Stamford’s Dolan and Howell Teach Tai Chi Outside

If you’re looking for a way to de-stress midway through the work week, you may want to consider joining Stamford’s Ken Dolan and Vivian Howell for late afternoon Tai Chi on the grounds of the Bartlett Arboretum and Gardens.

On the lawn beneath the trees outside the Bartlett’s Visitors Center, Dolan and Howell have been leading hour-long sessions of both Tai Chi and its even gentler cousin Qigong at 6:00 p.m. every Wednesday for about a month.

Ken Dolan has been studying Tai Chi and Quigong since the mid-nineties and began teaching eight years ago. The two disciplines use a series of simple, slow movements and postures that practitioners feel reduce stress, and improve both the strength of your muscles and your cardiovascular health.

“Qigong isn’t as exacting as Tai Chi, so you almost can’t go wrong,” Dolan explained. “It has sets of movement, but they aren’t choreographed. And you can repeat them as often as you’d like. Tai Chi has a particular pattern – a sequence of movements that flow from one to the other.”

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, Dolan and Howell led a small group of men and women that ranged in age from 9 to 72. Doris Nohe had taken classes from Dolan in the past and was delighted to discover that he’d be leading the sessions five minutes from where she lives. She brought along 9-year-old Edgar, who followed Dolan’s instructions intently and repeated his movements with a very serious expression.

Dolan and Howell worked in tandem, with Howell occasionally demonstrating the moves at an angle that was easier for some to see. Howell has been practicing Tai Chi with Dolan for the past five years and also teaches an introduction to energy balancing.

“It’s not about strength, it’s about expanding the joints,” Dolan told the participants. “Do what’s comfortable. The knees stay flexed, the shoulders relaxed and don’t think too much about it. You don’t want to hang onto any tension because that’s wasted energy.”

Holding the class in the Bartlett’s tranquil garden added considerably to the experience. “It’s the perfect place to do Tai Chi,” said Howell. “My dad went to China years ago and they were doing it outside. And they’d hooked cages to the trees so that they could bring their birds with them.”

In the arboretum's case, however, the branches overhead were already filled with a variety of birds who were more than happy provide a medley of song.

Howell said that their Wednesday afternoon sessions are scheduled to be held outdoors on the lawn until September 7th.

However, if there’s enough interest, she is hoping that they can move into one of the Bartlett’s indoor spaces so that they can continue through the winter. Fees vary, depending upon whether or not you are a member of the Bartlett, but the introductory session is free.