The Ventura County Area Agency on Aging (VCAAA) and Oxnard RSVP are partnering to offer volunteer training for individuals interested in teaching courses in Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance. No experience is needed. A six-month commitment to teaching the program is requested of volunteers.
Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance follows curriculum developed to improve strength, balance, increase mobility, and reduce incidents of falls among seniors 55 and older who participated in the classes. Nationally recognized research shows that one in three adults over the age of 65, and half of the population over the age of 75, fall each year. Of those individuals, half will die within a year from complications and injuries sustained from the fall.
The 12-week program consists of a core eight-form routine of Yang-style Tai Chi with built-in exercise variations. It teaches participants balance skills and proper body alignment by using coordinated and flowing movements. The classes are intended for adults age 55 and older who can walk easily with or without assistive devices.
There is currently a need for volunteers to lead classes in Oxnard, Ventura, Camarillo, and Port Hueneme. A two-day training with a master trainer will be followed by at least 30 hours of practice with other trained volunteers before individuals can be certified to lead a class. Attendance at quarterly in-services will also be required.
Training will be held from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Friday, July 28, and Saturday, July 29, in Ventura. Attendance at both training days is required.
To volunteer as an instructor, please call Oxnard RSVP at 385-8023. To register for a Fall Prevention class, including Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance, please call the VCAAA at 477-7347.
RSVP is a volunteer recruitment and placement program, helping individuals 55 and older find volunteer positions that match their interests and talent. Oxnard RSVP has nearly 600 members, and is sponsored by the City of Oxnard.
The Ventura County Area Agency on Aging, an agency of the County of Ventura, is the principal agency in Ventura County charged with the responsibility to promote the development and implementation of a comprehensive coordinated system of care that enables older individuals and their caregivers to live in a community-based setting and to advocate for the needs of those 60 years of age and older in the county, providing leadership and promoting citizen involvement in the planning process as well as in the delivery of services.
