Adaptive Tai Chi An Accessible Practice for Empowering Body and Mind

A simple and inclusive Tai Chi program, completely modifiable with helpful illustrations, that empowers people of all physical abilities to experience the transformative qualities of this art.

Includes sequences for standing/moving, stationary standing, seated, and wheelchair.

​In Tai Chi Chuan, the traditional Chinese martial and healing art, we learn to overcome challenges by empowering the mind and transforming the body. Adaptive Tai Chi offers an innovative approach that speaks to this powerful idea and makes Tai Chi accessible and beneficial to people with a range of physical conditions or ambulatory impairment.    
     The slow, circular, flowing, and graceful movements of Tai Chi require little space and no equipment, making it an ideal practice for people with different physical abilities (it’s been included in the Paralympics since 2008). Adaptive Tai Chi introduces readers to the culture, philosophy, and physiology of Tai Chi—and gives readers four completely illustrated practices, each modified for different physical abilities, including conventional standing/moving, stationary standing, seated, and wheelchair sequences.  
     Zibin Guo, an applied medical anthropologist and Tai Chi master, developed the innovative program of adaptive Tai Chi in 2005. Funded by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and partnering with VA healthcare communities across the country, the author has, since 2016, conducted instructional training for hundreds of health care providers from participating VA medical centers. Tens of thousands of veterans with disabilities (including PTSD, ambulatory restrictions, substance dependency, anxiety, and depression) who have participated in the weekly Tai Chi classes have reported meaningful, positive changes in their health and fitness practices, mobility, and mental outlook.   
    Along with the complete illustrated adaptive Tai Chi sequences, Guo includes notes and philosophical insights into each practice. The complete program offered in Adaptive Tai Chi allows everyone to access the profound benefits of Tai Chi practice.

​​ZIBIN GUO is a professor of medical anthropology at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and a Tai Chi Chuan Master. He specializes in Applied Medical Anthropology with a focus on applying traditional healing knowledge to serve vulnerable populations. Prior to joining the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, the author served as a lecturer in the Department of Social Medicine of Harvard Medical School and the Director of Clinical Studies at New England School of Acupuncture.