Cyprus is to take part in World Tai Chi & Qigong Day on Saturday, with people set to gather in Nicosia’s central Eleftheria Square to take part in a performance of T’ai Chi Chihon Saturday morning.

T’ai Chi Chihhas been described as an “accessible combination of Tai Chi and Qigong movements”, which are “designed to promote inner balance, relaxation, and vitality”.

The session will be led by Carolyn Perkins, who spoke to the Cyprus Mail about the event.

“This is a special day to show the world the health benefits of Tai Chi and Qigong. About 90 countries now take part in it, and it functions as a sort of around-the-world relay, with the idea that there always be someone performing Tai Chi or Qigong at any given time during a 24-hour period,” she said.

As such, she said, events begin in Australia and New Zealand, before progressing westwards.

Perkins moved to Cyprus four years ago, having previously lived in New York, and brought her enthusiasm for Tai Chi to the island.

“It is time to put Cyprus on the map,” she said, adding that this year’s event will be the second time Cyprus has participated in World Tai Chi & Qigong Day.

This year, she said, members of the public are invited to take part, as well as to come and ask questions and learn more about the movements, which she described as a “moving meditation”.

Perkins’ own love affair with Tai Chi and Qigong began during a trip to China 33 years ago, when it was suggested to her by a doctor after she had been suffering knee pain.

33 years on, she said, the knee pain is yet to return, and she has become enamoured with the art form and with the “energy” it exudes.