Many in-person classes and videos teach Tai Chi as if it were “dance choreography.” The instructor leads you through a series of connected movements (called a form) with instructions such as “put this hand here, this foot there, and move this way.” You watch the instructor and copy her/his movements, just as you would in a ballet class or performance dance class.

On the other hand, online Tai Chi programs tend to focus on “skills” rather than forms. Rather than teaching you complicated choreography, the online program will teach you simple, single movements, or very short forms of usually no more than four or five connected movements. But the goal isn’t to learn the movements. The goal is to learn the skills behind the movements.

One of the great benefits to this online, skills-based approach is that you often faster improvements in your health and vitality. You don’t have to learn a lot of complicated dance moves before you see benefits. Many students report improved levels of relaxation and energy right from their first lesson with a skills-based approach.

Another benefit to the online approach is that you’ll learn more than just Tai Chi. You’ll learn movement skills that you can apply to many different types of movements. These skills will give you freedom of movement that you’ll carry with you outside of Tai Chi into your daily life!

Of course, there are some limitations to learning online. If you are interested in Tai Chi for martial arts, it’s difficult to learn this online. While online courses might demonstrate some simple self-defense applications, it will be difficult to learn them and impossible to practice if you train on your own.  In addition, if you are interested in tui shou (“two-person Tai Chi drills’), that also might be difficult to learn online.

But if your interest is in health, stress relief, energy, vitality and Chi development, an online Tai Chi program might just be right for you.

So how do you know if an online Tai Chi program is right for you? Look for programs that provide free samples or a low-cost introductory trial. Some programs even provide free trials or money-back guarantees. This allows you to try out the course first with little risk to see if it’s right for you.

Unlike a class, which you’ll have to fit into your busy schedule, online programs are generally available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can log in and learn when you want, and you can learn at your own pace. You don’t need to try to keep up with a class. Because let’s face it – if you miss a class or two in Tai Chi, you can quickly become lost. You won’t have that problem with an online program.

In addition, you can often get access to masters and professional instructors online that you would not normally get to meet, since they are outside your local area. Many of them provide email support or support forums for their courses, so you can get direct answers right from them.

We recommend the following online programs:

• ChiFusion Tai Chi and Qigong

  This program uses a modern, kinesthetic approach to learning Tai Chi, and it includes Qigong practices as well. There’s no martial arts content in this course, since the emphasis is on an “energy arts” perspective for health, stress relief, and chi development. But the whole idea behind this program is to get you to “feel” the movements by including a lot of experiments and details, rather than having you just follow along.

  This program was one of the first online Tai Chi programs. It has also been on the web for a long time, and has lots of students, so that says something for it. They offer a free sample lesson (click here) to get you started.

• Shaolin Qigong Home Study

  Not really a Tai Chi program, but a program in Tai Chi’s sister art, Qigong. This program is much more traditional in the information it covers and the way it teaches the information. It includes a variety of sitting and standing Qigong practices, including some meditation. They are also taught with detailed information, plus a lot of traditional theory about Qigong.

  This is one of the newer online programs, but ironically, the newest is one of the most traditional. They offer a low cost trial (click here) to get you started.