For Beginners – Page 21

Slow Arms Tai Chi

Sometimes I lose focus and speed up the form. A 15-20 minute workout suddenly becomes a 10-12 minute sprint.

This happens occassionaly when I’ve been busy working and then rush out into the garden to fit in my Tai Chi training.

I’m in more of a speed mode and to slow things down I concentrate on slowing my arm movements which then slows the body and leg movements.

It’s not pure Tai Chi, as the objective is to flow into the form without thinking. You just do and the form takes care of it self.

But it is a good technique on occassions when I’m distracted and need to slow the form down.

So if you are in a rush and you do want something of a Tai Chi workout, slow your arms down.

One Tai Chi Second

By Chris Leave a Comment

I was in Hobart, Tasmania, last week working with primary school students in our ‘Pozitive Kidz are happy kidz’ workshops.

It’s a program I’ve run for years and it focuses on building self esteem from a Tai Chi perspective.

In one of the workshops I discovered the ‘one Tai Chi second’.

It was after our yin meditative exercise which was preceded by a very active yang exercise.

I was reinforcing the theme that we need to pause before we react to things without thinking.

And it occurred to me to use the term ‘one Tai Chi second’. It’s something that I’ve never used before and it was created on the spot. And these creative moments are always a delight because it gives me more material to use when teaching young students.

I said to the students, ‘if you feel upset, or someone is teasing you, slowly breathe for one Tai Chi second’.

How long is one Tai Chi second?

As long as it takes to remain calm and centred.

Powerful Connections

By Chris Leave a Comment

I’ve just come back from my garden after practicing the Tai Chi form.

And I’m writing this post now before I forget the discovery I’ve made.

But before I discuss this discovery’I’ll explain my approach to practicing my Tai Chi form.

Sometimes I work on a specific theme and concentrate on that throughout the form. For example it may be on breathing, Yin Yang, weighting, knee alignment, tan tien, etc. Other days I’ll just do the form without focusing on anything particular.

Today I focused on the theme of ‘powerful connections’ which occurred to me as I commenced my first movement .

I focused on my body being totally connected in every movement and moving powerfully but in a relaxed way.

After the form I felt more invigorated than usual so it’s a theme I’ll play around with for a while to see what else I can discover.

And that’s the beauty and challenge of Tai Chi. No matter how long you have been practicing there is always something to discover and/or re-discover.

When that happens, like today, it makes all worthwhile.

24/7 Tai Chi

By Chris Leave a Comment

It’s been a very busy day.

A lot of rushing around doing shopping, work jobs and picking up a Karate Kid dvd from the local video shop.

I’ve realised now that there was little, if any, Tai Chi used to maitain my centre and not become stressed.

During the running around I felt like a nine pin in a bowling alley. The one that gets knocked and wobbles for what seems an eternity before it falls.

I need to be more focused and apply 24/7 chi whenever I feel tired and/or stressed.

And the best way to do that is do it in the moment, whenever needed, rather than wait until training.

Otherwise what’s the point of practicing Tai Chi?

The Write Chi

By Chris Leave a Comment

Recently I turned over a new leaf and my doona cover to get out of bed at 5.55am.

Yes, that’s a.m. not p.m.

Why?

Well, I’ve decided to finish my first draft of my screenplay and the early start is the only way I can achieve this.

The early start allows me to complete my 30 minute Chi Kung set, have breakfast and then do one of hour of writing before I start my paid job.

It also takes the pressure of trying to complete my 2-3 sessions of Chi Kung and Tai Chi throughout the day.

The Chi Kung set has been an enormous help for creative thinking and writing as it gets the chi to flow.

I think and feel better at that time of the morning and it also energises me at the same time.

It’s amazing what you can achieve when you practice the ‘write chi’.