I slept funny on my shoulder last night, and woke up with unusual and difficult pains under my right shoulder blade. I had to lie flat on the floor between my first and second qi gong routine, to stretch it out somewhat. It still doesn’t feel right.

Because of this pain, I was unbalanced in my performance of the two qi gong routines. I resolved to do a much better job on the tai chi form as a result. I got as far as grab needle on sea floor before I lost my balance and fell off my foot, ooops. So I started again.

This time I got to Playing Pipah, which comes just before Grab Needle, before I lost my balance. So, I tried a third time. This time, I got through the the two maneuvers, no problem. But then I lost my balance on one of the kicks right after the Golden Pheasants. So, I started again.

This time I got through the form without falling over. And it occurs to me that I have a new standard in play: start the whole form over when you lose your balance and your place in the routine.