For context, I begin with my pre-pandemic history with tai chi. For fifteen years, I have been doing tai chi daily. There was a short break for recovery from bunion surgery, but apart from that, skipping tai chi in the morning would feel like going through the day without brushing my teeth. After all this time, I know that I will never be proficient at tai chi. Some days I think that I am making the reverse of progress.
If you began working remotely before or during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may have noticed that much of your movement during work hours consists of walking to the kitchen and back. Just as with an in-person desk job, it’s important to find creative ways to burn calories, maintain good posture, and stay healthy. T'ai chi ch'üan, often called simply Tai Chi, is an ancient Chinese exercise that offers many health benefits, including excellent stretches for people who sit all day. The best part? You can do it in the privacy of your own home.
When you think of Tai Chi, you may picture a group of people doing slow, synchronized movements in a park, or the fictional warrior Worf from Star Trek practicing on the Holodeck. However, there are Tai Chi exercises for many types of movement, including walking—and you can even combine them with plain brisk walks to maximize benefits. Here’s how taking a Tai Chi walk can refresh the body and mind for people of all ages.
On January 3, 2022, 23 apprentices and students came together for a Tai Chi Winter Training here in the UK. This is how it came about and what happened.
The Yang family is renowned for tai chi, and their tradition includes eight words describing the qualities of excellent tai chi: Centered and Balanced, Peaceful and Comfortable, Light and Agile, Rounded and Lively. I often think that these are great qualities to animate our lives as well. Let’s look at each of them in turn.
Centered and Balanced
Introduction by Margaret Olmsted
Pat Gorman wrote this article for the Tai Chi Press, Vol. II, No. IV. In that version, she left out a paragraph she had written elsewhere about Repulse Monkey and a line about Four Corners which I have included here.
Each time you take a journey through the form it can be different, from completely missing the journey to having the best tai chi round ever. Sometimes the journey is taken alone and sometimes with others. Does that change it for you? Remember to enjoy the journey!
MO
The second weekend in October 2021 I was in Götzens in Austria where for the first international Tai Chi group training in almost two years. Students came from Austria and Switzerland. Teachers came from Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and France. With Covid 19’s safety restrictions, it has not been possible to have in person group trainings. This has led to a feeling of isolation for a lot of us. So the theme of the tai chi weekend was to reawaken the feeling of connectedness and unity between us and others and to vitalize our life energy.
When I traveled across country on September 15th, 2021, Hurricane Nicholas was giving my cross-country airplane quite a bit of turbulence.
To pass time (and not be afraid) I put myself through all 37 positions of our tai chi rounds without moving a muscle (or at least I don’t think I moved a muscle).
Here is the playful drama I created.
I am going on a journey through the jungle, which should be fun.
Over the summer I have enjoyed watching several sports in the Olympics. The Netherlands did very well, and we saw many TV interviews with the athletes. What struck me most was that when they gave an account of what it takes to perform their sport on the highest level, most said that it was largely in the mind! Surprising!
Are you a caretaker finding yourself stretched to your limits? It’s not only the kindest thing we can do but also the most practical, to nurture our own well-being and mental health in the midst of so many overwhelming pressures and stresses like the raging Covid pandemic. Self-care and staying centered need to be recognized as essential life skills. After all, If we are falling apart and crumbling from undue stress, how can we be of service to others?
