In just two more weeks, people across the globe will gather to celebrate World Tai Chi & Qigong Day on Saturday, April 26. On that day, at precisely 10 a.m. local time, hundreds — if not thousands — of cities will witness groups of practitioners coming together to begin their healing art routines. These gatherings might be as intimate as a dozen individuals or as large as a few thousand, but each group shares the same peaceful intention. The global celebration kicks off in Fiji, followed by New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Hong Kong, then continues westward, rolling through Asia, Middle East, Europe, Africa, and eventually crossing the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas — South, North, and Central — before concluding its worldwide journey in Hawaii and Polynesia. This extraordinary event creates a living wave of movement and meditation, circling the Earth as millions participate.
During interviews I’ve conducted with participants, I’ve encountered many who were deeply engaged in this global phenomenon but knew little about how it all began or who first sparked the idea behind the movement.
In a recent conversation, I had the chance to speak with Bill Douglas from Kansas City, who, along with his wife Angela Wong, co-founded World Tai Chi & Qigong Day back in 1999. Bill spoke openly and shared the personal journey that led to the creation of this worldwide event. He described his humble beginnings and the challenges of growing up with limited means. Despite never completing a formal college education, Bill went on to author several influential books on Tai Chi and other healing arts. His passion and dedication even earned him speaking invitations to prestigious institutions like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the United States and the National Congress of Brazil, among numerous other honors. Through tireless efforts and steadfast leadership, Bill has helped secure recognition for Tai Chi and Qigong from governments at various levels around the world.
According to Bill, Tai Chi and meditation were instrumental in helping him overcome a range of health issues. Inspired to share the transformative benefits of these practices, he and his wife Angela envisioned bringing Tai Chi out into the public sphere. They chose the iconic steps of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City as the stage for their first public demonstration, hoping to raise awareness and spark curiosity. Their bold idea worked. Local media quickly took notice and came out to document the event. CNN later picked up the story, broadcasting footage of the peaceful gathering through its global network — and from that moment on, the movement began to ripple outward across the world.
Yet, despite the recognition and success, Bill is quick to deflect personal credit for launching the global event. He often reflects on the serendipity of the moment, noting that if no one else had shown up that day aside from him and Angela, there would have been no story for the media to cover, and the event might never have evolved into the worldwide tradition it is today. He attributes the movement’s growth to a unique synchronicity among the 200 people first showed up in the lawn of Museum, which also resonates with millions of practitioners around the world.
Every year since, Bill and Angela have devoted countless hours to helping people from all corners of the world plan and organize their local World Tai Chi & Qigong Day events. They guide participants on how to write press releases, obtain support and proclamations from local and national governments, and build the momentum needed to keep this grassroots celebration thriving — a remarkable feat that has lasted for over a quarter-century. Through this work, Bill has heard countless stories about the miraculous healing power of Tai Chi and Qigong, stories that continuously reaffirm his commitment to spreading the art and its benefits.
Bill’s passion for the healing arts was further strengthened early in his teaching career, when he held classes at a Kansas hospital. Some of his students, who were physicians, introduced him to a variety of scientific studies on the health benefits of Tai Chi. This inspired Bill to begin gathering and cataloging scientific research on the subject, a pursuit that led to the publication of his first book on the topic, The Gospel of Science: Mind-blowing New Science on Ancient Truths to Heal Our Stress, Lives, and Planet, released in January 2020. I personally purchased the book, which contains 631 pages of in-depth information exploring the scientific foundations and healing effects of Tai Chi, Qigong, and related practices. Despite its impressive scope, the subject is so vast that even this comprehensive work couldn’t cover it all. Two years later, Bill released a second edition, expanding the content further to include even more studies and stories. On World Tai Chi & Qigong Day last year, I was fortunate to download a free Kindle copy of this updated edition, a generous gift Bill offered to everyone that day. Since the material is so rich and sometimes difficult to retain, I recently added the audiobook version to my collection, allowing me to listen and learn while walking my dog.
Beyond his writing and public speaking, Bill holds a heartfelt vision for the future: he hopes that mind-body practices like Tai Chi, Qigong, meditation, and yoga will one day be integrated into school curriculums worldwide. He believes this is especially important as children increasingly face conditions like anxiety, ADD, ADHD, depression, and sleeplessness, which are often treated with pharmaceuticals that carry the risk of severe side effects. Scientific studies show that these mental health challenges can largely be managed — and even prevented — through the use of mind-body practices. Studies have proven that students, practicing mind-body exercises have seen improved school grades. Bill envisions a ripple effect, where children who benefit from these exercises inspire curiosity and adoption among parents, teachers, and entire communities. He also believes that regular practice in schools would lead to significant reductions in bullying, aggression, and schoolyard violence, and over time, foster healthier, more peaceful societies as these children grow into adults. He calls this vision the “Global Transformation Project.”
Bill’s commitment to social change is more than theoretical. During his time in California, he taught Tai Chi Chih for over two years at Folsom Prison. The results were profound — not only did the behavior of the inmates who participated improve, but the positive effects extended to the entire prison environment. Beyond the social and health healing that Tai Chi offers, Bill points out its enormous economic potential as well. By integrating these practices into daily life, especially at a young age, he believes society could save trillions in healthcare costs and greatly ease the burden on public services.
To help bring this vision to life, Bill continues to advocate for public schools around the world to offer free mind-body exercise classes for children. He has launched a movement grounded in both scientific research and humanitarian hope, urging people everywhere to sign a petition in support of this idea. Once the petition gathers 100,000 signatures, Bill plans to present it to the United Nations and call on all nations to adopt this powerful and transformative initiative.