Love and Tai Chi

The practice of tai chi is an embodiment of poetry, with its peaceful, balanced forms. Karen Glotzer, who is both a poet and a tai chi instructor, compares it to moving through gentle water, lifting off the ground like a bird in flight, or standing like a tree with the wind gently blowing through its leaves. Through poetry, Love and Tai Chi relates the philosophy of tai chi to many different aspects of human existence. It provides simple explanations about the multiple benefits of the art, one that few Westerners are familiar with, despite the fact that it is lauded by Harvard Medical School for its meditative and health aspects. Glotzer also applies the yin and yang theory of opposites upon which tai chi is based toward a variety of subjects. These verses consider romantic love, animals, nature, life, death, and friendship, all through the lens of tai chi. This collection of poetry seeks to express in verse the feelings experienced in tai chi—what it feels like to walk upon clouds, move like water, take root like a tree, or fly like a crane.