World Tai Chi and Qigong Day
The World Tai Chi and Qigong Day is celebrated every last Saturday of April each year. This day aims to promote Tai Chi and Qigong. Tai Chi is a Chinese Martial Art practice of defense and training and has health benefits and also involved meditation. On the other hand, Qigong is a system of coordinated body posture, movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of martial arts training, spirituality, and health. Tai Chi and Qigong are thus, related disciplines.
About the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day
During World Tai Chi and Qigong Day, people conduct various activities that let them do both of these activities for the day. For one, people join mass tai chi exhibitions held. Those who are not familiar with these activities join classes instead for them to learn. People also shout out on social media how they are celebrating this day.
History
The first celebration of the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day was held in Kansas, City Missouri in 1998. The first mass Tai Chi exhibition was organized by the Kansas City Tai Chi Club. New about this event soon exploded until the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day became a national and an international observance.
Dates
As mentioned earlier, World Tai Chi and Qigong Day is celebrated every last Saturday of April each year.
Why Celebrate
The main reason why you should celebrate this day is that you will be able to experience both Tai Chi and Qigong, which are both good activities to do for your body. Practicing martial arts will yet be another exercise for you to maintain good physical health. On the other hand, the meditation aspects of these activities will also improve your mental health.
Celebration Ideas and Activities
The following are the best things to do to make your celebration of the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day as best as it can be:
Join Classes
One good idea for your celebration of this day is to join tai chi and qigong classes. This is ideal for you if you still don’t know one or both of these disciplines. You will enjoy it for sure especially if you are a sporty kind of person.
Participate in Exhibitions
Another idea for your celebration of this day is to participate in tai chi exhibitions. During this day, mass tai chi exhibitions are held as a way of celebration. You might as well join these.
Celebrate on Social Media
You can also take your celebration of this day on social media. You can, for instance, use the hashtag #WorldTaiChiAndQigongDay to let your friends and followers know that you are also participating in the celebration of this day.
World Tai Chi and Qigong Day Quotes
- Qigong is the art and science of refining and cultivating internal energy. – Ken Cohen
- Think of the circular path of each movement, in Tai Chi every movement is in curve or circle that has no ending or beginning. – Paul Lam
- Qigong is a strategy for freedom from our cage of isolation. – Garri Garripoli, Qigong: Essence of the Healing Dance
- Practicing qigong is so simple and so powerful. You cannot do it wrong. You can only do it good, better, or best. – Chunyi Lin
- Tai chi is the one exercise that can universally help solve our growing health crisis. It has stood the test of thousands of years. We have a generation of baby boomers with increasing health problems; old people who are sick, in pain, fearful, and cranky; a middle class that is increasingly incapable of affording most of the drugs that are prescribed for their ailments; children that are flaccid, diabetic and asthmatic. People of all ages are addicted to drugs, alcohol, sugar, cigarettes, and caffeine. Stress follows almost everyone like a shadow. – Bruce Frantzis
- Stillness and action are relative, not absolute, principles. It is important to find a balance of yin and yang, not just in qigong, but in everyday life. In movement, seek stillness and rest. In rest, be mindful and attentive. – Ken Cohen
- The beauty of the qigong approach is that you simply start from where you are. Tiny steps can still take you where you want to go; you just need to dedicate some of your time to yourself, which is a form of self-respect and love. – Dr. Daju Suzanne Friedman, Heal Yourself with Qigong
- At the higher stages of energy continuation, one will find his movements are now being governed by the movement of his internal energy. – Wu Ta-yeh
- Tai chi is often described as “meditation in motion,” but it might well be called “medication in motion.” There is growing evidence that this mind-body practice… has value in treating or preventing many health problems. – Harvard Women’s Health Watch, May 2009
- Qi gong therapy, as well as other branches of Chinese medicine, can be reduced to two simple principles: the cleansing of meridians to achieve harmonious energy flow, and the restoration of yin-yang balance. – Wong Kiew Kit