Who Are We?

Joe Brady and his wife, Jacqui, are Directors of the Tai Chi Project and TCM College of Sports Medicine. They have been leading specialists in aging and physical activity for over 25 years. Joe is a licensed clinical acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner and graduated from the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Jacqui specializes in preventive and rehabiltative exercise through physical education and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado.

They serve on numerous boards including the Colorado Governor's Council for Physical Fitness, Colorado Commission on Health Care Reform, Park Hill Thriving Communities, Stapleton Healthy Neighborhoods, Denver's Safe Routes to School, and the Mayor's Walk. They are both members of the Oxford Roundtable, Oxford University, England where they presented their findings on successful health behavior change.

They continue to present at local, regional and national conferences on inspiring behavior change through physical fitness (education, activity and nutrition.). They most recently presented in Atlanta at the 2009 NAHF and ACSM Summit. They were awarded the 2000 AARP Community Partner Award and Colorado Governor's Council recognized Joe as their Outstanding Advisory Board Member. They live and are active in Denver with their 3 children and dog.

A note from Joe and Jacqui

"We have many years of proven success in exercise therapy, health promotion, and T'ai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan.) We have a growing list of over 2500 satisfied students, including students from the University of Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Our community outreach brings in students from various area hospitals, churches, and retirement communities. With over 30 active classes at locations around Metro Denver, you have a variety of times and locations from which to choose.

Keep in mind that our unique, research-based approach is designed to ensure success with an enjoyable step-by-step learning experience. Experienced coaching and an instructor's ability to improve motor skills are key in teaching others to enjoy physical activity. Experience for yourself the accumulated wisdom of centuries with this timeless exercise for mind and body... that helps you to heal yourself"

JOSEPH BRADY

Joseph Brady, M.S.T.C.M., L.Ac., Dipl. O.M.,is a licensed clinical acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner and graduated from the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He serves as Director of The Tai Chi Project, which originated at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and as Director of theTCM College of Sports Medicineprograms for the Living Younger Longer Institute.

Joe's humorous approach to extremely serious health subjects makes him apopular keynote speake. He has written columns for various media, including The Rocky Mountain News and Denver Medical Journal. He is also adjunct faculty at Arapahoe and Red Rocks Community Colleges. His Barefoot Doctor and Tai Chi Chuan classes are popular Colorado Free University offerings.

Joe was a faculty member and coordinator of gerontology certification programs at the University of Denvers Institute of Gerontology, As a faculty member of the Depts. of Human Performance, Sport and Leisure Studies and Health Professions at Metropolitan State College of Denver, he developed and taught Tai Chi Chuan, Qi-Gong, and the Introduction to Chinese Medicine courses. He has served on the Advisory Boards for several organizations, including Holistic Health majors at MSCD, American Society on Aging Health Promotion, Colorado Mental Health Association and Colorado Governors Council for Physical Fitness.

JACQUI SHUMWAY

Jacqui Shumway, M.A., B.B.A.,currently serves the state of Colorado as Chair for The National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity and on the Colorado Governors Council for Physical Fitness. She also serves as Western Region Director for the National Association of Health and Fitness: the Network of State and Governor's Councils. She has served on the CoAHPERD Board and Advocacy Committee, as NAHF Board Secretary, and as a 5-year community partner of Park Hill Thriving Communities.

Jacqui's community organizing includes many physical fitness, music, and art outreach through informal and formal board positions on the Greater Park Hill Community, Inc., Martin Luther King, Jr. Marade, City Park Alliance, Park Hill PTSA Auction Chair and Walk/Bike Committee, and Colorado Ceasefire. She and her family sing in their church choirs, perform at community events, and play drums and percussion. In addition to continuing work on her Tai Chi Chuan and dance skills, Jacqui loves to bicycle everywhere and practice "greening as often as possible."

Jacqui has worked on many political issues that involve all areas of living in Colorado. She actively testifies on issues before the state congressional education committees - specifically those dealing with nutrition, physical activity, and the arts. She also works vigorously for initiatives to and candidates who reduce violence and improve mental health.

Her Safe Routes to School and Walkable Community volunteer efforts earned her a grant from the CDC and an invitation to present with her husband for the Oxford Roundtable in Oxford, England.Other Boards on which she has served include Rocky Mountain ACSM, Holistic Health Advisory to MSCD, local AAUW, American Society on Aging Local Arrangements, Colorado Governors Council for Physical Fitness, Million Mom March, and was part of the Colorado 1998 CDC AIM 30 Team.

Jacqui is currently adjunct faculty at several higher education institutions in Colorado, including The Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Red Rocks and Arapahoe Community Colleges. She currently teaches Tai Chi Chuan in several community settings. For 13 years, she was on the faculty of the Depts. of Human Performance, Sport and Leisure Studies and Health Professions at Metropolitan State College of Denver, teaching Tai Chi Chuan, Qi-Gong, Drumming Therapy and special populations inclusion in Physical Activity. She was honored as a 2007/2008 MetroLeads Fellow. Jacqui also served as Special Programs Director at The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Fitness Facility for 10 years and continues to be a popular workshop presenter.

Jacqui uses her finance and economics education from Stephen F. Austin State University and her accounting skills to run the business side of their operation. She also has served as treasurer for various organizations.

Joe Brady and his wife, Jacqui, are Directors of the Tai Chi Project and TCM College of Sports Medicine. They have been leading specialists in aging and physical activity for over 25 years. Joe is a licensed clinical acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner and graduated from the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Jacqui specializes in preventive and rehabiltative exercise through physical education and graduated from the University of Northern Colorado.

They present at local, regional and national conferences on inspiring behavior change through physical fitness (education, activity and nutrition.). They most recently presented in Atlanta at the 2009 NAHF and ACSM Summit. They were awarded the 2000 AARP Community Partner Award and Colorado Governor's Council recognized Joe as their Outstanding Advisory Board Member. They live and are active in Denver with their 3 children and dog.

Zhu Xilin "Drew", has worked, as an instructor, with the T'ai Chi Project for over five years. His expertise and skills in T'ai Chi and Qi Gong that he brings to the program add a "traditional" approach.

Our History

One of humanity's greatest dreams has been to never grow old. For centuries in China, philosophers and alchemists sought for this elixir of life. Their studying the secrets of life and death evolved into a kind of physiological alchemy of mind and body. This ancient art has been handed down through generations in the form of Taijiquan, often referred to simply as T'ai chi.

The Chinese findings mirror today's scientific literature in explaining the causes and cures for disabilities and disease associated with normal aging. We all hope to maintain our health and independence throughout our lives and most of us want to feel that we have done our part in the healing process. As directors of the T'ai Chi Project, we hope to make these techniques available to a larger number of people than in centuries past by applying them through our practical scientific approach to the ancient art of Taijiquan (T'ai chi chuan).

We are research scientists and educators that have spent over twenty years involved with research in aging and physical activity. Our diverse backgrounds and experiences have allowed us to create a unique research and learning environment in the T'ai Chi Project. Joe's background is in behavioral sciences and he graduated from the City University of New York in 1976. He was first introduced to Taiji as an honorary member of the Oriental American Society at Brooklyn Tech in 1967. After receiving a bachelors degree in accounting and finance, Jacqui's 15 years in the field of exercise led her to a 1998 masters degree in Physical Education from the University of Northern Colorado. Her elections and appointments to national, state, and local leadership positions have allowed her to specialize in the behavioral determinants of physical activity.

We first started working together in 1989 as co-directors of a training certification program for fitness instructors for the University of Denver's Institute of Gerontology and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. In 1993, we managed to secure a $100,000 grant to research and develop an exercise program for older adults that combined techniques from western exercise therapy and selected exercises from Taijiquan. Using a team of scientific advisors and computer searches of the biomedical literature, we compiled a program of exercises that offered the greatest benefit to older adults, and ultimately for everyone.

The success of this project led to an invitation to the 1994 annual scientific conference of the Gerontological Society of America in Atlanta, Georgia. With the help and advice of Dr. Dennis Jahnigan, we had the good fortune of meeting and discussing our ideas with many top researchers in aging and biomedical research. Our heads swimming with ideas, we sat at the airport after the conference trying to synthesize all we had learned and been encouraged to do...and the T'ai Chi Project was born. Following Dr. Jahnigan's sage advice to focus our efforts on what would make the greatest difference in the lives of older adults, we envisioned a small, simple research project. We had no idea, sitting in the Atlanta airport, where our commitment would lead us.

AS THE T'AI CHI PROJECT ENTERS ITS SECOND DECADE of presenting and educating professionals and the public, we will continue to publish our findings and expand our scope with the hope that we will inspire more people to explore the psychological and physiological benefits of Taiji, Qi-Gong and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Always evolving and expanding, the T'ai Chi Project has provided numerous local and national organizations with quality health promotion information, motivational talks, Taijiquan and rhythm programs. These include: