Something like half of my posts seem to be titled “slowing down” or “slow down” or “move more slowly.”. It’s hard to keep track. But it’s also the case that more tai chi revolves around this basic premise than anything else. Having trouble regulating your breathing? Slow down. Having difficulty with some set of postures? Slow down. Difficulty with a given movement? Slow down. Screwing up a movement? Slow down. Want to have a more demanding practice? Slow down. See? Two words cover a lot of ground.

I tried to do exactly that this morning. For e most part, I succeeded. The last segment of the form, from the end of fair lady works shuttles to the final close is particularly hard for me to do slow. But I get a much better workout in the morning from going slow than going fast, and I feel better later in the day by doing so.

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