T'ai Chi: The Mulan Style (A Feminine Art for Power, Grace &

Mulan means "wooden orchid" and symbolizes beautiful strength or power. Mulan quan was designed specifically for drawing out women's grace, power, and confidence. The video starts with helpful tai chi tips and breathing instructions from a male teacher. Then instructor Angela Wong-Douglas leads you in a mulan quan warm-up and moving qigong. Next she teaches the mulan short form, which becomes about five minutes of continuous movement when learned. Instruction is in 17 lesson segments, a few movements at a time, and you're advised to practice each lesson for a week before going on. At the end, the instructor puts all the movements together in an exhibition/practice session. Once you've learned them individually, you can fast-forward to this section and practice the whole routine.

The warm-up and practice session are performed in a picturesque outdoor lake scene, ducks swimming in the background. But the tips and lessons take place in an unattractive setting with white drapes covering the walls and ending in piles on the floor--quite a disconcerting contrast to the lovely lake scene. Wong-Douglas is a mature woman who glides through the movements with the gracefulness of a cloud skimming across the summer sky. --Joan Price