ABINGDON, Va. A local business owner is hoping to ring in the new year with less stress and more focus on well-being.

Angie Cvetkovski, co-owner of Balkan Bakery in Abingdon, has signed up to take tai chi classes beginning Monday, Jan. 6, at Western Masters Martial Arts in Abingdon.

Ive just turned 50, and I can tell I need more flexibility. Ive read about the benefits of tai chi, and I felt like this was the perfect time to learn, said Cvetkovski, who has a workload that is filled to capacity with obligations and tasks.

My plate is full. I have three kids and operate a family-owned business. Im also an esthetician on top of having a full-time job.

Cvetkovski is among many people who are searching for the secret to balancing stress in their lives.

According to Dane Harden, owner of Western Masters Martial Arts, tai chi offers a variety of physical and mental benefits for dealing with stress and anxiety in a modern world.

Stress in general can be extremely harmful to your overall health, said Harden, who is a primary care provider at the Veterans Affairs medical center in Bristol, Virginia.

Tai chi is an ancient Chinese form of medicine that is practiced as a grace form of exercise. A series of slow movements are accompanied by deep breathing and stretching. The exercises are performed in constant flowing movements.

When we think of tai chi in this country, we think about the slow-moving hand movements, but its really an energy exercise, and its incredibly good for your health, said Harden, an accomplished martial artist who was admitted into the Martial Arts Masters Hall of Fame in 2010, an honor he shares with martial artist celebrities including Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bill Superfoot Wallace and Michael Jai White.

Tai chi is basically standing meditation and breathing exercises. Its terrific for helping to control breathing and releasing stress.

According to the instructor, tai chi increases longevity, improves muscle strength, balance and flexibility, boosts cognitive function and helps aid in sleep. It can improve symptoms of fibromyalgia and COPD, promote weight loss, reduce fall risks and decrease pain from arthritis.

The tai chi classes are appropriate for all age levels. My tai chi class will focus more on the health value instead of the martial arts applications. Students will learn the physical application, meditation and theory of tai chi, he said.

The ongoing classes will be rather informal. We will focus on tai chi for fitness. The idea is to get people on the mats, get them moving and understanding the whole process of tai chi. Well also have a few reading assignments to help people understand the relationships between the body and mind.

Cvetkovski jumped at the chance to enroll in the local tai chi classes. I dont think there is anyone better to teach this class than Dane Harden. He is a hidden treasure in Southwest Virginia, said the mother, who became familiar with the studio after her children enrolled in Hardens martial arts classes.

Harden started the Western Masters Martial Arts business in 1979 in Maryland, eventually opening dojos or schools in Tennessee, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

He had a vision of a martial arts school dedicated to making the world a safer place one student at a time. Our primary goal here is to train our students to deal with real-world problems, both mentally and physically, he said.

Harden, 62, has excelled at martial arts most of his life. He began studying aikido, a modern Japanese martial arts, in 1969 at the age of 10.

He trained in taekwondo with the Jhoon Rhee Institute in Cumberland, Maryland, before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1976. Most of his 35 years in the service were spent as a flight surgeon. Harden retired as a colonel in the Army in 2018 as a highly decorated combat veteran with several operational deployments to his credit.

His last military assignment was as the deputy commander for the U.S. Army Medical Command (MEDCOM) in Nashville, Tennessee.

Hardens combat service was in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia and Kosovo. He served with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Romania, Bulgaria and the Republic of Georgia and completed missions in South America. Stateside, at Hurricane Katrina, he completed search and rescue missions and also served in medical response during the Olympics in Atlanta in 1996.

Martial arts study and practice accompanied me on all of this and kept me safe in mind and body, said the retired soldier.

His military awards are too numerous to list, but one of his most prestigious honors was the Order of Military Medical Merit, which is awarded to less than 10% of career military medicine professionals. His stellar medical career is mentioned in the book, Rush to Danger: Medics in the Line of Fire, by bestselling author Ted Barris.

Harden continued to practice martial arts even while he was in the service, earning black belt ranks in aikido and Isshin-Ryu Karate-do and, most notably, an eighth-degree black belt in taekwondo.

He has competed in tournaments on the U.S. National Karate Circuit for more than 30 years, winning awards for forms, fighting and weapons competitions at state, regional and national levels.

The tai chi classes will be held 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Mondays at Western Masters Martial Arts studio at 1948 Lee Highway in Abingdon.

Gym clothing is recommended. The cost of the classes is $60 per month.

For more information about the classes and other martial arts offered, call the studio at 276-356-3196.

Carolyn R. Wilson is a freelance writer in Glade Spring, Virginia. Contact her at news@washconews.com.

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Local tai chi courses offer balance and benefits for stress-filled lives - Southwest Virginia Today