Tai Chi

MIKE SPRINGER/Staff photo/
As morning sunlight streams in from a window, Carla Mattioli of Rockport teaches a Tai Chi class Wednesday 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."

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