I don’t think I’ve used this title in ages. Actually, my search function suggests I’ve never used it before, exactly, but I’ve used similar ideas before.
Today’s practice was Five Golden Coins, followed by the tai chi form sort of fast, followed by Eight Pieces of Silk, followed by the tai chi form again but this time pretty slow. I appreciated the way in which the first run-through of the tai chi form was a run-through: I mean, I went fast. I think it took three minutes for all sixty moves. I barely slowed down. It was a highway cruise.
But the second time through, I was moving through water, and as I did so, there was a lot of “snap, crackle, pop” going on in my arms and waist and shoulders and chest. What I mean is that I was hearing things inside of me, inside my joints, crackling and popping. I haven’t heard this sound in a long time. A long time. And I associate it with the clearing of too much sitting and too much lazing about. And this is what’s happening, which strikes me as a good thing.
Why good? Well, it shows that after a lengthy period of not practicing properly, I’m practicing properly again, and working out the kinks and clunks in my practice. And that should definitely be seen as an improvement.
Maybe you’re on your way to another level? I am betting on that.
That would be nice.