Dr. Zibin Guo practices Tai Ji Dr. Zibin Guo, head of the UTC Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Geography, will offer free Tai Ji classes at Miller Park on Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7 to 7:45 a.m., beginning Tuesday, March 18. The City of Chattanooga Parks and Recreation Department, in partnership with the Chattanooga Tai Ji Community and Chattanooga Sister Cities, is offering the classes.
The new Tai Ji classes are a part of a city-wide “healthy lifestyles” initiative created by Parks and Recreation Department Administrator Larry Zehnder to provide more wellness enrichment programs for workers, students, and visitors in the city’s downtown parks. Zehnder explains, “One of the most inspiring things I experienced during my visit to Wuxi, China was the way citizens utilized their city’s parks,” Zehnder said. “After watching the Wuxi residents of all ages and walks of life participate in Tai Ji every morning and evening as a part of their daily routines, I realized, that with the help our local sister cities resources, we can provide these types of programs for our citizens too.”
The Tai Ji classes will be lead by Guo and instructors he has trained from the Chattanooga Tai Ji Community. Guo joined the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Geography at UTC in 1998. Upon his arrival to Chattanooga he founded the Tai Ji Community and has shared his expertise in the areas of Medical Anthropology; Chinese Medicine; Research Methods on Health Care Behavior; Mind & Body Healing; Cultural and Mental Health; and Aging and Health locally, nationally, and internationally. He holds a Post Doctorate fellowship in Social Medicine, from the Harvard School of Medicine, the Ph.D. in Anthropology as well as a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Connecticut.
Guo has served as Chinese Martial Arts instructor for over 25 years.
For more information about Tai Ji as well as the methods and benefits of this ancient Chinese exercise form visit: www.taijicommunity.com or contact Dr. Zibin Guo at 425-4442 or Zibin-Guo@utc.edu.
