Xiamen City -- In the midst of COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine Consulate General in Xiamen organized the much-needed wellness program for its personnel to ensure their continuous stable mental, physical and emotional state of health. Led by Acting Head of Post, Vice Consul Elaine Mae V. Laruan-Hernandez, Consulate General’s personnel attended tai-chi sessions for an hour twice weekly from 12 April to 07 June 2021 at the PCG grounds.
Master Chen Huiwen, General Manager of Xiamen Huiwu Taiji Culture Communication Co. Ltd., and a known practitioner in Xiamen of Chen-style tai-chi, personally conducted all the sixteen (16) tai-chi lessons.
Apart from its health benefits, Post chose tai-chi for its wellness program as it is also one of the best known martial arts of the internal systems from ancient China. It is characterized by contrasting and complimentary movements – slow and soft versus fast and hard. It contains explosive power and low stances. It was first developed in the 17th century by Chen Wangting. Also known as “shadow boxing” and described as “moving meditation”, tai-chi uses techniques to enhance physical and mental health, improve posture, balance, flexibility, and strength. It harmonizes the mind, body and soul and boosts mood, alleviate pain, strengthen the immune system and improve heart health.
While tai-chi is typified by its slow movements, many styles (including the three most popular: Yang, Wu and Chen) have secondary, faster-paced forms. Yang Style is the most popular Tai Chi style but in recent years, Chen and Sun Style have become better known.
