trees Archives | Faulk TaiChi

New Green Leaves Spring Forth

May 17, 2022 By Arlene Faulk

I absolutely love the first warm days of spring time when the green buds, turn into leaves on the trees and the light green color fills in all that space between the branches. It’s a predictable wonder of nature that new life has sprung forth.

Chicago tree showing new leaves — Chicago tree showing its new leaves

I remind my students to pay attention, to feel the energy of the tree bringing up earth energy and moisture through the trunk, branches and then flower into beautiful green. This is the essence of Tai Chi — we root our feet into the earth, bring up the energy, which moves through the legs, is commanded by the waist and hips, moves up through the arms and flowers and the hands and fingers. In every class, I begin with our standing in hip-width distance and visualize a tree. We are the tree, moving with the natural rhythms and harmony of nature.

bringing up tree energy — Bringing up earth energy like a tree

Be mindful of the glorious trees right now. Don’t just walk by. Stop, admire and maybe even say thank you for new life and possibilities.

Revisiting My 2018 Word

December 29, 2018 By Arlene Faulk

A year ago I chose a word I wanted to focus on and embody for 2018 – ROOTED. Some of my thoughts from my blog last December:

“ROOTED. I use this word often, even start all my Tai Chi classes with this word – ‘Bring yourself into the room. Feet parallel, hip-width apart, knees soft. Visualize your feet and legs like a tree, rooted deep into the earth. See if you can make the roots a little bit deeper.’

As we make our roots deeper and stronger below the earth, we will become more stable above the earth. Stable, centered, balanced, strong – isn’t that what we all would like to be and have every day? If I were not so involved with Tai Chi, I might have used the word “grounded.” That’s a good word, too, because it suggests a connection with the earth and being stable, both physically and mentally.

Being rooted allows the body to move in a coordinated way. The body moves as a unit, all parts synchronized, coordinated and relaxed. I aspire to that and know it is a process not an end, nor a static state. Being rooted allows the mind to relax and focus only on the moment.

I aspire to be rooted in my standing and in my walking. I aspire to be rooted in kindness and in giving what I can to help others improve health. I aspire to be mindful and focused on the moment so I can actively listen.”

How has it gone? What hits me is that being rooted is a process, not an arrival point. Some days my balance is better than others and Tai Chi helps me accept that is okay. Tai Chi helps me with stability, with focusing on right now, this moment. I need that reminder because it is so easy to get distracted and think about tomorrow, next week. Over the past 12 months, I have focused more on trees – I look at the trees, sometimes stop as I am walking to admire a tree. Trees have so many lessons to teach me. I continue my quest to be rooted like the tree. And have patience.

Several of you also chose a word to embody for 2018. Let me know your reflections about that word, now a year later.

A Word for the New Year

December 30, 2017 By Arlene Faulk

As one year sunsets and another dawns, my thoughts turn to what is to be revealed, as yet unknown. A new year. New possibilities. New challenges.

I am not one who makes New Year’s resolutions. What I decided to do is focus on a word, a word that I want to be mindful of and manifest as best as I can in starting a new year. It only took a few minutes for the right word to surface – ROOTED. I use this word often, even start all my Tai Chi classes with this word – “Bring yourself into the room. Feet parallel, hip-width apart, knees soft. Visualize your feet and legs like a tree, rooted deep into the earth. See if you can make the roots a little bit deeper.”

What is your word for the new year? I really want to know, because if you share, it will help many others along the way.

What is your word that you want to be mindful of and manifest?

Rooted Like a Tree

April 25, 2016 By Arlene Faulk

When outside this morning, I stared at tree after tree. Although a few of the early spring trees have some blossoms or buds that will turn into leaves, others until the last few days continued to look like lingering winter. Bare branches.

Until today. Today is blossoming into a full color screen, like in the “Wizard of Oz”. Green is everywhere. The trees are signaling that spring is finally here in the midwest. I love this time of year. When the trees start to generate their spring leaves, the green is light and bright, glistening from the sunshine. And like clockwork, trees are dependable. From their roots deep into the earth, they ready themselves to spring out in their glory. They always do.They always come through.

In Tai Chi we learn to root ourselves like a tree.The deeper our roots go, the more stable and balanced we are as we stand on the earth. That earth energy comes up through our feet and circulates throughout our body. At this time of year I always think of one of the fundamental principles in the Tai Chi Classics:

“The internal energy, Qi, roots in the feet,
Transfers through the legs,
Is controlled from the waist,
And blossoms through the arms and fingertips.”

Like the trees. Pay attention today to the trees. Admire their steadiness, their blossoming and their lessons for each of us — Be stable, balanced and dependable.

Look at the Empty Space

February 3, 2016 By Arlene Faulk

Many of us assume that what we see with our eyes is what there is. We see a tree in February with branches but no leaves and a frozen lake with seemingly no water moving. Nature changes color for winter, from autumn golds and browns to winter, much of it in black, white and gray. When we are in a northern climate the season change can be dramatic, not just the temperature but the landscape.

There is dormancy, hibernation, quiet preparation for what will become apparent as the sun shines brighter, as nature is preparing to blossom into the next season. But wait. Don’t miss what’s happening right now.

At this time of year I like to suggest to my Tai Chi students to look at a tree from a new perspective. Rather than just focusing on the branches, focus on the space between the branches. What is happening there? The in between space is filled with Qi, the energy of life. That space has value.

The Tao te Ching eloquently helps us think about empty space in a new way:

“We put thirty 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 those 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.” (From Tao te Ching, translated by Arthur Waley)

Take a look at the space between the tree branches anew. What is happening there?

More on Trees

February 16, 2013 By Arlene Faulk

Trees continue to be a major focus for me. I mentioned the tree this week in Tai Chi classes, feeling our legs and feet sprouting roots deep into the earth. Feeling rooted, strong, stable, tall. I searched out the famous poem by Joyce Kilmer, that I loved when I was a child:

TREES

“I think that I will never see, a poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed, against the sweet earth’s flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day, and lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in summer wear, a nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain, who immediately lives with rain.

Poems are made for fools like me, but only God can make a tree.”

It’s not by accident that we see people doing Tai Chi in a park, close to the trees. They draw energy from the trees and trees are a reminder of what we aspire to be like. The Taoists lived closely with nature and have informed us about lessons learned from a tree. It uses what comes its way to nurture and grow. The roots are deep and absorb the water that comes its way. The limbs and branches reach out to the sun, absorbing it’s life-giving energy. It is efficient, steady and follows the rhythms of the seasons.

May we all set some intention to learn from and be more like a tree.