The Walled City Festival commences on Saturday 9th June 2001, and the Tai Chi Community will be providing a team to demonstrate the Tai Chi form. At each class we chall now be practising for this event. It is therefore important that we always practise together in order to improve our timing and develop our detail of the form. When we are infront of the general public in the Guildhall Square we want to ensure that everyone is doing exactly the same movement together at any given time. Normally we do the form two times, therefore it is important that each player knows how to start into the Tai Chi form the second time without stopping. So far our senior members have shown great progress in their practise, and their timing of the form has improved greatly. We are confident that our display in the Guildhall Square will be an occasion to be proud of because of our ongoing sincere practise. well done.
Wendy returned home to Belgium on Monday 9th April full of praise for the members of our Tai Chi Community. She was delighted to make the aquaintance of old friends and enjoyed the many conversations she had with all of them. Again this year she was particularly impressed at our Community and the quality of the work we do together. She really enjoyed the night of Ten-Pin bowling and the weekend in Gweedore, and was particularly sad when she had to leave. She is already planning to return next year, and has assured us that she will be back to full fitness. As she awaits the arrival of her new baby we wish her good health and great happiness.
We have been informed that the sale of the Foyle Arts Building may be completed by September 2001. This being the case we may be able to continue using the building for our activities under the Universities Community education programme. A lot, of course, depends on the results of our negotiations with the university authorities, and our ability to secure and retain our ethos and identity as a grass-roots community group. We feel we could possibly lose our identity and independance if we allowed ourselves to become just another class within the university's education system.We need the freedom to continue and develop our work and to be independant of any institution in order to retain our ethos of community ownership.
Qigong is an outstanding cultural legacy of ancient China, and is also an important part of Chinese traditional medicine (TCM). It is unique to China, and it's aim as an exercise form is to prevent and cure many ailments and diseases. It also helps to strengthen the constitution, slows down the ageing process and prolongs life if practised regularly. It simultaneously intergrates mental and physical activity with body posture and respiration.
"Vein-friendly" activities are walking, cycling, swimming, and Tai Chi & Qigong exercises. If you sit a lot a footstool under the legs will take the weight off the thighs and the back of the knees, consequently blood circulation will improve. Treading water also helps in improving circulation within the legs
Some members have enquired if we are having a break this summer. At the time of writing this there had been no decisions made in this regard. In the past, classes normally carried on throughout the year except for specific statutory holidays, Classes also continued mainly because of the demand for them and due to the fact that many of our members took their holidays at different times. In addition the situation of the sale of the building remains an issue we have to face.
