Meet Tai Chi Ray
I’m Raymond Lee, a Tai Chi instructor in New York City and the founder of Manhattan Tai Chi. For much of my life, I have been fascinated by one question:
How do we become more fully ourselves?
Tai Chi became my way of exploring that question—not simply as a martial art, energy work, or exercise, but as a lifelong practice of understanding the body, the mind, and the unity between the two.
Today, I help people use Tai Chi to move better, reduce stress, and reconnect with their natural intelligence.
Whether someone comes to me to improve balance, recover from an injury, reduce stress, or simply feel more at home in their own body-mind, my goal is always the same:
to help them rediscover the natural intelligence that is already within them.
My Teaching Philosophy
Modern life constantly pulls our attention outward.
More information.
More notifications.
More distractions.
Tai Chi invites us back inward.
When we slow down and become aware of our breathing, posture, movement, and emotions, we begin to notice ourselves more clearly.
Many people first come to Tai Chi looking for better balance, less stress, or healthier movement. But through practice, they may discover something deeper—a greater awareness of themselves.
Tai Chi is not about becoming someone else. It is an invitation to rediscover what is already within us.
How I Teach
Learning Tai Chi is like learning a new language. But this is a language spoken through the body-mind.
Alphabet
Reconnect with individual parts of the body.
Grammar
Understand how the body works together through Tai Chi principles
Sentences
Learn Tai Chi movements
Conversation
Eventually, we stop merely copying movements and begin to understand Tai Chi from within.
Who I work with
Healthy Aging
Balance
Mobility
Confidence
Individual Needs
Personalized movement
Different physical abilities
Adaptive instruction
Body-Mind Wellbeing
Stress reduction
Body awareness
Mindful movement
Ray has also worked with individuals navigating conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, stroke recovery, and fibromyalgia.
Trusted Experience
Background
- Raised in a family with five-generation tradition in Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Practicing martial arts since age seven
- Teaching Tai Chi since 2018
- NASM-CPT — Certified Personal Trainer
- NASM-CES — Corrective Exercise Specialist
- NASM-SFS — Senior Fitness Specialist
Sharing & Workshops
Ray has shared Tai Chi in community, corporate, cultural, and educational settings throughout New York.
Lincoln Center
Summer for the City — Tai Chi Wellbeing Workshop
2024 & 2026, 500+ participants
AARP
Recurring Tai Chi Workshops
Since 2022
Selected Organizations We’ve Worked With:
UNICEF
The COPE Foundation
Pimco
Hogan Lovells
BlackRock
Newlab
Sol de Janeiro USA
Mother
New York University
Columbia University
APG Asset Management
Jesuits USA East Province
Still Learning. Still Exploring.
I don’t see myself simply as a teacher or mentor.
I am also a life traveler—continuing to learn about myself, the body, and the world around me.
Tai Chi gives me a way to share what I have discovered with other travelers, so that perhaps we can all experience the journey of life a little more fully.
Continue the Exploration
Tai Chi Ray’s Journal is where I continue this exploration through writing—reflecting on traditional Tai Chi principles, body awareness, martial intention, and the lessons that emerge through practice, teaching, and everyday life.
If you would like to understand more about how I think about and practice Tai Chi, this is a good place to continue.