About Jing Shuai
Founder & Teacher,
Tao Tai Chi Studio
I grew up in a small city near the countryside in China,
a place where traditional arts were simply part of daily life.
Calligraphers, painters, musicians, and martial artists
were neighbors, family friends, and quiet influences.
Their presence shaped the way I understood movement, attention,
and the gentle joy of practice.
In my early years, I explored many forms of movement:
martial arts, fitness, and modern training,
never imagining that any of them would become my profession.
I simply enjoyed the feeling of being alive in my body.
Later, during a period of intense work and long‑term physical strain,
my neck and lower back developed serious issues.
In searching for a way to restore balance,
I returned to Tai Chi, not as exercise,
but as a way to breathe, to move with ease,
and to reconnect with my own rhythm.
That experience quietly changed the direction of my life
and became the beginning of my deeper study.
Over the next many years, I studied Tai Chi
with teachers from traditional lineages in China,
including time spent training in the Wudang Zhang Sanfeng tradition.
I also learned from modern schools, community practitioners,
and fellow students who shared their insights generously.
Each teacher, each place, and each encounter
added a layer of understanding to my practice.
When I moved to the United States,
I began teaching in community programs, schools, and art studios.
My work included classes and exhibitions with Roost Arts
(formerly Roost Studio),
where I taught weekly classes, collaborated with local artists,
and held two solo exhibitions centered on Tai Chi and movement.
Through grants supported by Arts Mid‑Hudson
and the New York State Council on the Arts,
I developed programs that introduced Tai Chi philosophy
to students of different ages and backgrounds.
These collaborations, with educators, artists, and community groups,
shaped the way I teach today:
quietly, steadily, and with respect for each person’s rhythm.
After more than ten years of teaching in the U.S.,
I founded Tao Tai Chi Studio in 2020 as a small, steady space
where learning happens naturally, without pressure or comparison.
Here, we begin when the timing feels right.
We practice with ease.
We let the art unfold one step at a time.
In Tai Chi, we say that practice becomes natural
when the heart, intention, and timing align.
At Tao Tai Chi Studio,
we meet when those elements come together,
quietly, sincerely, and at a pace that feels true.
