Faulk TaiChi

Learn the beautiful, flowing movements for health and relaxation.

Embracing Darkness

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On the first Thursday of each month, practitioners and teachers of the Heartwood Center gather for a community meeting. Over the last few months members have presented a case study and it’s often a person for whom there has been collaboration by two or more practitioners/teachers.

As we sat in a circle this morning, Nancy Floy began by asking us to be still for a few moments, to go to a place of stillness that we all have.

sky

“It’s the most yin time of year, with less daylight and more darkness. Embrace the darkness and find in it the spaciousness and stillness,” Nancy said. She added that with the busyness of preparing for upcoming holidays, we don’t often stop to be still, look inside. The darkness, coolness, dampness call us to do that.

After three to four minutes of stillness, we began to listen, to discuss. I felt awake and ready to listen. I felt a calm, expectant energy in the room.

After presenting the case study situation, a psychotherapist, massage therapist, reiki practitioner, acupuncturist, psychiatrist, chiropractor and others commented on what they could or would offer to help this individual. With each comment, we learned more about the individual practitioners do and the summation was a very holistic treatment approach for the person being discussed. Very enlightening and I was warmed by the level of professionalism and expertise in the room and the unbelievable caring from each person.

As we finished our discussion, Nancy asked us to collectively do one more thing.

“This is not just a case study we been focusing on. She’s a person. She’s a mother, daughter, a person with feelings. Let’s be quiet and celebrate her breakthroughs and her progress because she has had to focus so much on problems and what she can’t do,” Nancy said. We sat silently for about three minutes, focusing our collective good energy and compassion on this woman.

Take time to embrace the spaciousness and stillness of darkness. Give collective compassion.

With so much fear and danger and negative darkness in our world news, it’s so encouraging to know and experience that ‘darkness’ can be so positive when we embrace it with hopefulness, caring and compassion.

How honored I felt to be part of that energy this morning.

A Special Tai Chi Experience

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Faulk Tai Chi

Normally at this time on a Tuesday I’m preparing for my afternoon/evening classes. This Tuesday I’m steeped in Tai Chi, being taught by 5 Grandmasters, one representing each family style of the modern Tai Chi era (1600’s forward).

This international symposium attracted Tai Chi practitioners and teachers from all over the world. I don’t know all countries represented, but I know people from Australia, France, Italy, Romania, Greece, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, and Canada are here. Obvious, the U.S. is well-represented and there are many people from China here, too.

What a unique opportunity to be in the presence of these teachers, all in one place at the same time. We’re focusing on the commonalities among the various styles, those qualities that promote health, harmony and a way for us to show and live compassion, for ourselves and for others.

I’m very grateful to be part of this experience. More to come in upcoming posts. . .

“Never Cease to Learn”

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More reflections from my Tai Chi workshop in Olive Branch, Mississippi:

“Anyone who teaches may never cease to learn,” Dr. Paul Lam said in the midst of the week. At that time, I was loving being a student, soaking in the knowledge and experience the teachers were sharing. My major responsibility was to be attentive, to be an eager student. Not a teacher.

Learning new things has and continues to be very appealing to me. The old adage that the more you know, the more you know what you don’t know rings truer every year. And, in this workshop I wanted new insights about the principles of Tai Chi and I wanted to learn a new Yang style form, the 24, which I’ve wanted to learn for a number of years. I wasn’t focused on being a teacher in that moment, but Dr. Lam’s comment caused  me to stop and think. Many of us are teachers and have the honor of teaching Tai Chi, acknowledging great respect for the masters who shared their wisdom over the centuries in their families, and more recently outside of their families to the general public.

I love learning, and as a teacher, greatly enjoy learning from my students. I can honestly say that I learn something new in every class I teach. I gain insights on students’ learning, interpreting words, watching movements, all in different ways. Preparing for a class, for a private session, for a demonstration, for a workshop, requires thinking, researching, talking with other teachers — learning from a variety of sources. And the best is to watch students, listen to their questions and comments during class and sometimes before/after a class. The student’s brain cells, the body’s reaction are in motion, along with the teacher’s.

It occurs to me that students can be great teachers for the teacher and in some respects we are all teachers, even if it’s not an official title. Mothers, fathers, and other family members are teachers; children teach their parents and guardians; office managers teach us; friends teach us.

The key, I think, to be a good teacher is to have an open mind, an attitude of compassion and learning. Teachers may have experience, knowledge and skills to impart, but it’s not a one-way street. The students in our classes, in our homes, on the basketball court, in the retirement homes all have something to teach us. Let us be willing to consider many who intersect in our lives as teachers and “never cease to learn.”