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HOLISTIC HEALTH
City Cleric
Zen Village owner envisions
free yoga lessons for seniors
By ERIKA BERAS
eberas[o)miamiherald.corn
Master Chufei Tsai stands
over a romp of two --A
kindergartners arn-
yard Community Center
,ttte West Grove on a Wednes-
/day afternoon.
Together, they hold
1>it�� ,.tltsir timers .arrtatate
"OM." Under Tsai's instruc-
tions, their tiny bodies shift
iiito yoga poses.
"We have very aggressive
children," says Sylvia Jordan,
ui met or of the center. "This
).:,Inns theta down."
Tsai, who
has been giv-
ing free bi-
weekly les-
sons to the
t�is,srlei children for
of))) years, plans to
Watch a video bring the
of Master Cnuiei same sooLb:
Tsai at work ing, healing
environment
to low-income seniors.
She hopes to join forces
with The Health Foundation
of South Florida to start Heart
for Humanity, a program that
would offer free yoga and
meditation to low-income
seniors in Miami -Dade
County. Baby boomers who
may not have the money for
holistic health — or see it as a
priority — have become her
latest personal mission.
She has applied for a small
grant — under $20,000 — and
the foundation says it has a
very good chance of getting
passed. The foundation will
decide in the next couple
months if Tsai's vision will
beckie a reality.
"'Tsai, the one-time spiritual
advisor to the prime minister
of Taiwan, owns Zen Village
in Coconut Grove, where
people gather for yoga and
"spiritual healing."
She's an interesting per-
son, said Peter Wood, vice
president of programs at the
foundation. "She seems to
have a unique set of skills and
training that could be helpful
to the community."
Similar programs aimed at
lower -income groups have
been launched in other cities
with positive results.
In Harlem, the New York
ity Department of Health
s teamed with Terri Ken-
edy, chair of the Board of
Yoga Alliance, to provide free
yoga classes.
"We wanted to make it cul-
turally, physically, economi-
cally accessible and accept-
able," Kennedy said.
Dozens of people show up
for the classes every week,
PHOTOS BY MARICE COHN BAND/MIAMI HERALD STAFF
AT EASE: Master Chufei Tsai, top and above, holds a relaxation period after her
yoga class ends at Zen Village in Coconut Grove.
05 - OO976 X -- Su b ryl #0. - Arl' C. J
from ages 3 to 83.
"In a lot of ways the people
who need yoga the most are
the ones who have the least
access to it. People in low-in-
come urban areas, people
who may have developed bad
habits at a young age or have
not been exposed to this," she
added.
Free yoga already exists in
Miami — popular programs
include Bayfront Park on
weekday nights and on South
Beach sand on weekend
mornings. But those pro-
grams are not aimed at any
particular group.
The county's affluent areas
are cluttered with yoga stu-
dios that offer sculpted bod-
ies, stress -free minds and
enlightened souls — but
they're not free.
"The majority of people
here have a lack of income
support to live well in this
community," Tsai said. They
don't have real time or real
money to give to themselves.
This will help."
Tsai, 48, grew up in afflu-
ence in Taiwan and studied to
be a nun and a nurse. She
spent a decade in the remote
areas of the Himalayas, build-
ing schools and providing
food, clothing and classes for
local orphanages.
Seven years ago, she
moved to South Florida,
Her biggest public project
to date was chairing the com-
mittee that brought the Dalai
Lama to .Miand in 2005.
"It's very difficult," she
said of her mission, as her S-
and 6-year-olds clasp their
hands, close their eyes and
stretch. "This kind of facility
or service should be able to
provide for the majority."