Free tai chi in Cornwall Park 2018 & 2019

by | Nov 19, 2018 | Information | 0 comments

This is a post from November 2018.

The last summer tai chi session for 2019 in Cornwall Park was on Tuesday 29 January, 2019, 6 – 7pm.

If you’re looking for more free tai chi sessions with Kia Ora Tai Chi then check out this link.

Contact us, to find out whether there’ll be summer tai chi sessions in January and February 2022.

The Summer Tai Chi in Cornwall Park sessions began on Sunday mornings (9-10am) on the  2nd, 9th and 16th of December 2018 and Tuesday evenings (6-7pm) on 4th, 11th and 18th December 2018. With the exception of New Year’s Day, the lessons continued on every Sunday morning and Tuesday evening in January 2019. Classes were approximately 45 mins. Fun for all of the family, from children to grandparents. Ideal for beginners.

All of these sessions were led by Jocelyn Watkin, of Kia Ora Tai Chi. Jocelyn is a qualified and premier instructor for Tai Chi for Health Institute, who has over 20 years martial arts experience.  All of Jocelyn’s tai chi classes are also approved with the BIG TICK for the Community Group Strength and Balance Programme: “Live Stronger for Longer”.

Location: Under the big trees on the left-hand-side of Pohutukawa Drive (as you come up from Greenlane Road). Keep an eye out for the tai chi signs. Jocelyn and her fellow instructors will be wearing red Kia Ora Tai Chi polo shirts.

Summer tai chi in Cornwall Park is fun, free and suitable for all ages. You don’t need special clothes or equipment. A big thank you to the Cornwall Park Trust Board for funding these sessions so everyone can enjoy learning tai chi for free.

Please bring a bottle of water and insect repellent.

What to wear:

  • Comfy clothes and shoes
  • A sun hat and sun block
  • Bring a jersey/sweatshirt in case there is a breeze.

If wet, please check the Kia Ora Tai Chi facebook page for cancellation notices: https://www.facebook.com/kiaorataichi/

If fine, just come along to any session. There’s no need to RSVP as all will be welcome. Ideal for complete beginners.

Described as “moving meditation”, tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art that combines mental focus and mindfulness with deliberate and relaxed movements that are gentle on the joints.

Find out more:

All of Jocelyn’s tai chi classes are approved for ACC’s Strength and Balance Programme.

Tai chi is the perfect fit for fitness

by | Nov 13, 2018 | Information | 0 comments

Love tai chi for fun and fitness

People often ask whether tai chi can help with fitness. When I say “YES” they ask how is this possible when you don’t ‘huff and puff’ while doing tai chi?

Puffing and the ‘blood, sweat and tears’ approach to exercise is mainly propaganda from the gyms touting for business. Fortunately, there is better news for those who don’t fancy working up a sweat or can’t?

The team at “Trust Me I’m a Doctor” (BBC TV) set off to the University of Birmingham to answer the question on whether something so slow and graceful as tai chi could really give you the benefits of a more vigorous workout.

For this clinical trial, they worked with volunteers aged 65 – 75 to compare tai chi with Zumba Gold. The results (released in October 2018) surprised them: The tai chi group showed similar benefits to those in the Zumba group, with improvements in blood pressure and vessel flexibility.

You can find out more and WHY in this link: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45799473

Numerous other studies and clinical trials have shown that tai chi improves muscular strength, flexibility, fitness, immunity, relieves pain and improves the quality of life. If you’d like to know more about this and how/why tai chi works then chick out this information from Dr Paul Lam and the Tai Chi for Health Institute: https://taichiforhealthinstitute.org/articles/life-style/

Dr Lam says that, “Hour for hour, practising a Tai Chi for Health programme is probably the most effective exercise to improve health and well-being“. To find more about the Tai Chi for Health programmes that I teach click here.

Find out more about Kia Ora Tai Chi classes.

Kia Ora Tai Chi for fitness and for health. Fun, too.