Early Benefits I gained from Tai Chi

Source for Infographic

I have not been doing tai chi for a long time, not even three full months yet, but I have been diligent in my daily practice sessions. I practice twice a day, except for Sundays where I only seem to fit in one session. But that is okay, it still works for me.

I don't go to a class, so my form is probably as bad as you could possibly imagine, but I have noticed some things that are different than before I started doing tai chi.

Before I expand, a quick note. I am still struggling with torn ligaments in my left foot which after nearly four weeks, have not healed yet. Due to my work requiring me to walk a lot and climb stairs because the elevator is far away from my office, the healing process is a slow one. A very slow one.

Despite my injury, I have no additional pain during my practice sessions, and take care to ensure proper weight placement on my foot where the form requires it.

On top of all these constraints, I have noticed that my balance is better. I have not had issues in the past, but now there is no struggle, or wiggling, or hopping around when I put on a pair of pants.

The second thing I noticed is my focus during the practice. When my attention drifts for some reason, I get irritated because there is an immediate impact on the form I am busy with. This is also becoming less, while my body seem to remember the moves better when I simply relax and let my hands and feet do their thing. Not an empty mind, but a mind that is relaxing into the moment as the movements flow from the one to the other.

I still have a long way to go with the current course, and already I am thinking of sending the company an email requesting another course to take the practice of tai chi to the next level.

Which course am I doing? I will let the cat out of the bag very soon.

Tai chi confession: I skipped a class...

I have been so happy with my progress on my tai chi lessons, it is hard to believe that I still am doing this, and all on my own.

I watched the video clip on lesson seven yesterday and was quite happy with myself after practicing it a few times with and without the teacher. Then a few hours later I wondered about one of the movements in the form, and I go...not again.

To make up for this mental mishap, I copied lessons seven to ten to my iPad - with a bit of a struggle, since I am not fluent in iTunes. Nonetheless, I managed to get the clips to the tablet and had a quick peek at the lesson to refresh my memory.

Early this morning, I was playing around with the iPad and activated lesson eight by accident. Or maybe not. It was an extension of lesson seven with an intermediate transition step the only addition in the form I am studying.

What fun. Where I would normally allocate two weeks for each new movement to learn and practice and perform it, now I am doing two lessons. Maybe two weeks will be enough, maybe not.

So the student has skipped a class, lets hope she doesn't fall on her nose in the overeagerness test.

Tai chi - an unplanned surprise

A few days after I fell and tore ligaments in my left foot and ankle, I decided to try doing my tai chi practice. I can just see the surprise on your face. Yeah, I thought I was crazy for trying too.

It has become part of my routine, so I missed my twice daily tai chi sessions. So with careful consideration, my ankle brace properly strapped on, I went for it.

Tai chi is not a routine to be rushed, which I appreciated more than ever at this attempt. Opening stance, opening movement. Check.

Second, third, fourth movements. Check. Okay, it wasn’t that easy, but if I kept my head, there was little to no pain. I made a slight adjustment to my stance, keeping a more upright posture and using a shorter step out (the bow step) to limit bending of my foot even in the forward position.

It doesn’t feel natural, so when my injury is healed, reverting back to the more extended movement, will not be a problem.

Since I feel comfortable with the routine so far, ankle injury notwithstanding, I decided to keep to my schedule and proceed towards studying the sixth movement in the course.

The typical healing period for this type of injury is about 6 to 8 weeks. Unless the subsequent tai chi movements will strain my injury, I will keep to my planning. If there is stress on my ankle, I will keep practicing the routing as I have learnt it up to that point, and delay adding the next movement until my body is ready.

In the meantime I wish you health, harmony and happiness!

Resolution or Revolution: What is in store in 2015?

It is funny how two words can look and sound so much the same, and yet they are worlds apart. A resolution (according to my trusty Oxford dictionary) is a firm decision. This is the kind of things we do to ourselves at the beginning of a new year.

“I am going to loose weight.”

“I am going to go to the gym again.”

“I am going run a marathon this year.”

“I am going to...” and so the list goes on. Unless you have already started training for that marathon, it is not going to happen. And you knew that already.

Even when we put action plans in place, and commit to holding ourselves accountable to a friend or on Facebook, we fail.

And we don't just fail, by day three the resolution is gone and we are back to our old tricks...we fail miserably.

So why do we fail at these firm decisions?

Because we don't understand what we really want to accomplish. We need more than a decision, we need a revolution of the mind.

My trusty Oxford defines revolution as a dramatic and far reaching change. In the opening of his book From Dawn to Decadence - 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of WesternCultural Life, Jacques Barzun states that “revolutions change more that personal habits or a widespread practice. They give culture a new face.”

You might rightly think about the Religious revolution instigated by Martin Luther, or the Industrial Revolution some time later, amongst others. While we think of modern day revolutions as a wartime activity involving violence and death, a revolution is much more than that: it is a change of thinking, giving human existence a new face, if you like.

So how do I apply that to myself? I am after all a single person, with only the intention of changing something for or by myself.

You start by nailing your list to the church door - figuratively speaking of course.

If you really think about it, you know what needs to be changed. Do you really need to loose weight, or do you need to change your lifestyle? Or deal with the emotional issues that caused the weight gain in the first place. Just going on a diet, has never solved anyones problems, and neither did it solve the problem of being overweight.

You need a new face; a new way of looking at yourself and the things that you want to change. Jumping in and snap, snap, snap, making changes may not be the best way to tackle the problem.

Neither is waiting until a new year rolls around.

I used the weight problem, since I also need to look at my weight. I am not so young anymore and losing weight becomes more difficult the older we get. While I know that going on a weight loss programme, of any kind, is not going to help me, I decided to change tactics. As a diabetic Type II I know that my diet is already adjusted, so I need to look at the other side of weight control, exercise.

To be honest, I hate going to the gym, so that will never work. Trust me, I have tried. I liked playing squash with a friend, but our schedules had changed to the extent, that it simply became impossible to continue our weekly games.

I also travel a lot for work, making it impossible to have a routine where someone else, or sport facilities need to be part of my exercise routine. While I admire the runners I see on the road every morning on my way to work, running is not for me.

Thinking out of the box? I decided to take up Tai Chi Quan. I can learn by myself, practice by myself and need only a little space and comfortable clothing. No gym, no running, no dedicated equipment needed. Just me, and a quiet place.

It was the beginning of my revolution. On 15 December 2014, I started my first lesson, and until today I have learned and practiced at least twice everyday.

A new year's resolution, perhaps, but a new me revolution, definitely! This new face of me will be more visible in future posts about the course I chose, and how I am getting on with my training and my experience of the lifestyle adjustment that is Tai Chi.

Let 2015 be a journey, not a quick fix plan doomed to failure before it even started. The start of a journey to the you you want to be!

Happy New Year everyone!