Thursday, January 15, 2009
Tai chi for everyone
Steve Garay, a minister in Vinton and certified tai chi instructor, is trying to improve the bodies and the minds of people through his classes.
Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times
Hugh Tucker, 86, does tai chi during a class at the Charles R. Hill Senior Center in Vinton. The class, which helps address arthritis, is taught by Steve Garay, who also has sessions in Bedford County and Bedford.
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Steve Garay waved his arms in a slow circular motion.
Thirteen senior citizens facing Garay waved their arms, too, moving in perfect unison. The room at the Charles R. Hill Senior Center in Vinton filled with the sound of soft, soothing music.
Garay, a minister at Oakview Church of God in Vinton, fell in love with tai chi while taking a class at Virginia Western Community College a year and a half ago.
"I enjoyed it tremendously," Garay said.
Garay's instructor soon encouraged him to teach his own class. Garay became certified in tai chi for arthritis in June and now teaches his own classes in Vinton, Bedford County and Bedford. He is working to complete college classes next year and receive certification in personal wellness, a 45-credit course.
His classes aren't just for senior citizens. Garay said his participants range in age from their early 20s to their 90s.
Dixie Tucker is 92 years old and Garay's oldest participant at the Vinton senior center. For Tucker and her husband, Hugh, location is key: The couple live just five or six blocks away, making it possible for them to participate every week.
"Oh, I loved it," Dixie Tucker said. "And it was something that I could do. It wasn't real hard physical exercise. It was easy. And the instructor is so patient."
The health benefits for those practicing tai chi include strength, flexibility and balance, Garay said. Learning to breathe more deeply is another aspect of this activity, which helps participants relax and even lower their own blood pressure.
But this low-impact, slow-moving exercise strengthens the mind as well.
"I consider tai chi an extension of my ministry," Garay said. "It slows things down a little bit, which I think everyone needs today."
Garay found the senior center while doing banquets with his church there. He was looking for a place to teach nearby and was impressed with the space. After speaking to Mary Beth Layman, Vinton's special events coordinator, and Penny Beyer, the director at the senior center, "it just kind of came together," Garay said.
Garay began teaching the Sun form of tai chi on Thursday mornings in the fall. These classes, which cater to senior citizens, are free and have filled up most weeks with 20 or 25 people in each class.
Garay began his first paid class last week at the senior center. For $80, participants will learn the Yang 24 form of tai chi in a 10-week session. Garay said this form is the most popular form of tai chi in the world.
Dr. Soheir Boshra, a geriatrician for three Roanoke Valley nursing homes, recommended that anyone at any age should check with their physician first but can expect great benefits from tai chi.
Boshra said that an Atlanta study done in 1996 measured results of elderly patients learning tai chi over 15 weeks. The study showed their risk of multiple falls was reduced by 47.5 percent.
"Some people have stress. It will help with their well-being," Boshra said. "It will sometimes be the key to keep people going."
