David-Dorian Ross

David-Dorian Ross is an internationally known t’ai chi instructor and lecturer on the subject of integrative exercise and body-mind fitness. He is the featured instructor in numerous Gaiam t’ai chi programs, including T'ai Chi Beginning Practice, and is the author of Exercising the Soul: How T'ai Chi Nurtures the BodyMind. Ross holds a degree in human movement studies, and is the founder and chief instructor of the Honolulu T'ai Chi Academy, and a certified continuing educator for the American Council on Exercise. For more than 15 years, he has successfully sought to modernize and mainstream the teaching methods used to transmit the ancient body-mind disciplines to contemporary students, without losing the essence of those arts.

A 20-year practitioner of both hatha yoga and t'ai chi ch'uan, Ross has studied yoga in Hawaii with Swami Dass and at San Francisco's Integral Yoga Institute. His t'ai chi training includes studying in China with the coach of the women's world t'ai chi champion, and with Wu Bin, the former head coach of the Chinese National Martial Arts Team. In the United States, his teachers include Grandmaster Doc-Fai Wong and Master Wen Mei Yu. His t'ai chi ch'uan performances have earned him four U.S. gold medals, as well as two world bronze medals and a world silver medal. He is the only American ever to be awarded such high honors. Ross continues to conduct seminars worldwide for both teachers and the general public. He is a past member of the IDEA Mind-Body Fitness Committee, and is a regular presenter at conferences and retreats throughout the year.