The Lydia Circle of the Congregational Church of Tryon will sponsor Friday morning classes beginning Feb. 5, and will continue indefinitely depending on response. Qi Gong will be at 9 a.m., T’ai Chi at 10 a.m. Both classes will be taught in the Fellowship Hall of the church by Edward Kan, a familiar instructor and presence in our community. Classes are open to the public, and to both men and women, young and not-so-young.

The T’ai Chi class is paid by the quarter; cost will be determined by number of people attending. To get true benefits from these classes, it is said that one needs to attend regularly. Potential physical benefits of both Tai Ch’i and Qi Gong related to Parkinson’s disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, sleep quality, improving balance, depression, fibromyalgia, shingles, heart failure, osteoarthritis, peripheral neuropathy, and shingles have been documented by research studies funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Qi Gong combines simple stretching movements with slow and deep breathing. It can even be practiced sitting in an armless chair because it doesn’t require moving the feet. It is also practiced to warm up for T’ai Chi. T’ai Chi is more about learning certain movements in a certain order. Breathing is also important but it is more of a disciplined routine.

Edward Kan was born in Guijou Province, China. He attended high school in Hong Kong, college at Tunghai University in Taiwan, and received a master’s degree at California State University, Fresno. Ed teaches courses about China and the Chinese language as well as T’ai Chi and Qi Gong for health.

To sign up for and hear more about the classes, please call Jaymee Frole at 828-859-9414, or churchadmin@windstream.net.

– Submitted by Ellen Harvey Zipf