Hall of Happiness
By Professor Cheng Man-Ching
May the joy that is everlasting gather in this hall. Not the joy of a sumptuous feast, which slips away even as we leave the table; nor that which music brings—it is only of a limited duration. Beauty and a pretty face are like flowers; they bloom for a while, then die. Even our youth slips swiftly away and is gone.
Softening & Letting Go In the Time of COVID-19
By Marina Muhlfriedel
We've all said it. Sheltering at home has made it difficult to keep track of the days and, perhaps, to measure the progress of our projects. If you're like me, you've strived to create anchors that keep the weeks intact, safe from floating by unnoticed. Scheduled events like Sunday dinners, morning gardening, and 4 pm dog walks provide a modicum of structure and normalcy.
Still Life with T’ai Chi & Onions
By Fran Snyder
We had to clean the kitchen in the old way of my grandmother before Passover -- everything out, scrub, everything but the forbidden back in. In this case, my daughter and her husband are coming for the summer. She has severe food allergies, and we needed to atone for all her forbidden foods that we’ve eaten since last they came. Besides, it was time to clean the kitchen -- a brutal and sweaty job.
Tai Chi in the Time of Coronavirus!
By Margaret Olmsted
The world is experiencing a major challenge these days. In a time when people more than ever need a way to relax and build their immune systems, we are asked to stay home and physical-distance. In-person tai chi classes have mostly stopped and many people are missing them. But tai chi teachers everywhere have gotten creative and are offering classes online using the Zoom app and other means.
Written Chinese is a language of images, and images engage a different part of our brains than words do. Since exploring a language is a window into how a culture thinks, getting familiar with a few of the basic terms of tai chi will give you a deeper understanding of the Chinese paradigm of health and well-being, as well as help you to explain tai chi principles to students and prospective students.
Spit on It!
By Edna M Brandt, LAc
One of the more surprising things I learned from my tai chi teacher Patrick Watson was to spit on my injuries (such as sprains or strains), pain, or bruises. He taught us that as soon as we woke up and before swallowing, to put our morning saliva on our fingers and rub it into the area of the pain or bruise. If you use the tai chi knee massage, you can add your spit to both of your palms as you circle your knees.
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Tips to Prevent Cold and Flu
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Tai Chi May Improve Balance and Quality of Life
Lori J. Batcheller
Brain and Life Magazine, April/May 2019
(Photo: Seán O'Neill)
Tai chi is an ancient Chinese martial art that incorporates breathing, visualization, and specific movements called forms. Some experts say it may be an effective therapeutic tool for people with neurologic disorders.
Tai Chi – World’s Best Low Impact Exercise?
Our relationship to gravity defines much about us: how we move; how we age; how we present ourselves to the world. Tai chi teaches us to live with gravity and not against it, to be at home in our bodies and on this planet. Gravity is the thing that holds us to the earth and lets us rise from it. Our very posture, and everything that grows in this world, grows upward, toward the sun. Within our relationship to gravity, we have what allows us to rise.
When we are balanced between above and below, gravity becomes not a weight but a freedom from weight.
