30+1 Anniversary Park Lesson
Celestial Tai Chi College turned 30 in 2020 and we meant to celebrate our 30th anniversary with several great events. Unfortunately, these were cancelled due to the pandemic. However, I am so glad that we did have our 30+1 Anniversary Park Lesson on April 24 this year at the Anderson Park in Hawthorn. The weather was great and more than 90 people enjoyed a great morning together doing what we always enjoy doing – Tai Chi and Qigong.
Park lessons at different locations
This year we decided to move the locations of our park lessons to make them more accessible to our students across Melbourne. On July 4 we had a lovely park lesson at the Riverside Park by the Maribyrnong River. About 45 people attended. The morning was crisp, but soon the energy radiated by all, together with the morning sun, made this morning exercise immensely pleasurable.
Brighton, Bundoora and Box Hill were the other 3 areas earmarked to host park lessons this year but, of course, Brighton and Bundoora were unable to play host as we went into lockdown 6. I am so glad that Box Hill will host our last park lesson for the year on Dec 4 at the Box Hill Gardens, Nelson Road. This Park lesson will serve as a “break up” event for the college although individual centres may run up to the 2nd week of December. The year 2021 has turned out to be a tough year for many and so, it will be wonderful to come together as a college community to finish off the year on a positive note. There is always synergy when we do Tai Chi and Qigong together. I love Tai Chi in the park. Will you join me on this day?
Classes disrupted but not our resolve for tai chi
This pandemic has disrupted our classes greatly as Victoria went from lockdown number 3 to lockdown number 6! Yet, it has not disrupted our resolve to do Tai Chi and Qigong. The feedback we received has been encouraging. People are keeping up with their Tai Chi and Qigong in their lounge rooms, in their backyards, out in the park and on the beaches. Some by themselves and some in pairs. Some are tuning into zoom classes and some are following the various videos we have uploaded on the college’s website. I am proud to say that the college has made these videos free to all. Someone has even commented that she has “learned” the fan routine from my video clip. This is wonderful and well done, however, I hasten to say that it will be greatly beneficial to continue practising the fan under the tutelage of an experienced instructor. Nothing is quite like learning face-to-face with an experienced teacher.
Lockdown lifted!
Lockdown restrictions have all now been lifted and, yes, we did survive all these lockdowns! Let us be thankful for the freedom we have again. All our classes except for two have now recommenced. We can all now come back to live classes and most of these will go on till mid-December. We will then go into our Christmas and New Year break before we resume on 31 January 2022.
Looking forward to 2022
2022 will be a better year if we do not lose hope. We will resume the Masters’ workshops, philosophy lessons and our annual celebration dinner. We are also considering the possibility of bringing back the once popular Tai Chi & Qigong retreat in 2022. Watch out for more news.
This is Christmas
As we move towards the festive seasons, let us be mindful of the many who have seen it tough. Let us give a helping hand to one another when the need arises. Christmas is a season of joy and peace and so we should be the channel of blessings to others. On behalf of Grand Master Eng Chor, Snr Instructors and all teaching staff, I wish you a blessed and a Happy CHRISTMAS.
Salutation & Best Wishes
Senior Master Chin Min
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Updated: 26 November 2021
