#191- The Tai Chi Lady with Jacqui Weatherly

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, Jacqui  Weatherly, also known as the Tai Chi Lady, shares what early days were like for her growing up in a small rural community outside of Adelaide, Australia. Her father, a former physical education and dance teacher was a mentor to Jacqui and exposed her to multiple different forms of outdoor activities such as rock climbing, hiking and other pursuits. This allowed Jacqui to easily be able to tackle difficult physical challenges in her life from a young age. In her last couple of years of high school, Jacqui transferred schools and went to live with her grandparents in the city. She talks about this being a very difficult transition for her as she went from living in a very small town where she knew everyone to moving to a big city and attending a high school where she did not know anyone at all. Despite the difficulty, Jacqui learned a lot about herself through this experience. Jacqui would go on to pursue a career as a physical education teacher internationally and settle in Nanjing, China for 7 years at the Nanjing International School as head of the physical education department. As you listen to this episode you will hear Jacqui describe some of the mental challenges that she went through over the years and how these challenges truly sparked within her a desire to look within and to seek a major change in her life in order to find more fulfillment and to better understand herself. As well, you will hear the framework that Jacqui applies to combat fear and doubt in her life. She describes tackling fear in her life in a way that allows her to not be controlled by it and to embrace it so that she can constantly grow and learn in meaningful ways in her life. Jacqui speaks openly and candidly about the impact that anxiety has had on her and takes us through how her journey of TAI CHI has genuinely helped to physically and mentally transform her life. What was initially meant to be a year off studying CHEN Tai Chi in rural China has turned into a 6 year journey of pursuing mastery of her craft. Jacqui shares many life lessons learned through TAI CHI and also shares insight into how any teacher, whether they be a classroom teacher or physical education teacher can begin to apply basic elements of TAI Chi with their students. About Jacqui WeatherlyJacqui was born and raised in Australia. After finishing school, she completed a Bachelor of Education Degree in Secondary Physical Education. She taught Physical Education and Health for 17 years in Australia, the USA and China. She resigned from her job as the Head of the PE Department at Nanjing International School in June 2016 after 7 years, to follow her passion to study martial arts. She studied Chen Style Tai Chi full time for a total of 2.5 years at the Traditional Tai Chi School in Yangshuo, China.Jacqui begun competing in Tai Chi competitions in September 2017 and has won numerous gold, silver and bronze medals in both taijiquan and taiji weapons events in China, Hong Kong and Australia over the past 5 years.She was an intern teacher for beginners at the Yangshuo Traditional Tai Chi School in 2017/2018. This allowed her to deepen her knowledge, understanding and application of Tai Chi to effectively pass on the culture, skills and theory to other students.Jacqui now lives in Brisbane and is currently working on her own school, "Qi, Myself & Tai Chi", where she hopes to continue teaching Tai Chi to help improve the health and overall wellbeing of herself and others, whilst also passing on the ancient traditions and art of Tai Chi.Connect With Jacqui:Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/tai_chi_lady/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TaiChiLady