Lynne Cove's posture is erect, her step light and balanced and she radiates a calm yet dynamic energy.
Watching Lynne in motion, one might conclude she is a dancer. It's true. During her childhood in Victoria, Lynne trained in ballet and in gymnastics, or acrobatics, as it was known in those days.
Now that she is in her 80s, Lynne gives the credit for her healthy and abundant qi to her years as a practitioner, student and teacher of qigong and tai chi.
Qi, pronounced and also spelled chi, is the vital life force that permeates the universe. Qi is our strength, health and energy. Qigong is the practice used to build our personal qi and to keep it circulating throughout our body. Tai chi is the martial art form of qigong. There is also a medical form and qigong for health, which is the form that Lynne practices along with tai chi.
Lynne's involvement with these ancient Chinese personal health-care delivery systems came later in life. She started out as a nurse at Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, a profession preferable to Lynne than the other options available to her: teaching or marriage. In Lynne's case, her career as a nurse led her to marriage. She met Derek Cove, her husband to be, when he was a patient at the hospital.
The Coves moved to the mainland, settling first in Delbrook in North Vancouver and later in West Vancouver where they raised their two sons. Most weekends, the family sailed the local waters in their Cove 29, one of the sailboats designed by Derek, a naval architect.
When their marriage came to an amicable end, the door to a different future opened for Lynne. She enrolled at Simon Fraser University in 1965 - Lynne is a proud charter member of the university - earning a certificate in health and fitness, a degree in applied sciences and a job as the university's supervisor of fitness.
In 1994, Lynne obtained her master's degree in counselling psychology. She retired her practice earlier this year after 21 years of service.
It was at Simon Fraser that Lynne first observed a group of people practising tai chi.
She responded to the gentle, flowing motion and the sense of peaceful and purposeful actions. Enrollment in a tai chi class near her North Vancouver home was the first step towards Lynne's new vocation.
The next step came about through the North Shore Keep Well Society. Keep Well is based on the idea that seniors can maintain and enhance their own health. This concept of taking personal responsibility for our health fit with Lynne's study of tai chi and qigong, which is also known as "the mother of self healing."
Lynne is a founding member of Keep Well, which has served seniors at community centres across the North Shore for almost 30 years, and was the society's first coordinator.
In its early days, the Keep Well office was at North Shore Neighbourhood House. One day, Lynne was asked if she could recommend teachers for a new program offering tai chi at the neighbourhood house. "Do you think I could teach this?," she asked her own teacher.
As it turned out, the teacher's faith in Lynn's abilities was justified. She has been teaching qigong and tai chi on the North Shore for more than 20 years.
"People ask 'what is the difference between qigong and tai chi?,'" says Lynne. "Tai chi is one form of qigong. Both practices help us maintain a strong and healthy body, an abundant store of energy and the ability to keep that energy, or qi, circulating.
Through posture alignment, regulating the breath and calming the mind, we can manage stress, clear blocked energy, relieve chronic health problems and maintain general physical balance. As we age, maintaining strength and balance is essential to our physical health. Whether you choose qigong or tai chi, the postures and exercises are safe, gentle, low-impact and easy on the joints."
Lynne teaches qigong and tai chi at North Shore Neighbourhood House and John Braithwaite Community Centre. Find her classes on her website, Creative Wellbeing Counselling, at cwcinc.ca or call her at 604-986-0798.
Laura Anderson works with and for seniors on the North Shore. 778-279-2275 [email protected]
