5, 2026, 1:00PM - 1:45PM Eastern US/UTC-4.

Pre-Tai Chi – A Slow Introduction through the 18 Therapies