BY KEVIN WOODRUFF

Tai Chi instructor Bill Pileggi believes the art of Tai Chi has as much to do with the power of the mind as it does with the power of the body.

He also believes that Tai Chi has healing powers. That’s why he has spent more than 20 years devoting his life to learning the art form, as well as imparting his knowledge

His knowledge has transformed into a book, as he and his students worked closely together to create “Yang Long Form,” which is available at

www.blurb.com.

Pileggi credits the entire book to his students. Among them is Jeanette Robertson of Jackson, who works for Creative Direction and Design, who helped design to graphically intensive book.

Much of the book is focused on pictorials showing the movements of 105 “Yang” style Tai Chi stances.

Yang is a slow and silent style of Tai Chi that is easy for those just starting out to grasp.

All the photos in the book were taken by Kathryn LeSoine who lives in Montrose.

“If it weren’t for my students, there wouldn’t be a book,” Pileggi said. “I credit them with all of it. They teach me just as much as I teach them.”

Pileggi first trained with Grand Master Jou Tsung Hwa in Warwick, N.Y., starting in 1992 until Master Jou’s death in 1998, after looking for ways to deal with anxiety that he was suffering.

“Back in those days, doctors didn’t diagnose men with anxiety disorders,” Pileggi said. “So I had to look for ways to deal with what I was going through.”

The first thing that Master Jou taught Pileggi was “Dantian” breathing, which is abdomen breathing.

Within one month of training with Jou he was completely off any medication he was taking, and hasn’t looked back.

Pileggi said that he enjoys the art so much because it forces you to use the brain and body in ways it may not normally be used.

Starting from his humble beginnings training with Master Jou, Pileggi would eventually bring his skills to the level where he felt comfortable teaching others.

He taught students in New York for several years before moving into his new facility and home that is referred to as “Hidden Gardens.”

Pileggi said that he put all of his resources into cultivating his new facility. However, despite using his own money to create his sanctuary, he does not charge any of his students.

He personally believes that it would not be right to charge people to learn Tai Chi.

“I understand that some people need to charge for classes,” Pileggi said. “However, I feel that it would make it too commercial for me.”

The only thing that Pileggi asks in return is that people consider making donations to The Humane Society.

One of his students, Karen Antosh from Tunkhannock, said that she’s been attending classes with Pileggi for more than six years and that it has changed her life.

“I was searching for something because of a particular path that I was on in my life,” Antosh said. “And the energy of Hidden Gardens called me.”

She said that Tai Chi has continued to expand her mind, and his helped her get in touch with her spirituality.

“I think that everyone is looking for something,” Antosh said. “Even down to someone sitting at a bar. They’re all searching for answers.”

Antosh said that Tai Chi has become much more than an activity for her. It has become a way of life.

Currently, Hidden Gardens is a private teaching facility for Pileggi and select students invited to attend, however, he does teach classes in two separate places.

He teaches at Robertson’s studio in Jackson, and he also teaches at High Energy Fitness and Karate on River Street in Tunkhannock.

Pileggi noted that someday he hopes to be to a point where he can open Hidden Gardens to the public.

Pileggi’s wife Maria also studies Tai Chi at Hidden Gardens, and studies the “Chen” style of Tai Chi.

Chen is a more physically intensive style of Tai Chi with strong movements and is intensive on balance and maintaining energy.

“I am a student of Chen,” Maria said. “However, I find if I think too much about the movements I am making, it becomes difficult.”

Complexity is a large part of Tai Chi, as even Pileggi said that it is impossible to master the art.

“You could spend an entire lifetime learning Tai Chi, and still never master it,” Pileggi said. “We are all students of Tai Chi. That’s why it is referred to as ‘The Way.’”