Chris Chi

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One Tai Chi Second

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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

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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

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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

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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’.

Really Small Frame Tai Chi

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Several years ago I travelled overseas by plane from Australia to Europe for a holiday.

Every now and again I did some Chi Kung exercises in my seat to stretch out, narrowly avoiding the flight attendant running over my toe or knocking my knee with the drinks trolley.

After several hours I needed to do some Tai Chi so I ventured to the back of the plane to practice and get the Chi to flow.

Well, it was an adventure because I had to manoeuvre my way through a fog of smoke that appeared from the back seats, just below the ‘no smoking’ sign.  There was no point in telling the attendants as some of them were smoking as well.

I was probably better off practicing on the wing of the plane but it would have been a bit draughty so I decided to back myself against the wall and adopt a standing posture.

Embrace the tree posture didn’t work as I had passing traffic occassionaly bump into me. I was tempted to do so fajing but that would have been unsociable.

I settled for a standing posture with my arms to the side and visualised the movements from the form. I could feel the Chi flow again and eventually returned to my seat and made sure I tucked my long skinny legs in, to avoid the trolley menace.

I felt energised and was happy I was able to do my ‘really small frame Tai Chi’ in a confined space.