Darkness Archives | Faulk TaiChi

Spring Equinox

March 22, 2023 By Arlene Faulk

This year the day of Spring Equinox was extra special. At the very hour when that point of equinox occurred, we were moving our energy in a Tai Chi class, focusing on balancing our Yin and Yang. We noted that bringing intention and attention to our balance at the moment of balance between of dark and light, felt so relaxing, put us so in the moment. A moment of letting go, a moment of lightness of being.

Tai Chi at Heartwood —- Evanston, Il 3/20/23

Without the dark, we can’t see the light. We honored that and also felt joy that it was evening and still light outside, admitted we were looking forward to longer minutes and hours of sunlight in our days.

This is a great time to focus on our balance, physical and emotional. Are our days filled with doing and achieving, and then wondering where the time went? Are we taking some time to stop, reflect and just be? Are we paying attention to the trees, the birds, noticing what’s around us in nature? And, are we breathing, taking time to intentionally breathe?

Tai Chi gives us the opportunity to balance, to move our energy together and feel our Yin and Yang as equal energy forces. We are very grateful.

Winter Solstice

December 21, 2022 By Arlene Faulk

Today we experience the most hours and minutes of darkness of any day in the year, a day when the sun is at its lowest point. From the Essene Book of Days — “The ancient people used this time of ‘longest night’ to focus on the power of darkness. Not the negative image of darkness, but the richness of that unknown, dark, fertile, deep part in each of us wherein our intuitive, creative forces abide. In modern times, it is a time for owning one’s shadow, so as to transform any negative energy associated with it into the energy of creation and psychic ability. We must accept and know our Darkness before we can fully know the Light.”

This is a Yin time of year, a time for reflection, a time to look inward. Many spiritual and religious traditions acknowledge the darkness, asking followers to embrace the darkness, because in doing so, we will be ready for the light to come. The light WILL come. May we have confidence in knowing that this day, Winter Solstice teaches us that we need to follow the seasons and natural flow of nature. We need the yin of darkness and yang of light to create balance our lives.

For those of us embracing Tai Chi energy and movement, we follow the yin and yang of nature and work to create internal and external balance by embracing the light and darkness of our energies.

Students Reflect on Coping

January 18, 2021 By Arlene Faulk

We’re in a week of transition surrounded by uncertainty. Our necks tense up and fear may be creeping into our psyches. A few weeks ago I asked my students to reflect on how Tai Chi has been helping them cope with COVID19 and uncertainty that we live with every day. I continue to share their experience with you. Their reflections are inspiring and comforting:

“For me, Tai Chi brings comfort and quiet amidst all the chaos and change.” ~ Becky

“There’s a reassuring continuity and community in Tai Chi. As the movements become more familiar, their ease synchronizes with my breath, and as I follow the lead, I am aware of others who are doing the same. It’s a beautiful, very special time. In just a few months, the practice has become perhaps the most nurturing element in my life during COVID times, when sustaining a commitment to anything else has been challenging.” ~ Barb

May each of us find some quiet and nurturing moments in each day to help cope and stay healthy in this difficult time.

Coping in a Difficult Time Reflections

January 11, 2021 By Arlene Faulk

We all need ways to cope with uncertainty and fear that invade our lives. I asked my students how Tai Chi has been helping them cope with these difficult times. May we all have moments of calm and ways to reduce stress and anxiety. Read how David is experiencing that through Tai Chi:

“1. Through the pandemic, tai chi has been my constant. With so much uncertainty and change in our current lives, wondering (and not knowing) on a daily basis what the future will bring, tai chi remains unchanged: the warm up exercises we do and the form itself provide constancy. The moves remain the same week after week; the energy which infuses them are the same. Doing tai chi provides reassurance, the comfort of the familiar.

“2. Getting through the pandemic can be overwhelming — so much to think about, worry about, wonder about, to do. Life is simply more complicated these days. What once took one step now takes six.

“Tai Chi is a welcome and much needed antidote to this. Tai chi shifts your focus to small, elemental things — the position of your foot, the sweep of an arm, the bend of your elbow, the inhale of a breath, the weight of your leg as it presses into the ground, providing mental and physical balance as it sends roots deep into the earth.

“3. The community Tai Chi has provided has been a gift. With so much we can now do whenever we wish – with an app, or a YouTube video or a streaming service — meeting weekly (via zoom) in real time, live, to practice Tai Chi creates true community. Knowing that we all are moving in unison, at the same exact time, in our respective homes, creates a powerful energy which cannot be duplicated on one’s own.”

Winter Solstice 2020

December 20, 2020 By Arlene Faulk

Here we are observing the day with the most hours of darkness. Winter Solstice comes every year, but I’ve been hearing more people talking about it this year. Maybe that’s due to a year marked with so much darkness in so many lives across the globe, from the ravages of COVID19 to unemployment to increasing levels of hunger to uncertainty about what’s to come.

With this rhythm in nature, the dark hours will turn toward increasing light. At this time of year I like to turn to the Essenes, people who lived centuries ago and sought to live in accordance with nature. Their studies and views broaden my understanding of what this time means.

An excerpt from The Essene Book of Days – “The ancient peoples used this time of the ‘longest night’ to focus on the power of darkness. Not the negative image of darkness, but the richness of the unknown, dark, fertile, deep part in each of us wherein our intuitive, creative forces abide. In modern times, it is a time for owning one’s shadow, so as to transform any negative energy associated with it into energy of creation and psychic ability. We must accept and know our Darkness before we can fully know our Light.

For those of us embracing Tai Chi, this is a time to embrace our Yin side, to reflect and nourish this aspect of our beings through our practices. We seek to balance our Yin and Yang elements and strive to be in sync with nature.

From this day forward the hours of sunlight will start to increase. The darkness will turn into light. Let that give us hope for the days ahead.

Universal Uncertainty

May 6, 2020 By Arlene Faulk

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.

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