The mind and body working in harmony

So you think there isn't enough to do in Dubai. Think again. There are a myriad sports and activities ranging from the weird to the wonderful, ones that get the adrenalin pumping, the heart racing and others that keep the mind calm and the chakras in tune. Each one has its own followers, hangout and events. Every fortnight, Joanna Longworth checks out a leisure/adventure sport. Stuck for something to do? Look no further...

Last month I had my first opportunity to try Tai Chi while on holiday with my husband in the Maldives. I woke up early to join a class on a pavilion on stilts over the sea. After a very basic warm up, we performed a series of movements all of which flowed from one into the other.

From what I could gather we were holding an imaginary ball of Chi, energy, and moving it around. As the class went on I could feel my muscles, particularly my thighs, warm up.

Although I was never out of breath, I did feel energised and ready to start the day with vigour.
I knew, however, that our teacher was not really a Tai Chi expert. I wanted to learn the real stuff from a professional and I found just what I was looking for closer to home, in Dubai.

My second taste of Tai Chi was in a studio surrounded by bulky gym equipment. This is where Dr Chen Qiang holds classes.

Originally from China, he is by trade an acupuncturist and has spent many years mastering the art of Tai Chi. He appeared in the room, looking the absolute part, in a Chinese silk navy suit. Three other classmates shuffled in and then we began.

Dr Chen explained that there is a basic posture for Tai Chi, which must be maintained in all the positions. He told me that I should hold no tension in any part of my body and that I could find my central balance by slightly bending my knees and pushing my tailbone under.

Although I was to keep my back straight I was not to stand up so straight that I cause an over arch in the lower back. It was a fine balance.

I had joined a class of three women all of whom had been doing Tai Chi for some time. So trying to follow their advanced moves was actually quite difficult. I kept finding my foot in the wrong position, or my hand being too low or too high. It required a lot of concentration.

Previously, I had asked Dr Chen what kind of improvements he had seen in people he taught. He told me he saw that people understood their own flow of energy better. With a rather cynical mind, I dismissed this until a rather strange thing happened.

As I was moving slowly from one position to another, I suddenly felt a warm tingling sensation in my fingers. My hands felt very warm and alive.

At the end of each sequence of moves, Dr Chen comes up and checks your alignment. He is very exacting and particular but his recommendations always seemed to make sense. Then quite out of the blue he came up to me and said, "you have very good energy in your hands".

I was a flabbergasted, one moment before I had felt this strange sensation in my hands and the next Dr Chen was commenting on it. He says he can sense other people's energy.

Although I have always been interested in yoga, a discipline which talks a lot about chakras and energy flow, I have never really understood it. I have seen its physical and mental benefits but I have never really believed we have a force of energy flowing around our body, which can harm us if it is out of kilt. Maybe, there is something to it.

To get my energy flowing well, I would need more classes. Dr Chen explained to me that anyone can learn Tai Chi in a month, but it takes a lifetime to master it.

One little tingle of the hands doesn't make me a master but it does make me feel that a little time getting the mind and body working in harmony is no bad thing.