Our Taiji Friend Returns to Mexico

For the second time, there was a Celebration of Tai Chi (Taiji) and Qigong with master Peng You Lian in the Monastery of the Benedictine in Cuernavaca, Mexico. After a year of waiting, those who attended last year’s retreat and those who attended for the first time were able to practice the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan and the healing art of Taiji Qigong with the Friend Lian.

Master Peng is the director of the Peng You Taiji Quan Association, an organization dedicated to promoting health through the practice of Tai Chi in the city of Thunder Bay, Canada. Their motto is “Health, Friendship, Happiness.” The idea is that practicing Tai Chi gives good health; when you practice it in a group, you spend time with many people and make new friends; and with health and friendship you obtain happiness.
This philosophy was put in practice without words thanks to master Peng You, who in all of his classes would transmit a refreshing joy for Tai Chi to the practitioners. The master’s explanations were easy to follow, and he would give each exercise a playful tone, so it was hard not to enjoy the art we were learning. The practices were quite varied: the 8, 16 and 24 movement forms of the Modern Style of Tai Chi Chuan, some Chen style exercises and the 6 Forms of Tai Chi Qigong for Health. All of these exercises, especially the last ones, are excellent for improving the health of the practitioners. The Chi flowed through the bodies of the practitioners, and even some Kung Fu students felt the Chi flow like never before.

Just line in any celebration, in addition to practicing together, the attendees were able to spend time with new and old friends. There were people from all over the country, from North to South and from the East Coast to the West Coast. They came from the farthest places in the country to practice and learn. Some had already met during last year’s retreat, or from the other retreats organized by the Mexico Shaolin Temple, but everyone met new people this year, and many of them will probably become good friends with time, even if they only see each other at the retreats. Without even realizing it, they had fulfilled the second part of Peng You Lian’s motto: they had obtained friendship.

Now, was the third part fulfilled? The only way to know is through the attendees themselves. According to them, they did indeed feel very happy. An advanced practitioner (who has also visited China) said that this had been the best retreat she had ever been to. Another one said that he felt very safe practicing Tai Chi, knowing that it was an exercise without risks, and that he could practice it with the confidence that it would improve his health without fear of getting hurt. Somebody else said that what she had liked best about the retreat was how it didn’t feel like retreat, but more like a celebration of Tai Chi, because of the cheerfulness with which Master Peng You taught and passed on the knowledge that he had. The practice, the people, the way everything was organized, the monastery… everything came together perfectly to make a successful retreat that left everyone satisfied.

If you also want to learn Taiji Qigong and Tai Chi Chuan, and experience firsthand the benefits of its practice, you, too, can attend the seminars that the Mexico Shaolin Temple organizes. The next Tai Chi Chuan retreat will be held on March 19 to 21 with Master Yang Jun, a direct descendant and next heir of the traditional Yang Style of Tai Chi, and the next Tai Chi for Health retreat with Peng You Lian will be on November 26 to 28. We also have our Kung Fu and Meditation retreats. All the information is always available on our websites, KungFuLegacy.org and TaiChiLegacy.org

We hope you will join us in our upcoming retreats, and to our friend Peng You Lian, we say, once again: Thank you, thank you, thank you!