Aileen Bonaparte

Having opted for the travelling life, Aileen grew up and was educated in the UK, NZ, Australia and the US. Upon completing her PhD she worked in both the for profit and non profit sectors as a researcher and statistician, conducting studies at education and performing arts institutions, and in the retail sector. In the course of this work she developed, organized, marketed and managed workshops, primarily for educators.

Shortly after returning to Australia, Aileen wandered into a community hall in Redland Bay, Qld to see if Tai Chi was all it was cracked up to be. Master Trainer, Elva Arthy assured her and demonstrated that it was. Since Aileen now lives in a somewhat remote location, she became an instructor primarily to teach herself. Not in a position to form classes, Aileen has worked to support other Trainers in their endeavours. This support is typically, in the areas of marketing, workshop organization and management, and an exchange of ideas and feedback. She has substituted for other teachers on occasion. She is a regular at the Annual Sydney workshops and wholeheartedly encourages others to attend. When time and travel plans permit she has attended the June workshop in the US. As a long time resident of the US before returning to Australia, she enjoys touching base with the American Trainers and exchanging ideas with them. She recently travelled to China with Dr Lam and other Tai Chi for Health Institute (TCHI) members.

Her current interests in Tai Chi include working to broaden the demographic reached by TCHI. Young people of High School and University age; indigenous, linguistically and ethnically diverse populations, along with people of all ages with disabilities, could benefit in many ways from learning Tai Chi.

One of the benefits of Tai Chi beyond movement, is stress management. Current medical research suggests that diet and exercise are not enough to maintain health and wellness. Anxiety and depression are epidemic in 21st century society. A variety of chronic conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, gastro intestinal complaints and mental health issues, plague all age cohorts and all socio-economic levels. Underlying all these manifestations is stress.

Tai Chi assists stress management; and is remarkably easy to learn through the understandable and accessible TCHI programs. Tai Chi learned at any stage of life can avert many of the health problems that plague us today.

Aileen’s personal journey in addition to the Health Forms, includes Yang 24, and Sun 73. She is preparing to take on Chen 36.