Elevate Tai Chi is guided by Dawn Nader, a lifelong student of martial arts and mindful movement with over two decades of study and teaching. Her instruction is informed by traditional lineage, modern pedagogy, and a deep respect for individual experience.
Dawn Nader is the Founder and Principal Instructor of Elevate Tai Chi, based in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. She currently teaches in person at The Morton Arboretum and public venues throughout the region. Dawn approaches Tai Chi as a martial art, a living philosophy, mindful movement, moving meditation, and gentle exercise — a lifelong practice that supports physical health, emotional steadiness, and mental clarity.
Elevate Tai Chi offers an invitation into steady movement, quiet attention, and embodied presence.
Rooted in Yang Style Tai Chi and Qigong, the practice is approached as a way to listen, regulate, and reconnect — breath by breath, step by step.
Classes are accessible, welcoming, and non-competitive. Instruction emphasizes clarity, adaptability, and respect for individual experience.
The practice meets you where you are.
Dawn believes Tai Chi is most powerful when it is practiced with curiosity, applied to daily life and embodied over time as a living philosophy called Tai Chi (The Grand-Ultimate or Harmony Fist). We have come to know as balance and harmony (all parts working together as one, no struggle) .
The goal is relationship — with movement, breath, and attention over time.
Lineage offers roots. Practice gives it life. The takeaway is empowerment in daily life.
For those interested in Dawn’s training and lineage, you can learn more here.
In 2024, she celebrated:
10 years of Elevate Tai Chi
20 years of martial arts study and instruction
Dawn believes stepping outside your comfort zone is an excellent way to notice your body in motion. It is fertile ground for personal growth and nurtures your abilty to find your F.L.O.W. on the go.
Outside of teaching, Dawn continues to live the principles she teaches — training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, traveling outside the United States and exploring national and state parks throughout North America--all with her husband Mike.
