Q&A with Dr. B.

Dr. Larry Berkelhammer

The purpose of this blog and the entire website is to provide evidence-based information on how to live a vibrant, meaningful life while living with chronic health challenges or other life challenges.

Every Tuesday I post a new, very brief video from my presentations or interviews. Every Friday this Q&A column appears.

Here is this week’s question:

THIS WEEK’S QUESTION:  How long does it take to learn tai chi?

ANSWER:   In 1979 when my wife and I registered for an eight-week tai chi class, we imagined walking out of the last class as tai chi experts. We probably would not have even signed up if someone had told us that we would still be beginners after the eight-week class ended and certainly we would have avoided the class if they had told us we would still be beginners a year later.

At a certain point, we both began to recognize that progress in tai chi is not linear, and that striving to become experts actually prevents mastery of the art from ever becoming a reality.

Tai chi and Taoism are about learning to relax into the full experience of the moment. In this way tai chi is a mindfulness practice. Tai chi is really a way of life rather than a skill to master. For those who diligently stick with it, they soon begin to realize all the ways it begins to improve their quality of life.

This website is offered as a free public service, supplying information that has been found helpful to certain people living with chronic health challenges or issues related to wellbeing. No treatment is offered on this website. The advice is general, and may or may not apply to your individual situation, and is not a substitute for psychotherapy or medical treatment.

What questions do you have about living a life of mindfulness-based mastery or about the relationship between the mind and health or wellbeing?

Just scroll down and type your question in the comment box below. An answer to your specific question may not appear in this column. The reason for that is I wait until I get a certain number of related questions, then I pick one that covers them all and I answer that one. People attending my presentations asked most of the questions appearing in this column, and I repeat them here so you may benefit.