Healing & Wellbeing
What is Tai Chi Shibashi?
Tai Chi Shibashi is a gentle, flowing sequence of Qigong-based movements designed to calm the mind, soften the body, and restore natural balance. Its slow, mindful forms carry the same grounding clarity that people often feel in Pilates and the soft, open ease familiar in yoga — yet Shibashi remains uniquely rooted in the principles of Tai Chi and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Each movement invites softness rather than strain, encouraging steady breath, fluid motion, and a deepening connection to inner stillness.
Our courses and classes are ideal for anyone seeking a gentle path to wellbeing: those wishing to reduce stress, ease tension, improve balance, or reconnect with their body in a compassionate way. Suitable for all ages and abilities, Tai Chi Shibashi offers a quiet, nourishing space to cultivate harmony between mind, body, and spirit.
Our courses explore how each Tai Chi Shibashi sequence supports different organs and systems within the body, drawing on the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Participants discover how specific movements can enhance respiratory health, improve circulation, support joint mobility, ease tension in the back and shoulders, and promote overall energetic balance. By understanding the purpose behind each form, learners gain a deeper appreciation of how gentle, mindful movement can nourish the whole body from the inside out.
What to Expect
Our courses are delivered in a relaxed group setting, with all movements practiced either standing or seated. Wheelchair users and anyone who prefers to stay seated are warmly welcomed, as every sequence can be adapted for comfort and accessibility. It is practiced standing or sitting, so no floor work needed! All that’s required is comfortable clothing that allows free movement, and you can choose to practise barefoot or in lightweight shoes—whatever helps you feel stable and at ease. For those who choose to progress into our Tai Chi & Tea sessions, we move through the full Shibashi Set 1 sequence without detailed instruction, creating a calm, continuous flow led gently by your guide, Amanda.
Main Health Benefits
Lowers Blood Pressure.
Being physically inactive and chronically stressed, can cause your blood pressure to rise, leading to hypertension over time. Incorporating Qigong into your wellness routine, can help move blood pressure back to a healthy level.
Reduces Anxiety and Depression.
Because Qigong involves slowing down and fostering presence, it may benefit mental health overall. Incorporating Qigong into one’s daily or weekly practice has been linked to greater quality of life due to less stress, greater self-efficacy, and better physical health.
Increased Focus.
Many people struggle to focus on tasks due to the busyness of day-to-day life or have conditions such as ADHD, sensory processing disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. Through regular practice, Qigong may help improve the ability to focus and concentrate by helping learn to regulate thoughts in a more productive manner.
Increased balance.
Qigong focuses on controlled, slow movements of the body to improve your awareness of your body in space, which helps increase balance, muscular strength, and flexibility.
Reduces isolation.
Practicing Qigong at a regular class can help remove the feeling of isolation to vulnerable and elderly people. It boosts friendships, a sense of purpose, belonging and improved quality of life.
Relieves Chronic Pain.
The low-impact postures in Qigong help introduce gentle movement to tight, achy muscles and joints, where Qi can become blocked. By increasing movement, you increase circulation to facilitate healing.
Strengthens the Immune System.
Due to the slower movements that help to lubricate the joints and promote the circulation of important fluids in the body (like blood, lymph, and synovial), Qigong can boost your immune system as a result.
Improves Fitness & Recovery.
Qigong is generally a gentle, low-impact activity with aerobic and strength components. As such, it can be a beneficial form of exercise for many people, including those with limited mobility or those recovering from injury.