World T’ai Chi and Qi Gong Day 2011

Saturday April 30th 2011 is world T’ai Chi and Qi Gong day!

This annual event is a day to showcase the many and varied styles of T’ai Chi and Qi Gong, with many clubs and societies in the UK participating. There are often demonstrations and taster sessions for you to try out what’s on offer.

The official site is a bit chaotic and jumbled, but has lots of information on. Most of the events run by local clubs aren’t ‘official’ though, so you’d do as well to look around your local area or do a google search to find out what’s happening near you. If you’ve never tried T’ai Chi or Qi Gong, this might be the perfect opportunity!

T’ai Chi (or taiji) and Qi Gong (or chi kung) are closely related – technically T’ai Chi is a kind of Qi Gong. Both arts use gentle rhythmic movements, static postures, breathing techniques and mental focus to achieve a state of deep relaxation and meditation.

As Qi is strengthened, and its flow regulated during practice, these are excellent practices for health maintenance and well-being on all levels.

Related post: Qi Gong