Classes are on Pause Until April 2020

Dear Friends,

In keeping with the general theme of social distancing and maintaining reasonable protocols for health and safety during the current coronavirus pandemic, I've decided to put our classes on hold until April. I believe this is the best way to keep everyone as safe as possible, and to ensure that, at a time when many measures are underway to curtail the spread of the virus, we are working in alignment with those measures. 

Early interventions are our best bet to limit the impact of coronavirus, as history has proven. At a time when it's easy to slip into fear over what might happen in the days to come, the current school closures and event cancellations are good reason to be optimistic. I'm delighted with this response, which is timely and appropriate. I'm very happy to operate in tune with it. 

If it proves to be excessive or unnecessary, then that will be a wonderful result. 

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I'm not going to give a firm restart date at this point. I will reassess at the end of March to see how things are shaping up, and I will keep you all updated about what comes next via this website. So, I ask that you check back here once or twice a week, or sign up for email updates (see the form in the sidebar, or the link at the end of this post). Currently the situation seems to be rapidly evolving from day to day (or hour to hour), so predictions are impossible to make. I promise that however things play out, I'll try to make as balanced a decision as I can. 

If you paid fees for March, you'll receive two weeks of classes without charge when we resume.

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I intend to spend part of my time away updating and adding to the Resources page. If you haven't had the chance to visit it yet, it includes a very detailed and very homemade guide (stick figures by me!) to the first part of the Tai Chi set, which you can also access here: 

Tai Chi for Beginners Lessons

The current beginners classes have covered everything through Lesson 2.

For Qigong practitioners, the Ba Duan Jin / Eight Silk Brocades handout (my classiest handout ever!) is here:

Ba Duan Jin (Eight Silks) Handout

Note: these links go to my Dropbox. You can download or save the linked documents to your home computer or tablet. In the days to come, I'll be adding more handouts and some audio content, so keep an eye out for posts notifying you of those party favours!

For each of you, of course, I recommend practicing what you've learned so far! Even if all you can remember is the first move of the Tai Chi set, or a single Qigong exercise, that's great! Practice it sincerely. Although class is a necessary part of learning, solo practice is the end goal of all of this, so it's always good to have an opportunity to work with it, whatever the circumstances.

If you need to contact me for any reason (I answer to Tai Chi and Qigong emergencies and non-emergencies!) you are absolutely welcome to ping me at smithmk2@gmail.com or (905) 521-0043. 

I wish you all the very best of health and peace in your hearts in the days to come. 

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