Tai Chi in the Galleries

Tom Gold-Blyth leads a Tai Chi workshop in the European Art Gallery (Gallery 44) on Thursday 26 November, part of the Ashmolean's wellbeing programme for Members. The session runs from 9.15am to 10am on Level 2 of the museum, and you'll meet the group at the St Giles entrance before heading up.

The whole point of the format is to put the practice inside the gallery, so you learn the movements while surrounded by the European art. Gold-Blyth comes from the Golden Flower Tai Chi School, and the session focuses on easy Tai Chi movements that don't require any prior experience or special equipment. It's designed for anyone who can stand for 45 minutes.

There's a bit of context to the practice here, too. Tai Chi is described as 'the Art of balancing Yin Yang', an ancient science that looks at contrast in movement and perception with the present at its core. Alongside that, the session touches on Qigong, a gently strengthening exercise with over 4,000 years of tradition that helps the body's rhythms harmonise. Between the two, the morning is as much about the slow, steady movement as it is about the art around you.

It's £10 a place, available only to Ashmolean Museum Members, and booking is essential. The session runs from 9.15am to 10am on Thursday 26 November in the European Art Gallery (Gallery 44), Level 2, with the group meeting at the St Giles entrance.