Faulk TaiChi

Learn the beautiful, flowing movements for health and relaxation.

Coping in a Difficult Time

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A new year brings hope and here we are in January, knowing we will slowly have more light in our days ahead. That’s a given with the rhythms of nature that we can count on. Even with a new year, we will still need to cope with the demands and stresses of each day. Uncertainty about the future still permeates our minds.

In the midst of all this uncertainty, I’m grateful for Tai Chi and for connecting online with my students each week these last ten months. With three weekly classes, we take the opportunity to greet each other, smile and move our energy together. We have the ancient wisdom of Tai Chi and its gentle, slow movements to help us reduce anxiety, promote balance and well-being.

Taste of Tai Chi class zoom

Last week I asked my students to reflect on how Tai Chi has helped them cope with the isolation, devastating consequences of loved ones contracting COVID19, and other difficult days that we’ve been living through. I’m warmed by the wonderful comments they shared with me. Today and in future days, I’m going to share them with you. Whether or not you practice Tai Chi, hearing how others cope can be helpful and inspiring.

tai chi movements

“As with so much else this year of 2020 I have mixed feelings about class via Zoom. I miss seeing everyone in person,  but am extremely grateful that we can continue learning and practicing this way — and I don’t have to drive home after class.” – Irene

“I really enjoy our time together and I’ve found Tai Chi a great way to ‘keep moving,’ not only during this pandemic but also as a regular practice with a wonderful integration of mind, body and spirit.” – Martha

“Doing Tai Chi has been a great comfort during the COVID pandemic. I always feel a sense of calm come over me when class starts and Arlene gently reminds us to bring out minds into the room and into our practice. As I’ve been doing Tai Chi for 6 years now, my body knows these slow movements and relishes the gentle release and centeredness they bring. In addition, tuning into the class and seeing familiar faces of the other students brings a nice sense of community and connection during this time of separation and isolation.” – Julia

May  each of us to find a way to have a few minutes of stillness to clear our heads, breathe and also find ways to connect with others. Thank you, Tai Chi friends, for helping me do that.

Be Like a Tree

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I aspire to be like a tree – rooted, flexible, changing, centered in the present. Trees teach us valuable life lessons, when we stop and pay attention. In every Tai Chi class I teach, we start by visualizing our legs and feet like a tree, sprouting roots deep into the earth. bringing up earth energy. Let’s do that now with one of my favorite writings – Advice from a Tree:

Arlene Faulk
trees
treetops

“Stand tall and proud.Sink your roots deeply into the earth.
Reflect the light of your own true nature.
Think long term.
Go out on a limb.
Remember your place among all living beings.
Embrace the joy of changing seasons,for each yields its own abundance.
The energy and birth of spring,
The growth and contentment of summer,
The wisdom to let go like the leaves in fall,
The rest and quiet of winter.
Feel the wind and sun and delight in their presence.
Look up at the moon that shines down upon you and
the mystery of the stars at night.
Seek nourishment from the good things in life –
Simple pleasure.
Earth, fresh air, light.
Be content with your natural beauty.
Drink plenty of water.
Let your limbs sway and dance in the breezes.
Be flexible.
Remember your roots.
Enjoy the view!”

– Ilan Shamir

Universal Uncertainty

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COVID-19

Uncertainty fills our days right now. We cannot see this COVID-19, except in the terrifying effects it wreaks on human well-being. We fear the effects of this unseen killer because we have mothers, fathers, children and friends who have taken seriously ill. Too many have died.

Some of us are staying inside most of the time. Others, the “essential” workers are out helping the public, in hospitals, grocery stores, fighting fires, etc., to help us get well, to help us stay safe. It is a strange time with no certainty about when we might not fear the wrath of this virus on a daily basis.

The most common question I have received as a Tai Chi teacher is “What is the most important thing I can do to center myself, to reduce my anxiety?” My answer is “breathe.” Take 3 seconds to breathe in; hold your breath for 3 seconds; breathe out for 3 seconds. Anxiety and stress cause us to shorten our breath, tense our neck muscles, feel lethargic. Breathing helps. Stretching helps. Walking helps. Eating nutritious foods helps.

Arlene Faulk teaching Tai Chi
tai chi students walking

For individuals fortunate enough to have time and internet availability, there are many options for exercising, listening to music, laughing with comedians and participating in energy generating classes like Tai Chi and Yoga.I feel blessed to have Tai Chi to reduce stress, get the kinks out, increase balance.  One of the best features of a class is experiencing the connection with other students, seeing their smiles an creating energy. Getting out of the house, leaving the office to go to a designated space for class is a memory right now. Shutdowns in March. In person classes disappeared. We need to stay apart, at least 6 feet from each other, wear a mask, wash our hands, then wash our hands again. The world changed quickly when COVID-19 started ti spread. Now more than ever, we need to find ways to cope, reduce anxiety, keep our bodies and mind as strong as possible.

The new world of Tai Chi for me is online. I currently lead three classes a week and although we see each other in tiny rectangles on a screen, we continue to see each other’s faces, connect as best we can. The energy of us moving together comes right through the screen. I feel it.

We all need to keep moving. A Tai Chi resource for you: www.youtube.com/faulktaichi

Zoom Tai Chi


Zoom Tai Chi Class

Focus

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writing

Over the last several days I have felt varied experiences of what “focus” means. Generally, when I think of the word “focus”, my view is positive, thinking it means paying attention to what is right before me, what is happening at the moment. It is the opposite of being scattered, with my mind and thoughts dancing all over the place.

run

Focus for me has been different in the last week. Having finished the third major revision of the manuscript that is my memoir, I faced a major task of insuring the formatting, the nitty-gritty work of correcting typos, spacing errors, are corrected, as much as possible. This has been a time-consuming and total energy-consuming process. The recent focus involved intensity, tense muscles and  too much sitting. I did not get up and breathe, move my energy through my body. So it was stuck, in my head and in my tight muscles, all to meet a deadline of getting my manuscript off to  my writing consultant, who will read as a reader and editor. I think I was so excited to be at this point that I just gunned toward the finish line.

tai chi class

The realization about my lack of relaxing, lack of body movement hit me the following day. I was unaware of what my body was saying and feeling. I spent years in my head and now live differently. Tai Chi class this week has been heavenly, moving toward where I want and need to be, in concert with my students. This has not been a wake-up call, but a nudge, a reminder that every day, regardless of tasks at hand, needs some balance, needs caring of both mind and body. And yes, spirit, too.

Table of contents

Year of the Rat – 2020

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Year of the Rate

Chinese Lunar New Year, Year of the Rat (4718) began on January 25, 2020. The new year is based on the lunar calendar, so the actual start date varies from year to year but is always in January or February. The traditions are many and rich. The color is red. Lanterns line the streets and homes. Parades mark the celebration with marching bands, colorful and floats and lion and dragon dances.

My Tai Chi students and I have hosted celebrations for many years. This year, on January 26, we gathered with friends and guests at Heartwood Integrative Health and Healing. I am a Rat, so this is my year, the first in a cycle of 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac.

Xin Tian

What a great afternoon! Xin Tian, an acupuncturist from Heartwood gave a very informative presentation about Traditional Chinese Medicine. Participants tuned in and asked many questions. Xin also shared childhood memories of Chinese New Year that she and her family experienced in Beijing, where she was born and grew up.

acupuncture

We all experienced moving our bodies through GiGong, led by Marsha Warren. I loved standing in a hip-width stance, with soft knees, paying attention to proper alignment, following Marsha firm, but soothing instructions. “Do you feel something?” she asked after shaking our arms, hands and fingers in a specific way. Yes, I felt a little tingling. I felt my energy moving and it felt good.

tai chi demonstration

Although the focus was celebration, yes, we had some great snacks — oranges, Chinese candies, almond cookies and sesame bite cookies from Chinatown, we did reinforce good lessons. Learning new things adds to our knowledge base and tool kit for promoting healthy minds and bodies. Directed movement of our bodies, for relaxation for moving our energy, promoting our health is important to experience on a regular basis.

Chinese New Year Celebration
Chinese New Year tai chi event

Thank you to my Tai Chi students, to Xin and Marsha for a stimulating afternoon. Hopefully, the Year of the Rat will be a great year. I will be paying attention.