Published: April 25, 2007 09:25 pm         

World tai chi day in Terre Haute set for Saturday

TERRE HAUTE — Sixteen hours after it begins in New Zealand, a global wave of tai chi will hit Terre Haute at 10 a.m. Saturday, when tai chi classes from across the Valley will gather in Fairbanks Park for World Tai Chi and Qigong Day.

Led by Denise Duggan, tai chi instructor at the Wabash Senior Center, the free event will feature demonstrations, questions and answers, and snacks.

Mayor Kevin Burke has issued a proclamation declaring Terre Haute an official celebrant of the global event on the last Saturday in April. It began in 1999 to educate the world about the physical and mental benefits of tai chi and qigong, both exercises based on ancient Chinese healing arts.

Terre Haute joins 60 countries, the United Nations, states and cities that have declared the day in their communities.

If all goes as planned, tai chi and qigong practitioners around the world will perform demonstrations at 10 a.m. in their respective time zones, contributing to 24 hours of “subtlely, quietly providing a profound example to millions who participate or experience it through the media,”

according to www.worldtaichiday.org.

Duggan organized the first Terre Haute celebration in 2002. “It’s put together to encourage people to come out and see what we’re doing,” she said.

Duggan came to her Tuesday morning class at the senior center with multiple articles touting tai chi’s physical and mental health benefits. She began practicing tai chi with her husband in 2000 after his doctor recommended the exercise following his heart bypass surgery “I almost quit,” she said, because she was struggling with the fluid forms after three weeks.

Now, Duggan teaches tai chi daily for the senior center, Vigo County Parks and Recreation Department, at several retirement communities, and regularly leads demonstrations at other locations.

After class Tuesday at the senior center, Mary Loving attested to the exercise’s health benefits. Loving began tai chi three years ago after suffering from back spasms and sciatica. “Most of my back problems stopped” after a few weeks, she said, adding that the exercise also benefits her balance and strengthens her knees. “I like to walk,” she said, “when I come to hills now, it’s much easier to go up.”

Such testimonies are commonly heard from students in beginner tai chi classes, Duggan said. Arthritis and fibromyalgia are just some of the common ailments for which students report improvement after a few weeks of practicing the exercise.

Duggan is passionate about tai chi, and she is eager to demonstrate how accessible and life-changing it can be. Her senior center class does evening demonstrations every Wednesday at parks and other public spaces.

Commenting on how tai chi has grown in popularity, she said, “Back then, nobody tai chi’d. They’d look at you like ‘What is that?’ Now… it’s the cool thing to do.”

For more information on World Tai Chi and Qigong Day, contact the Wabash Senior Center at 300 S. Fifth St., Terre Haute, IN 47807, (812) 232-3245.