London South Bank University’s Confucius Institute for Traditional Chinese Medicine (CITCM) successfully held this year’s Chinese Wellbeing Month in June. The event included workshops on Tai Chi and Health, Diet in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese Massage for Stress Relief. The lectures were positively received by more than a hundred people.
During the Tai Chi and Health Workshop, Wang Zhijie introduced the important role that Tai Chi plays in daily life. She not only promoted the theoretical essence of balancing the dynamic and the static but also taught the participants some Tai Chi warm-up moves. One attendee commented, “In the past I heard about how Tai Chi was good for health, but I’ve never tried it. So I really enjoyed this experience today!”
Nowadays an increasing number of people are taking an interest in Chinese medicine, the positive effects of which can be experienced in daily diet. Tian Ye elucidated the miraculous effects of Chinese medicine in diet by explaining the theory of yin-yang and the five elements. He encouraged the audience to consider the important questions, such as What is your physical constitution? What food suits you? Can food boost your immune system? At the end of the lecture Tian Ye said in conclusion, “I hope the Chinese wellbeing tips can help you and the people around you lead a healthier and happier life.”
During the Workshop of Chinese Massage for Stress Relief, Zhang Xingbo gave an overview of the common health issues the British people usually face, including insomnia and mild depression caused by stress and heavy workload for instance. To tackle these problems, Zhang Xingbo introduced some basic acupuncture points for the purpose of stress relief as well as preventing and treating minor physical conditions. He guided the participants to locate the basic points and demonstrated how a gentle pressing on each of the points for three minutes can relieve stress. Many people said that they would try this on a regular basis and hoped that self-massage could help them relax.
The Chinese Wellbeing Month not only enabled more British people to understand and embrace the philosophy and treatment practice of Chinese medicine but also encouraged people actively to pursue a healthy life.