FUNDING

DATE

Summer 2018

Partners

Individuals referred through Primary Care Services, Networks and partner Charities

An introductory series of workshops of non-stressful movement, stretching, rotating, bending, conscious breathing and mental concentration - a combination of mind, breath and movement. This ancient Chinese system of health preservation can be used to improve physical health and enhance emotional and mental wellbeing.

Workshops were tailored to the needs of those attending, seated or wheelchair-based adaptations were made and support to enable those with limited or no mobility of limbs to participate. The adaptations made the practice accessible to individuals who wouldn’t otherwise be able to access a Qi Gong class, or served as a gentle and supportive introduction to those who would.

Practicing Qi Gong in an outdoors natural environment brings additional therapeutic benefits – participants commented on this when sessions were occasionally driven indoors by bad weather. The group setting brought social benefits and shared experiences. Sessions always concluded with tea and a chance to connect, often over herbal teas from the garden.

6 workshops

tailored to individuals           

7 participants

with long-term health conditions or disabilities

150 years  

life expectancy of Qi Gong practicing monks, according to Daoist tradition!

1.

IMPROVING WELLBEING through mind body practice in nature. Providing an introduction to a practice that most participants have said they wish to explore further, in the garden or in other settings.

2.

ENCOURAGING SELF-HEALTH CARE through therapeutic practice designed to correct imbalances in the body, improve mood, help deal with pain and increase our ability to take control of our wellbeing and focus on what the body and mind can do, not what they can’t.

3.

ENABLING ACCESS by participants with limited mobility and disabilities through tailoring and adaptations, to make the practice possible for those who wouldn’t typically be able to attend a Qi Gong class.