Twice a week I have coffee and conversation with a fabulous group of women. In between, we journal. And we don’t even need to change out of our pajamas. These musings grew out of one of the many prompts offered by our guide, Jill Grumbache, at last Monday’s Morningtides journaling session.
Orient yourself in the center of the room, so you can be surrounded by folks who are more familiar with--and confident about--the movements. (We put you in the middle because we’ll be turning, and if you try to hide in the back soon you’ll find all of us looking to follow you!) Let yourself be supported by your fellow players, who were once in your tai chi shoes.
Take full advantage of the first time you’re meeting this sequence, when no one has any expectations of you--so you shouldn’t, either. Allow this time to be full of experimental play, when you exuberantly fling your arms to the right with unbridled joy ... and everyone else is going to the left.
Take a moment to chuckle at your missteps, and just feel the energy you (and the others around you) are creating. Notice the swirl of the chi in the space between you and the person next to you--even across time and space, if you’re playing virtually--as well as the spiraling within you, originating from your center. The precise movements of hands and feet will come in time and with repetition. Parts of the movements may continue to feel awkward, and you’ll have to use your whole being to count, weight shift, pivot and adjust your fingers just so. Soon, they’ll feel as natural as your every breath.
But for now, enjoy the not knowing. Recline into the beginners mind, when everything feels fresh and exciting, ripe for deeper exploration.
We’ll all be beginners starting next month, when we kick off a journey through the Yang 24 tai chi form from our chairs, playing our way through an accessible variation of this popular traditional sequence that I’ve been noodling around. Taking the lower body out of the equation means we can focus on what’s happening above the waist, effectively cutting down on the volume of choreography we have to memorize. What a nice way to ease into this form! If you’d like to learn more, message me and I’ll share more info when it’s time.
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