Tai Chi Chuan brings 'balanced' life to 93-year-old woman in US
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E-mail Xinhua, April 26, 2018
At the age of 93, she can still do almost everything she wants to -- cook, dance, play tennis, take the bus to different places to teach her students -- without burdening her body.
Doreen Hynd, a passionate and energetic woman who lives in the United States, said she attributes her vigor to a lifetime love of and persistent practice of Tai Chi Chuan, a Chinese martial art form practiced to defend oneself and keep healthy.
PRECIOUS GIFT
Born in Australia in 1925, Hynd began Tai Chi Chuan training in her fifties, and moved to the United States in 1984, where she later became an instructor herself.
To date, Hynd has taught for almost three decades at such places as the United Nations (UN), Carnegie Hall, and the State University of New York.
Hynd said she loves dancing, gardening, and getting to know all kinds of people, but her "greatest passion" is practicing Tai Chi Chuan.
"It is such a gift. I have been wanting to bring it to the whole world," she said. "Tai Chi has withstood the test of time for several centuries in the Chinese culture."
The concept of Tai Chi (supreme ultimate) appears in both Taoist and Confucian Chinese philosophy, where it represents the fusion or mother of yin and yang into a single ultimate, represented by the Tai Chi Tu symbol. Tai Chi Chuan theory and practice evolved in agreement with many Chinese philosophical principles, including those of Taoism and Confucianism.
"It allows a quiet approach by not using force. It brings about an awareness of breath and calmness and invites the body, mind, and inner consciousness to work together for an experience of lightness and strength," Hynd said.
On the 9th UN Chinese Language Day, which is observed annually on April 20, Hynd was among those invitees who are either experts on the Chinese culture or have a special skill related to the culture.
Hynd stunned all those present while performing Tai Chi Chuan at an event sponsored by the UN Tai Chi Club.
"I just can't believe my eyes that she is a 93-year-old grandma," said Iris Wang, secretary-general of the non-profit World Accountability Organization based in New York.
"She could bend her body, raise her leg so easily and keep herself still while standing on one leg. It's just amazing!" she said.
Cao Guozhong, president of the club, said Hynd serves as the best example that one could benefit enormously from practicing Tai Chi Chuan.
"What's more important is that she is one of the few Americans who really understands the core values of Tai Chi Chuan," Cao said.
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