World Tai Chi and Qigong Day (WTCQD), also spelled World T'ai Chi and Ch'i Kung Day, is an annual event held the last Saturday of April each year to promote the related disciplines of

T'ai chi ch'uan Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...

and

Qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

in nearly eighty countries since 1999.

Overview

The annual April event is open to the general public, and begins in the earliest time zones of

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

at 10 am, and then participants across

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

take part, with celebrations in eighty nations and several hundred cities, ending with the final events in the last time zones of

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

almost an entire day later. Celebrations include mass t'ai chi ch'uan and qigong exhibitions in many cities, and free classes in most participating cities. World Tai Chi and Qigong Day's stated goals are to: # Educate the world about emerging medical research revealing health benefits that t'ai chi ch'uan and qigong offer. # Educate about the increasing use of these ancient

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

modalities in business, healthcare, education, penal and drug rehabilitation. # Provide a global vision of cooperation for health & healing purposes across geopolitical boundaries, and also an appeal to people worldwide to embrace wisdom from all the cultures of the world. # Thank Chinese culture for the gifts of tai chi and qigong to the world.

Organization

The local events are independently organized by local Tai Chi Chuan and Qigong schools, groups, and associations. The format of events varies by locality, although most involve free classes and mass exhibitions. International organizing for the event is done at the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day office in

Overland Park Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. ...

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

History

The global event began in 1999. However the first event, that inspired the global event, was held in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

, in 1998 on the lawn of the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art in midtown Kansas City, where the Kansas City Tai Chi Club held a mass Tai Chi exhibition and teach-in involving nearly two-hundred people.

CNN Headline News HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline News ...

covered the event, which generated interest beyond Kansas City to quickly grow into a national and international event in the following years. World Tai Chi and Qigong Day has been officially proclaimed by governors of 25 US states, the senates of California, New York, and Puerto Rico, by Brazil's National Council of Deputies, and officials in several nations. In 2013 Harvard Medical School launched a series of lectures regarding medical research on tai chi benefits. The Harvard lecture series homepage was titled "Celebrating World Tai Chi Day." ''The Harvard Medical School Guide to Tai Chi'', released in 2012, cited World Tai Chi Day, writing, "A reflection of how successful the invasion of f tai chihas been is World Tai Chi Day, organized by Bill Douglas. One of the purposes of this day is "to bring people across racial, economic, religious, and geo-political boundaries, to join together for the purpose of health and healing, providing an example to the world." Millions of people around the world—65 nations participated in 2011—gather one day each year to celebrate the health and healing benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong." This global event was founded by Bill Douglas and Angela Wong Douglas, co-authors of ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to T'ai Chi and Qigong'' (Penguin Alpha Books, fourth edition, 2012). Their book's chapter entitled, "World T'ai Chi and Qigong Day," was a major force behind the global awareness of this health and healing event. In 2013 the National Council of Deputies in Brazil joined 22 U.S. Governors, the Senates of California, New York, and Puerto Rico and other officials and bodies from around the world in recognizing World Tai Chi & Qigong Day. Local and national media worldwide have covered World Tai Chi & Qigong Day events, including Agence France Presse TV; Egyptian national television news; and New York City's Central Park event was covered by NDT Television News. In 2019

Southampton City Council Southampton City Council is the local authority of the city of Southampton. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including c ...

celebrated World Tai Chi & Qigong Day alongside UK Shaolin Temple, who jointly held a free public event in Southampton’s Guildhall Square on Saturday 27 April 2019. The event highlighted the importance of

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles Stress (biology), stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-maki ...

and wellbeing awareness with free

Tai Chi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. ...

and

taster sessions. Near to one hundred attendees sampled a number of simple exercise routines to incorporate into their daily routines. The message of the event also reached hundreds of thousands of people through

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

and regional press coverage including the

Southern Daily Echo The ''Southern Daily Echo'', more commonly known as the ''Daily Echo'' or simply ''The Echo'', is a regional tabloid newspaper based in Southampton, covering the county of Hampshire in the United Kingdom. The newspaper is owned by Newsquest, on ...

Press and

BBC Solent BBC Radio Solent is the BBC's local radio station serving Hampshire, Dorset and the Isle of Wight. It broadcasts on FM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios on Havelock Road in Southampton. According to RAJAR, the station has a ...

. This global healing event, in turn, inspired what is now known as

World Healing Day World Healing Day is a name used for a variety of events that have been held in hundreds of cities in over 65 nations. World Healing Day events have included Yoga, Prayer, Tai Chi, Qigong, Reiki, Healing Prayer, Meditation Day, Native Aborigina ...

References

External links

* {{Qigong International observances April observances Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) Tai chi Qigong Health awareness days

Overview

Organization

History

See also

References

External links