“There's a sequence, and it almost starts to feel like you're doing a dance.” A dance rooted in the mindbody connection. “I'm 75 and at 85 I want to be a younger man than I am today, and I believe that the mind and the body connection through Tai Chi will help me in that regard,” said participant Brett Avner.

Tai Lamb teaches Tai Chi at the Healthy Life Center Coconut Point. He said it can help reduce stress, improve balance, flexibility, and coordination. “This is not a given the way you walk. You need to learn some kind of body mechanics. Be aware of where's your weight, how do you coordinate your hands and feet, etc. To prevent from a fall.”

Think of it like moving yoga combined with martial arts. “The movement is very slow, so it’s very suitable for people who are unable to do jumps, kicks, and things like that,” said Lamb.

It’s helping people like Avner age with grace. “From Tai Chi, I think I’m calmer and I’m more confident. And I’m also finding that I walk straighter, that I’m actually getting taller, I believe…Enhancing my overall fitness so that I can be stronger, live longer for the family. That's what I'm doing here.”

You can sign up for Tai Chi classes by searching for them under the wellness events and classes tab on leehealth.org.


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Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

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