Our new season begins in October 2023! Join us for Tai Chi and Qigong at the Regent Centre on Locke Street South.

Tai Chi Newsletter, Fall 2020

Dear Friends,

I'm writing to you from the depth of my hiatus during a truly glorious September. I hope you're having a wonderful month and taking advantage of the cooler temperatures to enjoy some time outdoors. The pandemic continues, but so will Tai Chi and Qigong class, in our safe online format. I very much hope you'll join us in October!

If you have any questions about any of the following information, or if you'd like to join, please contact me (Melissa Smith) at smithmk2@gmail.com or (905) 521-0043. Once you let me know you'd like to join and I have an email address for you, I'll send you the instructions for signing on to class, and you'll be all set. If you've already been to online classes, I'll see you in the same Zoom room we were using before.

Important Upcoming Dates

Tai Chi and Qigong classes start again on Saturday, October 3rd, 2020. The schedule will be the same as it was before I took my break. You can review the class schedule here. I'll be leading all of the classes while we're working online. I'm very much looking forward to class!

The New Beginner's Tai Chi cycle also starts on Saturday, October 3rd, 2020. For this fall, and possibly only for this fall, I'll be accepting students from anywhere in the world. The occasion of the pandemic means we're not limited to one physical location anymore. (I do recommend finding a local-to-you instructor when it is safe to start training again, and if you are local to Hamilton, Ontario, I would love it if you decided to come out and practice in person once all this is over.) 

Because of the online format, we will be taking our beginner's lessons more slowly than usual. If you've always wanted to comb through the set a tiny bit at a time, this is your year! You can read more about learning Tai Chi online as a new beginner here.

Tai Chi and Qigong fees will remain the same: $40 / month for unlimited classes; $20 / month for students, people on ODSP or other forms of social support, or in situations of financial need.

If you are brand new to me and you want to come try classes out, just ask! I'm offering a free week of classes to anyone who hasn't trained with me before. Once you try class, if you decide you'd like to stick with it, your first month will be $30. ($15 for people paying the lower rate.)

There's much more to look forward to at class: new content for Qigong practitioners, polishing the set for Intermediate Tai Chi folks, and lots of challenging technique for Continuing / Advanced students. For those exploring other internal martial arts, we'll keep polishing sword, and Lok Hup Ba Fa sessions will continue from where we left off in the summer (at Nine Circulations After the Emergence of the Golden Pill, a move name of which I will never tire!). 

Other Classes

Guided Meditation sessions will resume this fall, every other week. I thoroughly enjoyed running these sessions throughout the summer, and I thought they were very productive. My plan is to run these sessions on alternate Sunday afternoons from 2-4 pm, beginning on Sunday, October 25th. The topic for the first session will be Setting Spiritual Goals. Please let me know if you'd like to participate. Guided meditation sessions are $20 each.

Private and semi-private outdoor sessions, weather permitting, will be available from October 3rd forward, as well as individual online sessions for those seeking to polish their forms or looking for guidance. I'll continue to offer Reiki and Shamballa distance healing. In-person healings won't be available until the pandemic resolves. Private and semi-private sessions are $60 / hour. Reiki and Shamballa sessions are $30 for healing alone, or $60 for a consult plus healing.

A Final Note

I've had several inquiries about whether in-person classes will start again at the Regent Centre anytime soon. The answer is no: all regular classes will be online only. There is a learning curve involved in attending online classes, but that's a small inconvenience when set against preserving our safety and peace of mind. Unfortunately it just isn't safe to exercise indoors in a group setting yet: aerosol transmission of the virus and the ever-changing nature of community spread means I can't guarantee everyone's safety. It's impossible for me to reconcile this level of risk with helping you build your health and wellbeing. When the time comes to return to in-person classes, I will announce it here. In order to address some concerns about online classes, I've set up a new section on the FAQ page. If you have any questions that aren't addressed there, please let me know!