Tai Chi

MIKE SPRINGER/Staff photo/
Student Betsy Hale, left, and instructor Carla Mattioli perform a Tai Chi exercise Wednesday during a weekly class at the Rockport Senior Center. Tai Chi is an ancient Chinese art that gently exercises the body and mind by channeling one's "chi," or vital energy, in a harmonious way. Mattioli's class is open to new students, and meets every Wednesday in Rockport from 9 to 10 a.m. She teaches similar classes at the Rose Baker Senior Center in Gloucester on Tuesdays from 9 to 10 a.m. and on Fridays from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. "Many of my students," Mattioli says, "have noticed big improvements in balance, stress reduction and inner peace."

141231MSPTAICHI