The venue will be the Manurewa South School hall, which is located at 18 Totara Road, Manurewa. (Please refer to the map below.) The classes will be held every Monday and Wednesday evening (except for public holidays and during a break over Christmas and New Year).
If you’d like more information or to RSVP, please text or phone Jocelyn on 027 493 9851 or please use the Contact Form.
What to wear: Please wear loose comfortable clothing and bring a something warm like a hoodie, jumper, cardigan, etc. Please also wear flat-soled shoes (such as sneakers, trainers or tennis shoes). Please also wear a facemask on arrival and when talking with others. You can remove your facemask during tai chi if you wish, as long as we can all physically distance ourselves. Please also bring a bottle of drinking water.
What to expect: All of the classes begin with a sequence of easy, flowing, warm-up exercises which are low impact and gentle on your joints. These exercises are designed to improve your balance and core strength. You can do tai chi while seated, if you wish.
Then, Jocelyn and her team of instructors will guide you through a tai chi form – a series of linked postures and steps, which are also designed to strengthen your leg and core muscles and improve balance. The steps are performed in a slow, focussed manner and accompanied by deep breathing (known as qigong, which means ‘breath work’ and ‘energy work’).
Price:
Come along for a free class on Monday 12th and/or Wednesday 14th September 2022. You are welcome to attend both for free.
After 14th: Prices start from $10 to $15 per class (depending on how many classes are purchased in advance). A discount is available for those who are referredby ACC and Age Concern for the Community Group Strength and Balance Exercise programme (“Live Stronger for Longer”). You must be aged 65+AND be referred to qualify for this discount.
Covid-19 protection requirements to attend classes:
High-quality face masks must be worn on arrival and when chatting to others before the class starts/after the class finishes. Some students are immuno-compromised. Everyone made a unanimous decision to continue to wear masks when coming to class to support and help those who are less fortunate with their health. This is regardless of any lesser requirements recommended by the NZ Government. If you wish, you can remove your mask during the class, as long as we can all physically distance ourselves. Please do not wear home-made fabric masks.
Anyone who wants to keep wearing a mask throughout the class is welcome to do so and their views/wishes are respected by others.
The hall will be well-ventilated as we have the doors open in ALL weathers, so please wear layered clothing to keep warm. Fortunately, warmer weather is on the way. There is a lovely outdoor deck off the hall and we do tai chi on that in the summer months.
Please stay at home if you have a cold or flu-like symptoms or if you or someone in your household has Covid. You are not charged for missed classes under these circumstances.
All instructors are vaccinated, including with two boosters.
If you’d like more information or to RSVP, please text or phone Jocelyn on 027 493 9851 or please use the Contact Form.
Participants in the evening classes are encouraged to attend on both Monday and Wednesday evenings. However, if you are committed to practicing at home then it is OK to attend just one class per week.
The above map shows the location of the evening classes in the Manurewa South School hall. The entrance to the hall and the parking is at 18 Totara Road (please don’t go to the main entrance to the school, which is on another street).
Please text or phone Jocelyn Watkin for more information about any of her classes, courses, workshops or retreats: 027 493 9851. Alternatively, please use the Contact Form to get in touch.
Tai chi is easy, fun and a really great exercise, which is good for your body and helpful at reducing stress. If you are unable to stand for very long, Jocelyn and several of her assistant instructors can also teach seated tai chi, which you can do alongside the rest of the class.
What is tai chi? Described as “moving meditation”, tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art that combines mental focus with deliberate and relaxed movements. Regular practice of tai chi can help improve strength, health and balance, reduce stress and lower blood pressure. Read more about the health benefits of tai chi.
Please text or phone Jocelyn to RSVP or for more information: 027 493 9851. Alternatively, please use the Contact Form to get in touch.
Evening tai chi classes restart tomorrow (Mon 8 March 2021) as Auckland is now in Alert Level 2. I am so happy that I’ll see you all again on both the 8th March and Wednesday 10th March, 6.30pm.
I’ll be in the Manurewa South School hall from 6.15pm on both Monday and Wednesday evenings. There’ll be hand sanitiser available and plenty of room to keep at least one metre apart for social distancing. The lovely Ken will record your attendance in the register.
New beginners are welcome to join the beginners class (in the evenings, 6.30 – 7.15pm) up until Wednesday 10 March 2021. Please arrive no later than 6.25pm. Your first class is free. If you’d like to come along, please text or phone Jocelyn Watkin on 027 493 9851 or please use the Contact Form.
If you want to get fitter without puffing, feel healthier and live stronger for longer, then tai chi can help you.
If this sounds like something you want then the team at Kia Ora Tai Chi would love to hear from you. We are looking for adults of any age and ability, who are keen to make a regular commitment to learning tai chi.
To find out if tai chi is for you, please come along to one or both of the free “taster sessions” on Monday 29th and Wednesday 31st July 2019, in Manurewa.
To RSVP or to ask questions about the classes, please use theContact Form
After the free sessions, we encourage anyone who can attend AT LEAST once per week to enrol in a new tai chi class for beginners, which will start on Monday 5th and Wednesday 7th August 2019, 6.30 – 7.15pm.
Cost of classes: The classes on the 29th and 31st of July 2019 are FREE. After that, prices start from $9.50 per class. A discount is available for those who are referredby ACC and Age Concern for the Community Group Strength and Balance Exercise programme (“Live Stronger for Longer”). You must be aged 65+ to be referred.
What to wear: Please wear loose comfortable clothing and flat-soled shoes (such as sneakers, trainers or tennis shoes). Please also bring a drinking bottle of water.
Here at Kia Ora Tai Chi, we are all constantly amazed at thehealth improvements that our students tell us about once they attend our classes on a regular basis:
sleeping better at night
finding it easier to go up and down stairs
improved breathing, with less wheezing or feeling like they’ve ‘run out of breath’
playing with their children or grandchildren for longer without getting tired
lowering their high blood pressure
feeling more flexible and moving better with less aches and pains
better balance/less falls
feeling better all over and less stressed
toned muscles.
Learn how to reduce stress with tai chi
There have been hundreds of clinical studies over many years that confirm the health benefits of tai chi, especially for the Tai Chi for Health programmes that we teach at Kia Ora Tai Chi. You can read more about these clinical studies here.
One aspect consistent across all studies and trials is that none of these benefits happen overnight or after just one class. The trials take place over several weeks, sometimes several months, and the people being studied do tai chi at least 2 -3 times per week.
Most of my students attend at least one class per week, often two, and several practice between each class.
We are now looking for a group of new beginners who accept that their health and well-being is worth a regular commitment to tai chi.
Find out more about Kia Ora Tai Chi classes, how to get to the venue, and what to expect.
New Zealand might be the first country in the world to see the sun each day. But, not on Saturday 28 April 2018, World Tai Chi & Qi Gong (WTCQG) day. The rain really bucketed down in Auckland.
Each year on the last Saturday of April, tens of thousands of people in many cities across the world gather to do tai chi together at 10am. It is a global wave of goodwill – one human family, breathing together as one. The event’s motto is, “One World – One Breath”
Our small but determined Kia Ora Tai Chi group were one of the first in the world to kick-off WTCQG Day at 10am. We began with a warm up exercise: ‘awakening the qi’ and trying to bring on some sunbeams.
Sadly, those sunbeams wouldn’t come out to play. So, we headed indoors and created a sunny, happy atmosphere inside. Several Kia Ora Tai Chi students (in red shirts) came along to be part of this unique, world-wide event and we also attracted around 10 members of the public. Even those who had never done tai chi before were able to learn the first eight steps of the Sun-style form. Here we are doing those eight steps and basking in the sunshine of our own making:
WTCQG Day was founded 20 years ago by Bill Douglas and his wife, Angela Wong Douglas. From a small start in Kansas, USA, the event is now held in 100s of cities in over 80 countries.
Celebrate World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day on Saturday 28 April, 2018, in Wattle Downs, Manurewa, Auckland. FREE, fun and family-friendly. If you’ve ever wanted to give tai chi a go, then this event is for you. All welcome.
What to expect: We will begin with a sequence of easy, flowing, warm-up exercises which are low impact and gentle on your joints. Then, the tai chi instructor, Jocelyn Watkin, will guide you through a Tai Chi for Health form – a series of linked steps, which are performed in a slow, mindful manner and accompanied by deep breathing.
Tai chi is easy, fun and a really great exercise, which is good for your body and helpful at reducing stress. If you are unable to stand or stand for very long, Jocelyn is also qualified to teach seated tai chi, which you can do alongside of everyone.
When: Saturday 28 April 2018, 9.45 – 11am. The tai chi starts promptly at 10am.
Where: Manurewa, Auckland, 2103.
Tai chi in Clayton Park School hall
What to wear: Loose, comfortable clothing and flat shoes like sneakers or trainers.
RSVP: If you wish, just arrive before 10am on Saturday 28 April 2018. However, RSVPs would also be welcome via the Contact Form or you can text Jocelyn on 027 493 9851.
What is tai chi? Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art that combines mindfulness with a series of linked postures and steps.
Strength and peace
What is World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day? Each year, on the last Saturday of April, tens of thousands of people come together in many cities across the world to do tai chi at 10am (their own local time). People of any age, ability, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or religion gather as one for the sole purpose of advancing personal and global health & healing. The event’s motto is “One World… One Breath”.
What is Qi Gong? (Qi is pronounced ‘chee’): Qi gong breathing is an integrated part of tai chi and is especially beneficial for health and mental relaxation. Qi can mean air (oxygen), life, energy or breath. The word ‘gong’ means ‘way of’ or ‘skill’. Qi Gong means: way of getting more air, life or energy. The concept of Qi is known in other cultures by different names. Star Wars fans know it as ‘The Force’.
Almost anyone can learn tai chi as it is suitable for nearly all adults (of any age) and children. You do not need special shoes, expensive clothing or any fancy equipment. And, you won’t get all sweaty or puffed out. However, if you have a medical condition that may be affected by tai chi please talk to your medical/health professional before taking part in World Tai Chi & Qi Gong Day.
March 2021
Note: This is a post from July 2019
Note: This event has now passed.
What is Qi Gong? (Qi is pronounced ‘chee’): Qi gong breathing is an integrated part of tai chi and is especially beneficial for health and mental relaxation. Qi can mean air (oxygen), life, energy or breath. The word ‘gong’ means ‘way of’ or ‘skill’. Qi Gong means: way of getting more air, life or energy. The concept of Qi is known in other cultures by different names. Star Wars fans know it as ‘The Force’.