Most people who want to try Tai Chi never get past the first search. What comes back is either a forty-move form that takes months to learn, or a video that starts halfway through. Five movements is a better place to begin — few enough to remember, and enough to feel the difference.
▶️ The full 11-minute routine, filmed at Golf del Sur on the south coast of Tenerife. Spoken in English — the same routine in Spanish is here. Press play and follow along.
That is what these eleven minutes are. Filmed at Golf del Sur, on the south coast of Tenerife, where the ocean breeze makes it easy to slow down.
The five
- Gathering energy — arms rise slowly on the inhale as if reaching for the sky, and float down on the exhale, washing tension away
- Uniting heaven and earth — hands travel up the centre line, then open wide across the chest
- Brush knee — turning to each side, arms shaping a soft S, weight shifting from leg to leg
- Crane spreads its wings — inhale as you turn, exhale as you open. The one that looks like Tai Chi
- Holding the sphere — palms facing each other, alternating, and then the knee lifts and it becomes a quiet balance challenge
Two of the five train balance almost invisibly: the heel lift in brush knee, and the knee raise at the end. That is not decoration. Balance is one of the best-studied benefits of Tai Chi — it is why the practice keeps turning up in fall-prevention programmes — and it is the part that matters most as we get older.
You are allowed to pause
Something worth saying plainly, because it stops people from starting: you can pause the video at any point and stay with one movement for longer. Nobody is timing you. A single movement repeated slowly for five minutes is better practice than five movements rushed.
Keep everything soft — knees slightly bent, shoulders relaxed, spine tall, breath deep in the belly through the nose. If a movement doesn't feel right today, make it smaller or leave it out.
Before you press play
Bare feet or flat shoes, a space about the size of a mat, and something steady nearby if balance is new to you. This is general wellness content, not medical advice — if you feel pain or discomfort, stop and rest, and check with your doctor if you're unsure.
This routine is one of the free follow-along videos on my YouTube channel MindBodyInMotion — there's a new one every two weeks. Ready for more? The free 7-Day Tai Chi & Qigong Challenge takes it one step further.
