Ashton tai chi teacher receives the Mayor of Preston Covid Hero Award

Feixia Yu has been awarded the Mayor of Preston Covid Hero Award after helping people with their wellbeing and mental health throughout the pandemic.

Feixia completed nearly 300 online tai chi and qigong classes which were completely free since the first lockdown at the beginning of April 2020.

Initially, these courses were on a daily basis for 100 consecutive days, and later they changed to two or three times a week to benefit participants in Preston and beyond.

Felixia wanted to provide connection to people living alone, and successfully did so, hence her receipt of the award.

Felixia said: “I am very honoured and grateful for the recognition, not just for the work I have put in, but also for the physical and mental benefits to the participants.

“It is lovely to see people taking up the opportunity to practice with me in their own space.

“I think my free online classes make participants feel empowered that they are taking control of their own health: free course, no travelling time or cost or worry about car parking, and in the comfort of their own space.

“I am very grateful to all the participants. Their company keeps me going when I feel lazy, and they keep me on my toes so I have to practice everyday and constantly upgrade my own training.”

Feixia Yu receiving her award from the Mayor of Preston

Feixia, who is the founder of YuTaichi and Director of Confucius Institute at University of Central Lancashire, is continuing her free online classes this year.

She said: “I plan to continue the free classes online twice weekly throughout 2022 so more people can benefit from this beautiful art of health preservation from China.”

To find out more, visit YuTaichi on Facebook.

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