Tai Chi Seminar June 2026

Last weekend I attended a Tai Chi workshop with Alex Dong, head of our Dong Style Tai Chi system.

I've been doing Tai Chi off and on for more than 20 years in support of my other martial arts, and now I'm coming back after a three-year break.

Among the many reasons I've returned is because I need qigong for down-regulating my nervous system.

The seminar was at my friend's house in his resort-like backyard. The weather was oddly cold and rainy for the end of June in the desert. Although I'm generally well-known for training outside in just about any weather, my dysregulated nervous system couldn't take it.

On the first day, at times my lower back tightened up. I would sit in a folding chair and do the movements getting the stances and weight shifts as close as possible.

By the end of the second day, my arms and shoulders painfully tightened up too. I decided to observe and absorb, but my body was telling me to please go home and get warm.

I have said previously that "Giving up would be boring." That’s true, but it’s also true that tactical retreats are a thing.

I had already achieved my major goals for the workshop:

☯️ Learning principles

☯️ Making new friends

☯️ Having important conversations about my long-term goals in Tai Chi

I would like to teach qigong someday — this weekend's workshop put me on that path.

With those goals accomplished, I was free to take my tactical retreat.

I texted my husband. When I came home he greeted me with my robe warmed up from the dryer and the electric blanket warming up the bed.

As I write this a few days later, my body feels better and I'm back in Tai Chi class on my path.

When have you taken a tactical retreat that has paid off later?

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This is the Somatic Layer of my coaching: Where your body, nervous system, and resilience become leadership assets.