World Tai chi and Qigong day in Northampton

The World Tai Chi and Qigong Day is an annual event that takes place on the last Saturday of April, to promote the related martial art disciplines of Tai Chi and Qigong across the world. This year it takes place on April 27th. At the event I saw an opportunity to bring people together based on an interest in their health and an understanding of the importance of working with the only material object we are given for life - our body.

Tai Chi is one of the most famous and best practices for mastering harmony and balance. It is universal: by mastering Tai Chi, we train the brain, attention, perception, consciousness, body. In other words, we change our quality.

太極 (Tai Chi)- is Great (Supreme, Grand) Limit ( Ultimate). Grand Limit doesn't mean the edge of something. Chinese tell us about a nature way of things. Not higher not lower, Not less and not more, not wide not narrow, not farer not closer - as much as needed. In other words it is a Harmony.

Tai chi chuan (太極拳) has one more term - Chuan. Chuan - is a fist. All together we get The fist of a Grand limit. Or a fist of a harmony? What is the fist in this context? Of course, it is not something heavy we put into a boxing gloves let to brake a nose to this guy opposite. A fist consists from five fingers folded together. Fingers are concentrated in one point. Focused. Chuan - fist - means focusing, not aggression. Let connect all together, we have Harmony and Focusing - the root of tai chi chuan.

One of the most important principles of tai chi is wholeness or integrity. Its means not only body work but mindfulness too. There are muscles, bones, joints, ligaments not only move but our mind fill it. Otherwise its just a fitness. You could plug your ears with headphones and do exercises mechanically. Chinese proverb says: Where thought goes energy, where energy goes blood. Is there a reason to do something in defective way?

Tai chi is a lifestyle. Once started, you guide tai chi principles through all spheres of life. As well as you know that to be healthy is better and cheaper then to ill. Tai chi obviously increases quality of life.

According to my experience, I conclude that Tai Chi is not just a martial system, not just a system of gymnastics, not just a system of meditation in movement. Tai chi today is a wonderful technology of power management.

The world is built not of objects, but of the interaction of forces. Getting experience in tai chi you learn to interact with any forces in any sphere of your life. And this is not only health.

Technology that allows you to bring your life into balance. Achieve your goals. Preserve your health. Improve your quality of life. Sound like magic? But no. It's all tai chi.

Just keep calm and do tai chi, and one day the understanding of tai chi as a powerful technology will come to you. The World Tai chi and qigong day is your first day on this way.

My name is Dmitry Fedyanin. I’m from Latvia, and now I’m living in Northampton. Perhaps, I’m your first tai chi trainer and The Taichi pavilion is your first tai chi school.