Since COVID-19 many of us have struggled with lingering health issues. This is something Blackheathen Virginia Field understands too well. As a 19 year-old she grappled with ongoing ill health after a 6-week feverish illness that changed the direction of her life. With frequent relapses over the next six years her health finally turned around after a 6-week acupuncture treatment that introduced her to Chinese medicine.
Key Points:
- Tai Chi has been found to improve brain function (like memory and mental flexibility) faster than other exercise and, in a recent study, comparing Tai Chi to brisk walking, the martial art was found to be significantly better at reducing blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease, like blood sugar levels and cholesterol.
- Harvard Medical School has reported that this gentle form of exercise can help maintain strength, flexibility, and balance, and could be the perfect activity for the rest of your life. It’s particularly popular in Hong Kong, where residents have one of the highest life expectancies in the world!
- The Planetary Health Centre offers Tai Chi and Qigong sessions at its Skill Share Saturdays on the first Saturday of every month.
“I remember walking out of that treatment time and just feeling so alive. For those years, from 19-25, I’d been really dragging myself around like an old lady. It was like I had my life back, and I thought about studying acupuncture at the time, but I was never really enamored with the thought of putting needles in people. But I did find a Tai Chi teacher and I knew that Tai Chi was the same kind of medicine. And I was just a very dedicated student from those early years. I can’t imagine my life without it. It’s been such a constant since those years and that time.”
Fast forward to 2025, and Virginia is sharing what she’s learnt about both Tai Chi and Qigong, at the Planetary Health Centre’s Skill Share Saturdays on the first Saturday of every month. Virginia describes Qigong, the ancient Chinese medicine movement practice, as being meditative like yoga, and the martial art Tai Chi being more like dance, but with each movement being intentional. Both practices help connect body, mind and spirit and studies have shown that both have a profound impact on both wellbeing and physical health outcomes.
Hear Virginia explain why she values both Tai Chi and Qigong in this short video filmed in the Planetary Health exhibition space:
As a new round of people are now being affected by winter viruses, we’re offering a free session with Virginia at 8am on Saturday 5 July in the warmth of our beautiful Frogs of the Blue Mountains exhibition at the Planetary Health Centre.
Numbers are strictly limited so bookings essential here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/free-winter-tai-chi-qigong-in-the-planetary-health-studio-tickets-1411368092959
Take Action:
- Book in to explore Tai Chi and Qigong at the Planetary Health Centre on Skill Share Saturdays (the first Saturday of every month): https://bmpluriversity.org/program/
- Learn more about meridians in Chinese medicine here: https://www.sitcm.edu.au/blog/understanding-meridians-and-how-theyre-used-in-traditional-chinese-medicine/
