I did twelve minutes of tai chi, and another eighteen minutes of qi gong afterwards. I feel great. Not surprisingly, really. Breathwork was good. Dr. Yang, Greg, Tom, Reba, and some of the other instructors taught reverse-breathing, where the gut is gently sucked in during the in-breath, and relaxed during the out-breath. I’m really enjoying that a great deal, and I feel like it’s doing me a world of good. Footwork, based on the recent training in widening my stance, was poor. I can’t do it deliberately or clearly yet, and it’s going to take a while before I make these shifts automatically. The physical shifting from side to side was awesome; I feel like my knees are loosening up, and the advice I got about not pushing out so far on my knees was spot-on. Excellent. Upper body work? Mmmm… OK, I guess, but I really should be moving more as if I were standing in chest-high water and push-pulling my body and arm movements through that water — steady but as though with difficulty.
Even so, I feel stronger and more balanced this morning. It’s definitely helping.
Oh, and I’m happy. I mean, I was happy before, but today I was happy during tai chi. It’s continuing to be a source of happiness in my life, and I’m glad about that. Way to go.
Update: This is post #4077 on this blog. What a MASH. 🙂
I just wanted to say that this and the previous post were lovely to read. It’s great to hear you expressing that kind of joy and connection.
I’m glad you enjoyed them. They were fun to write, and even more fun to experience!