When Cynthia Murata of Honolulu first stepped into a tai chi class nine years ago, she was unsure of herself, suffered from balance issues and had just become a widow. She had no idea it would become her newfound passion.

"I didn’t know what to expect," she said of her first class, which a friend invited her to join. "I just knew I had to do something because of my grief over having lost my husband."

At the time, she had difficulty getting up from a sofa due to back pain and would sometimes lose her balance in certain situations.

Now Murata, 71, helps lead other students through some of the movements of the Tai Chi for Better Balance class at the Still and Moving Center taught by Jerry Punzal.

It’s improved her life so much that she’s started bringing friends to tai chi class. Some stay on, and others don’t.

The Chinese martial art — sometimes known as moving meditation — not only helped Murata gain strength, balance and flexibility, it helped her cope with the loss of her husband, Patrick, who died of a heart attack in 2005. They were married for 42 years.

The slow, graceful movements require an aligned posture with slightly bent, soft knees and coordination of arms, legs and feet.

The names of the basic moves are poetic: "waving hands in clouds," "parting the wild horse’s mane" and "grasping the peacock’s tail." The move "pushing hands" is a circular motion done with palms facing out and in sync with breathing.

A pivotal moment for Murata came while practicing tai chi in a one-on-one session about five years ago.

"Emotions can come out of your body," she said. "It’s like I hit a wall, emotionally, and all of this anger came out."

Murata realized she was harboring resentment toward her husband for dying and leaving her alone.

"I had never faced it," she said.

She broke down in tears but also felt a sense of freedom in that release.

Afterward, she continued to practice tai chi, finding that it helped her to move forward in her life.

"Then I realized I could talk about him without crying," she said.

Today, Murata often thinks of her husband’s sense of humor. While practicing, his voice is in her head, telling her to focus. It’s something he would often say.

Punzal’s classes begin with five minutes of a breathing meditation, followed by neck relaxation exercises while seated in a chair. Students then stand up and begin the basic moves.

It’s a mind-body exercise, according to Punzal, who has taught tai chi for more than 15 years with a focus on helping seniors prevent falls. He also teaches tai chi at the YMCA Honolulu and Salvation Army’s Kroc Center in Kapolei.

The purpose of the meditation is "to help gather mind, body and breath," he said, and "to get rid of all that mind garbage that we are constantly bombarded with" in today’s multitasking world.

"For tai chi, we really want to focus on being in the moment," he said, "and to help bring everything back to that center."

After a few classes, Murata, a grandmother of two, felt improvement in her balance. Her blood pressure dropped, too. Even after nine years, she continues to learn from each class.

"It went from basically being stiff moves, to being this flowing move, so your body all moves as one instead of everything moving separately," she said. "And you never reach the goal. You keep moving toward it."

For a time, Murata took one-on-one sessions because she suffers from a condition called multiple chemical sensitivity, or MCS, which for her results in shallow breathing when exposed to perfumes, gasoline fumes and cleaning products. She eventually found a class that satisfied her needs, but tai chi’s emphasis on focused breathing also helped.

In addition to classes, Murata performs tai chi at home daily — a half-hour at sunrise and at sunset. She also enjoys walking and ocean swimming.

"Tai chi has helped me tremendously, physically, mentally and spiritually," she said. "I was putting in two hours of practice a day, and found that the more I did it, the better I felt. My posture was getting better."

She also likes that it’s not competitive, with everyone going at their own pace.

Now she notices she’s calmer, for instance, while driving through Honolulu traffic, and she’s more aware. But that’s not the most amazing change.

One day, Murata recalled, she was carrying an armful of groceries when she asked a clerk for half of a cabbage. He sliced one, and as he did, the cabbage flew into the air.

Murata stepped forward and caught it with one hand.

"It was the tai chi," she said.

Good Fit spotlights inspiring fitness stories of change, self-discovery and challenge, and other fitness-related topics. Tell us what motivates you and how you stay fit and healthy. Email features@staradvertiser.com.