World Tai Chi and Qigong Day

People around the world will gather in local parks and gyms Saturday, April 30th, 2011 to celebrate World Tai Chi and Qigong Day. This annual grassroots event helps build awareness of tai chi and qigong practice, and provides students and teachers with a chance to mingle with fellow practitioners.
Tai chi (taiji) has its roots in Chinese martial arts traditions, and early on, became known for its health benefits. Its practice spread throughout China in the early twentieth century, and by the 1960s, began to spread rapidly overseas.
Western medical research has affirmed tai chi's benefits for a wide range of health and wellness quests: practice of tai chi--and its sister art, qigong (ch'i-kung)--improves balance, lowers blood pressure, diminishes symptoms of Parkinson's, MS, depression, shingles, and much more.
Just as important, though, is that tai chi and qigong are simply enjoyable to practice!