Join Chris on Tuesday lunchtimes, Thursday and Friday mornings, relax your body and mind with our tai chi exercise classes in London. All classes will focus on improvements to posture, balance, coordination and increasing strength, to help in the avoidance of falls and give an increased sense of wellbeing and relaxation.

• Tuesday Lunchtime Community Class in Camden
Chris is teaching Foundation Chen taijiquan in this class, with an emphasis on relaxation, posture correction and increasing strength, gaining an understanding of the basic principles and the health benefits of training. When the silk reeling and preliminary exercises are more familiar we will teach the basic Sifang Quan Form – the Four Direction Fist form. We  finish the class with a seated relaxation.

TIME: 01:00-02:00pm
FEE: £3.50 per session
VENUE: St Paul’s Church Hall, Camden Square, London, NW1 9XG
email queries to Chris: [email protected]

• Thursday Class at the Meritage Centre – Hendon
The class will help to relieve tension and stiffness, build strength in standing and improve coordination and balance. The session  will contain warm-ups, some standing practice for strength, silk reeling exercises, the Tai Chi Qi Gong 18 set and we finish off with relaxing seated meditation.

TIME: 11:00-12:00
VENUE: Meritage Centre Church End, Hendon, London NW4 4JT
FEE: £3.50 per session

Contact  Age UK Barnet: 020 8432 1420
Or email Chris: [email protected]

• Friday Tai Chi Class in Notting Hill
Chris is teaching Foundation Chen taijiquan in this class for everyone to try. It is a standing class learning Chen Foundation hand and stepping exercises to help balance and strength and coordination. We also finish this class with a seated relaxation.

TIME: 11:00-12:00 noon
FEE: No fee
VENUE: Essex Unitarian Church off Notting Hill Gate, W11

This class is sponsored by the Kensington & Chelsea Forum, so please contact them to book a place.

Kensington and Chelsea Forum
155A Kings Road, Chelsea, SW3 5TX
T: 0845 463 2683
www.kensingtonandchelseaforum.org.uk
www.seniorhealthandwellbeing.co.uk

 CIO Registered Charity No: 1158108

All classes can be practiced seated if necessary.
Best to wear lose comfortable clothes/trousers for gentle exercise and flat shoes or trainers for maximum comfort.

Further Useful Information

Whether you are looking for advice for yourself or guidance for your parents or relatives, Age UK have a host of services and classes available to inform and help keep fit and healthy and maintain independence into older age. Age UK Barnet’s website

Age UK Barnet’s ‘Falls Awareness Day’ provided many useful hints and advice which we’d like to share:

Medications
If you are taking two to four or more different medication the risk of a fall is much higher than taking none. There are many different prescribed and over-the-counter drugs which may affect the body, which becomes more sensitive as it ages.

Postural Hypotension is the condition where there is a sudden drop in blood pressure that can lead to a fall or affect balance, it can be a side effect of many drugs, diuretics, heart medicines, pain killers, sleeping tablets, or drugs like anti-histamines or light sleeping medications, and even soluble pain killers which have a high sodium content and can lead to dehydration which is a common cause of a fall. So the advice is:
• Know why you are taking the medication
• Check the side effects carefully
• Have regular medical reviews of any drugs you are taking (once a year)
• Use the same pharmacy as they will know you and your prescription
• Don’t ever share medications
• Avoid alcohol if taking medication
• Be careful if taking blood-clotting drugs like Warfarin, as a fall can have serious consequences with internal bleeding
• Always tell your doctor if you have a fall
• Get up slowly in the mornings
• Constipation can be caused by dehydration, which lead to falls

This information is taken from a talk given on behalf of Lloyd’s Pharmacy.

Falls in the Home and Prevention
The commonest cause of falls are in the home, suggestions are:
• Have good lighting around the house
• Have regular eye and hearing checks
• Remove rugs, worn carpets or objects to trip over
• Have regular foot care, important to avoid foot problems
• Wear sensible shoes, laces can be difficult because of bending over to tie them up
• Exercise regularly, tai chi is particularly good for helping with strength, balance, coordination and relaxation
• Get help when using a step ladder or other things around the house, such as Age UK Barnet’s Handy Person Scheme
• Get a falls risk assessment to check risk factors, so that individual issues of health, such as osteoporosis, or arthritis, poor memory and flexibility as well as environmental and the home issues can be considered. If you have had a fall your GP should be able to refer you to a Falls Prevention clinic.

Tai Ji Circle is a registered charity: Number 1151369