Tai chi and calligraphy to boost staff wellbeing

The Business Confucius Institute ran two workshops as part of the University of Leeds staff Health and Wellbeing Week.

Previously called Healthy Week, this time the event was expanded to focus on all five 'ways to wellbeing'. These are:

• Connect
• Be mindful
• Keep learning
• Be active
• Give to others

As part of the packed programme staff were able to enjoy tai chi and calligraphy workshops led by BCI teachers. The sessions were an ideal opportunity to relax during a busy day and learn about Chinese culture at the same time. One attendee described the tai chi workshop as:

relaxing and effective

Participants who attended the calligraphy workshop enjoyed "learning something new", "meeting new people" and "learning Chinese language".

View photos from the tai chi and calligraphy workshops on our Facebook page, and have a look at this Twitter moment to see what has been going on around the university.

For those of you who can read Chinese, here is our news report in Mandarin about the events:

当地时间2019年6月18日上午11点到12点，利兹大学商务孔子学院在Student Union(利兹学联)成功举办Health and Wellbeing Week（健康活动周）书法工作坊，此次的书法工作坊迎来了20位利兹大学教职工的积极参与。活动在美妙的丝竹声中开始，孔院教师张袁为了让参与者们更好地理解中国书法，从外国书法引入，让他们体会“书者，写也，法者，规律也”的共同含义。此外，张老师还让大家直接接触中国的文房四宝、介绍不同时期字体的演变过程，以及不同字体所展示的个人特点以风貌。在书法实践环节中，参与者们体验了汉字中五个基本笔画的书写，并尝试写出了篆书“福”字。利兹大学教职工在这次活动中体验到了中国书法的魅力，体会到了中国文化给他们精神带来的沉浸式享受。