What I Do: Occidental tai chi queen

From her beginnings as a wandering youth and free spirit, Jane Golden has found internal peace, and remarkable staying power, as a teacher of the ancient Chinese physical and spiritual discipline tai chi, which emphasizes slow movements as well as quick ones.

At 18, Golden left Worcester, Mass., for California and in 1979, she settled in Sonoma County. She established her school of tai chi at the Occidental Community Center and has taught continuously since then. Now 63, she now holds classes at Salmon Creek School in Occidental.

Last weekend, in celebration of more than 30 years of classes and retreats, Golden gathered more than 80 current and former students, drawing some from Washington and Oregon and as far away as Texas, Hawaii and Ohio.

Q: What are the most important reasons to study tai chi?

The roots of tai chi are in the martial arts. It’s based on defensive rather than offensive movements. One learns to absorb and redirect force rather than fighting it. It’s a great teacher of conflict resolution, and the practice affects many aspects of your life. At first you’re intrigued, then you love it. Over time, it becomes your best friend.

Q: What has teaching tai chai done for you personally?

Kept me healthy, youthful and inspired. Provided the opportunity to give to my community in a meaningful and important way. It has been gratifying to help so many people.

Q: What originally brought you to California?

When I left the East Coast, I ended up in Yosemite as a hippie and lived outside, did odd jobs and hiked the Sierras. I was 18. I was there about three years. I was a yoga practitioner at the time and a meditator. Then I was working with a band that got a small contract in Los Angeles. They took me with them because I was the sound engineer. It was a culture shock, but luckily it was in Venice Beach, and that’s where I found tai chi.

Q: How did your get your training?

In Venice Beach, there was a master named Tung Kai Ying who had come over from China. That was in 1974. I studied with him for five years in Los Angeles and then the whole Tai Chi movement began to be much more popular. He became a guest teacher in Palo Alto, so I was commuting to Palo Alto to continue my education with him. He encouraged me to go out and teach. That’s when I started teaching in Occidental. Really, I just wanted people to practice with, and there weren’t many around.

Q: Why do think you have developed such a wide and loyal following?

I attribute a lot of the success of my classes to my consistency and longevity. I have people who have studied with me for a while, left for one reason or another, returned as long as a dozen years later. And here I am, still at it and holding a place for them.

You can reach staff writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @danarts.