It was supposed to just be a warm-up exercise for an office retreat. The Tai Chi instructor would help the marketing staff loosen up for a day of inspirational activities designed to foster teamwork and creativity.

For Elisa C. Smith, that opening exercise was a life-changing event.  During the 15-minute session, she felt the knots and tension of being a marketing executive, working mom and wife fall away from her body like a silk slip at the end of the day.  It was a feeling she craved to experience again.

Tai Chi soon became part of her daily life. Elisa purchased a Tai Chi for beginners DVD by Dr. Paul Lam.  Her practice became richer as she enrolled in classes with Jef Morris.  She started experiencing more energy, less stress and her colleagues noted she wasn’t as “pushy.”

The most meaningful observation came from her then 11-year-old son.

 “Mom, you used to come home from that job tired and angry,” he told her. “I think that Tai Chi is working.”

Since then, Elisa has changed her career.  In 2007 she left the field of marketing to devote herself to the practice of Tai Chi and Chi Kung (Qigong).  Elisa desires to help others experience the spiritual, mental and physical health that she has received through Tai Chi and Chi Kung.  She’s certified to teach Dr. Lam’s Tai Chi for Arthritis for beginners and advanced and Tai Chi for Diabetes.

Elisa, who practices Sun and Yang styles and Chi Kung including the Eight Pieces of Brocade and the Dao of Dragon Qigong, continues to grow in the art form as she takes workshops with Master trainers including Dr. Lam,  Jef Morris, and Jiang Jian-ye.