How To Build A Practice

Commit
Make at least one night a week Tai Chi night. Find a teacher (see article) and go to class even when you don't feel like it. Make Tai Chi Night your weekly ritual and let nothing get in the way.

How Much Is Enough?
Two classes a week is enough to start to experience the benefits of practice. Tai Chi is an exercise and they say it's good to exercise daily...

Postures
Concentrate on doing the postures you remember. The best way to remember is to practice every day, while some postures are fresh in your mind. Practice especially the day after class for best retention. Practice what you can recall. You didn't learn how to speak English by memorizing the dictionary first and then perfecting your pronunciation. Do what you remember. Even if you only remember one posture, you can stand and hold that posture and it's still good for you.

Paradigm
The Internal Arts (of which Tai Chi is a part) are vast. Think of learning Tai Chi more like learning how to play music and less like learning the Macarena. Just because you have memorized the form doesn't mean you have mastered Tai Chi. By far!

Depth
Maybe you don't want to "get all into" it. That's okay. However, if you want to feel the benefits of Tai Chi practice you must, um, practice. So, make sure you get to class at least one time a week.

Self Defeating Phenomena
It happens. You miss one class. You miss another class. You've missed two classes in a row. You feel guilty. The teacher will notice. You'll be behind. Next thing you know a month has gone by and you never went back! Suddenly Tai Chi has become something you failed rather than something you championed.

The remedy? Return to class. Your teacher will be happy to see you. Relax and trust me. All you have to do is go back.

Read Books
There are tons of books about Tai Chi. Find some that jive with you and read 'em!

Make It Your Own
Tai Chi becomes you. In the same way that everyone has their own handwriting, you will develop your own Tai Chi. You just do it. It just happens, as long as you practice. But remember, you didn't learn how to write in three hours a week for six weeks.

Don't Worry
Just practice. Just do it. Don't beat yourself up. This is YOUR thing for YOU. Give yourself a break. Give yourself a kick in the pants. Whatever you need to do, just don't give up!

Also read: How to Choose a Teacher