Take your time. You are making progress.
Lesson from a Turtle
Celebrating Year of the Wood Snake
People born in the Year of Snake are said to be resilient and courageous with strong interpersonal skills and leadership qualities. The wood element adds a layer of growth and creativity, because just as the Snake sheds its skin, this year represents the opportunity to renew oneself, embrace new possibilities and leave behind outdated ways.
What a fun, energizing afternoon Tai Chi students and friends had as we gathered on February 2 to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Come with us and feel our positive energy reach out to you.
We began by centering and cultivating positive energy with Michelle Bobier.
Letting go of our to-do lists we focused on standing in good alignment, breathing and stretching, moving our energy to enhance our physical and mental well-being. Ahhh. . .
Sarah Bernauer lead us in a discussion of opening chakras to enhance energy flow. We moved gently to feel the energy come up through our feet into our center and upper body. The image resonated because in Tai Chi we root our feet like a tree into the earth and bring up the nutrients and rich energy the earth provides.
Daniel Thatcher continued leading our energy movement with fundamental principles of Tai Chi — proper body alignment, methodically shifting our weight with intention, moving from our waist and hips rather than the upper body,
relaxing our knees as we stand with our weight equally distributed on our two legs. Look how centered and relaxed everyone is, focusing entirely on the moment and breathing.
In “The Movements of Magic – The Spirit of Tai Chi Ch’uan,” Bob Klein says: “Often in life, we are so caught up in concentrating on the past and future that we miss the present. And truly, the present is all that exists for us. We may think about the past or imagine the future but we can actually deal only with the present. In the present we have power.”
What a wonderful way to celebrate the 2025 Lunar New Year, breathing and moving in the present, being mindful of the moment.
A big thank you to Daniel, Sarah and Michelle!
Tai Chi Students Comment
The Tai Chi Classics, often considered the “Tai Chi Bible”, contain the principles and fundamentals of Tai Chi. In the first section, Master Chang San-feng (ca. 1200 C.E.) wrote, “Once you begin to move, the entire body must be light and limber. Each past of your body should be connected to every other part.” Whether I’m teaching beginning or experienced students, I often refer to both of these principles – relax and feel all parts of your body as one, moving together.
Let’s start with relaxing the body (and mind). Usually, I’m not light and limber when I begin class. It’s the focus on proper alignment, feet hip-width apart, soft knees, then starting to move through gentle movements that help me and my students begin to relax.
When we focus on breathing and moving our energy throughout our bodies, we are focusing on just those things, nothing else. That helps us start to relax.
During the last several weeks, students have informally been offering comments on their experience in class. “I had so many things on my mind when I walked into class, and during the class, I felt all that stress fade away.” “It helps me relax when you remind us to breathe.” “I’m starting to get it, It’s a process and I don’t have to be perfect.” “I was dragging when I came to class and by the end I felt much more energy, good energy.” “My back does not have so much pain and I’ve learned my alignment has been way off. “I’m learning how to walk more slowly and pay attention.” “All the students moving together helps me relax and feel not only my energy, but the powerful energy the group is creating.”
We, together, learn to relax, “be limber and light” even when we don’t walk into class feeling that way. We start to let go and share our energy with each other through our Tai Chi moves. What a wonderful discipline and practice Tai Chi is!
Happy Fourth!
Stand and sit by a tree. Walk barefoot in the grass. Enjoy the sunset. Name two or things you are grateful for. That can fill your day and is enough.
Creating Space & Stillness
“Tai Chi is not about trying harder; it’s about letting go, being in the moment, feeling balance and the fluidity of energy.” This is my experience of Tai Chi of which I write and highlight in my published memoir “Walking on Pins and Needles: A Memoir of Chronic Resilience in the Face of Multiple Sclerosis“.
I also emphasize letting go in my classes. Having just completed two new Tai Chi beginner’s classes, early on II saw quizzical looks on students’ faces when I talked about letting go rather than trying harder. Our culture emphasizes ‘trying harder’, getting it right, moving our bodies like the instructor does.
In our 8th class of the current series, I see and hear some changes from the first class, from beginning students saying “I don’t remember any of the moves from class” to “I now come to class and look forward to learning something new, whether I get it right or not”. Another comment from a student last week was, “I’m paying attention to how I’m standing and walking now.” Another comment. “I’ve learned that I hold my breath when I’m trying to do a move I’m not familiar with.”
Great! Paying attention and being in the moment. That’s what starting to happen. When we pay attention to how we’re standing, where our weight is, we are in the moment. That’s Tai Chi. That’s starting to let go.
Tai Chi creates stillness within by emptying out our thoughts and focusing on moving our energy in effective ways. Emptying out. Creating stillness. Expanding space within our body.
To reinforce these principles for my students this week, I read a piece from the Tao Te Ching, by ancient philosopher Lao Tzu:
“We put 30 spokes together and call it a wheel; But it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the wheel depends.
We turn clay to make a vessel; but it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the vessel depends.
We pierce doors and windows to make a house; and it is on these spaces where there is nothing that the usefulness of the house depends.
Therefore, just as we take advantage of what is, we should recognize the usefulness of what is not.”
Translated by Arthur Waley
Hanging On – Letting Go
Do you feel yourself swaying back and forth between ‘hanging on’ and ‘letting go’? Hanging on to fear of an unpredictable virus, to staying home because it’s comfortable, to continuing poor eating habits you developed in the last two years, to feeling so tired of looking at a screen. Letting go of ingrained habits, fears of what might happen, yet wanting something new, something different, can be daunting right now.
So, one step, one small step, such as beginning a daily walk, reading a book rather than binging a new Netflix series, joining a Tai Chi, yoga or pilates class, would be worth considering. Do something good for your body and your mind will definitely benefit, too.
We talked about letting go in Tai Chi class this week, how we need to pay attention to tension in our bodies – our neck, shoulders, and our minds. One student commented that in class she likes my reminders to breathe, to center ourselves a hip-width, parallel stance. It helps her relax her muscles.
A few years ago in a retreat I attended, a teacher pointed out that relaxation is not switching our attention to something else; it’s letting go of tension and something we’re already doing. Tai Chi teaches us this and gives us principles and movements to relax and let go:
“Letting go is a basic, if not the basic principle of Tai Chi Chuan. It is said that a student’s progress is determined by how much s/he is willing to let go of — tension, emotional programming, fear, thinking defensiveness, etc. The natural being is already powerful and wise. You must let go of your interference with the body’s power and wisdom”
— Movements of Magic: The Spirit of Tai Chi Ch’uan by Bob Klein
Bring your attention to tension you feel in your body, to your mind that might feel tired and perhaps anxious. What one step can you take to move from hanging on to letting go? One step is a start.