Posted by 
Dr. Zibin Guo is a medical anthropologist and internationally known Tai Chi Master.
In today’s episode, Dr. Guo describes his journey, which began as a young martial artist in China during an era of cultural revolution and uncertainty.
With the encouragement of a couple students, Zibin left China in his twenties and travelled to the United States to begin a new life in academia.
“I began teaching adaptive tai ji by accident,” Dr. Guo says. “That was my moment of enlightenment.”
Listen via YouTube:
The chance encounter propelled him to develop wheelchair Tai Chi Chuan, which he debuted at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.
Eight years later, Zibin received a major grant from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and began traveling to VA facilities across the country to train staff in wheelchair tai chi. Zibin details what medical anthropology and wheelchair tai chi have in common and how he incorporates the hero’s journey in his program.
Listen via Podcast:
Episode Links
- Chattanooga Tai Ji Community (CTJC)
- Dr. Zibin Guo’s Professional Bio
- Applied Tai Ji
- NPR: To Treat Pain, PTSD And Other Ills, Some Vets Try Tai Chi
- The Diplomat: ‘Wheelchair Taijiquan’ & the Paralympics
The Carleena Show Podcast
- Ordinary People Share Their Hero’s Journey.
- Hosted and produced by Carleena Angwin.
- Video editing and graphic design by http://stevenllorca.com/.