Sun Up Exercises, Line Dancing
Unite Oakland Faithful

OAKLAND -- Elvira de La Cruz lost 18 pounds over the past 12 months and all it took was some fresh air and Tai Chi.

De La Cruz is one of more than 100 people who turn out daily at the BART plaza by the Lake Merritt station to take part in Tai Chi and other aerobic exercises, including line dancing that looks strangely like a mixture of salsa, Western and rumba steps.

The 51-year-old Filipina immigrant is a familiar face now among a mostly elderly Chinese American crowd of Oakland residents who work out faithfully.

“I feel younger and stronger,” de La Cruz said after wiping her face with a towel. “Before, I looked pregnant. I’m happy now and I have many friends.”
The morning gatherings, which usually begin around 7 a.m. and end two to three hours later, are a common sight across China, where people fill the country’s parks to begin the day with various martial arts exercises like Tai Chi. The Chinese American community in Oakland transplanted this tradition and began practicing in public more than 10 years ago.

And what began as impromptu exercises in an open location a few blocks away from Chinatown turned into a grassroots group called Healthy Work-Out. The organization now promotes healthy living through Tai Chi performances in venues across the Bay Area, including senior citizens centers and Chinese New Year’s parades.

Each day, about five different groups from in the plaza, the majority of which focus on traditional Tai Chi work outs, like the sword and fan forms. A cacophony of Chinese instrumental songs can be heard mixing over the screams of “Play that Funky Music, White Boy” and other disco songs played for de La Cruz’s line dancing exercise.

On Friday morning, a group of Asian women follow her foot shuffling as she leads the smiling dancers with “a 1-2 double, 1-2-3.” Some of the women followed closely, while others seemed perplexed and struggled to mimic her hip gyrations.

Just about anyone can join the mostly elderly crowd of exercisers, said Jim Smith, who heads the North Oakland Senior Center’s finance committee. “If you want to come, you just jump in and if they notice you, they’ll teach you how to do it,” said Smith, who provides the tapes for the groups. Smith, 72, also organizes the performance events for Healthy Work-Out.

Tai Chi is known to strengthen the muscles and improve circulation. The craft was founded in 12th century China and is practiced in a variety of forms today. Tai Chi Chuan as it is formally known comes from Taoist philosophy.

On weekends, martial artists often perform with swords, and children and teenager turn up to join their families, he added. The teachers, called a sifu, have usually been practicing Tai Chi for years. Harry Chan, 76, for example, is a third generation sifu in his family, who are from Shanghai. Among the Tai Chi exercises taught by instructors like Chan is a breathing exercise called qui gong.
Most participantsinterviewed for this story with the help of translator Helen Chou, the Healthy Work-Out secretary, said they come for the healthy benefits but also, for them, the people at the gathering are an extended family.

Dung Tram, 75, said she made a lot of friends at the plaza since immigrating from Vietnam in 1984. Chou translates a conversation while leaning back and stretching her arms up in a series of graceful movements.

“I could never be as good as Dung, I wish I could do the fan [form] as good as she does,” Chou said.

Contrary to traditional Chinese culture, many grown children no longer live with the elderly participants, who thus find the morning exercises a highlight of the day. The chance to take part in a traditional activity when a mainstay of their culture has given way to American practices is a good way of keeping the social fabric of the community together, Chou explained.

The health benefit, too, attracts people to come back regularly. Organizers estimate that the average age of participants is 65, a majority of whom are in good shape.

“Since I’ve been here in the last 18 years, we’ve only lost about three or four people,” Smith said.

A small study by a Florida doctor has shown that of 30 Parkinson’s patients randomly assigned to a Tai Chi group or a control group, those who practiced Tai Chi were less likely to fall. Parkinson’s causes muscle rigidity and impairs movement. The study’s findings were reported by Reuters earlier this week.