International Taoist Tai Chi Society Turns 40

Promoting Health, Helping Others, and Cultural Exchange Are Main Objectives

TORONTO, June 21 /CNW Telbec/ - This year marks the 40th anniversary of the International Taoist Tai Chi Society, the world's largest nonprofit Tai Chi organization. Founded in Toronto in 1970 by the late Master Moy Lin-shin, a Taoist monk who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong, the Society now counts more than 40,000 members in 26 countries.

To celebrate this important anniversary, thousands of members around the world will simultaneously complete the 108 moves of the Society's Tai Chi set on August 14 at 2 p.m. Greenwich time (10 a.m. EDT).

"This global demonstration of our arts -- all at once, yet in different cities - will symbolize how far we've come in realizing our mission of making the Taoist Tai Chi(TM) internal arts of health available around the globe and around the block," said Dr. Karen Laughlin, president of the International Taoist Tai Chi Society.

108 Moves Become a Global Movement - His own health having benefitted greatly from the practice of Taoist arts, Mr. Moy pledged to bring them to the greatest number of people. Upon arriving in Toronto, he quickly found a space and began teaching. Word of mouth spread rapidly and the early Society grew quickly. In time, its members raised enough money to purchase a building on Bathurst Street that is still a dynamic venue for the Society.

As Mr. Moy's students learned and benefited from their practice, they themselves became instructors. When they were ready, Mr. Moy asked them to find other locations to teach their own classes on a volunteer basis. In this way, the organization has grown into a global movement. Among the current membership are 3,000 accredited instructors, who further their practice and training by regularly attending classes and workshops. There are only two levels of instruction in the entire organization, beginner and continuing-everyone is a student.

Maintaining and Recovering Health - Mr. Moy refined the instructional methods and the Tai Chi movements he had mastered from his teachers to better suit Western lifestyles and to maximize their health-promoting qualities. Today the Society continues research into the salubrious affects of the Taoist Tai Chi tm internal arts of health on the body and mind. The Society's current medical advisor, Dr. Bruce McFarlane, contributes a regular series of articles explaining the anatomy and physiology in relation with these arts on the Society's popular blog, www.thetigersmouth.org.

In addition to maintenance of general health and well-being, the Society offers a robust program of health recovery classes for people whose quality of life is seriously compromised by disease at its main campus near Orangeville, Ontario, and at other locations in its global organization. As at all the classes, the practice of the 108-move set Mr. Moy taught is a focal point of this especially gratifying work.

Moving in the Right Direction - The International Taoist Tai Chi Society reaches far beyond any individual's physical practice. Through the spread of these arts and the community the Society engenders-at the banquets marking Chinese festivals, at the feeding the homeless days, the numerous social activities, and other events, large and small-all members help fulfill Mr. Moy's vision and the organization's primary aims and objectives of promoting health, helping others, and facilitating cultural exchange.

Go to www.taoist.org/files/pdf/40thKeydates.pdf for key dates in the Society's development. For more information about the International Taoist Tai Chi Society, its locations, and the 40th anniversary celebrations, visit www.taoist.org. For specific information about the worldwide demonstration on August 14, 2010, contact 416-656-2110. And for the most current event and community information, see our blog at www.thetigersmouth.org.

For further information: Media Contacts: Bernard Voyer, Canada and Latin America, [phone]; Mitchell Davies, USA, [phone]; Mike Usher, United Kingdom, [phone]; Ankie Boumans, Northern Europe, [phone]; Monika Gotowczyc, Central and Eastern Europe, [phone]; Nito Enrich, Southern Europe, [phone]; Peter Cook, Australia, N.Z. and Asia, [phone]