About 30 seconds into my first qi gong routine, I thought to myself, “I can’t do this. I’m too tired.” And I was. I’ve been schlepping boxes, moving furniture, and reorganizing the house all week. It was 6:30, and I didn’t really want to be doing tai chi.
But here I was. Doing tai chi. And about a minute later, I had the energy to do tai chi. I did both qi gong forms, and four tai chi forms, and it was an acceptable practice. Not great, not awesome. OK.
But it began in misery and weariness, and ended with energy, life, health and good cheer. And maybe that should be the definition of awesome. Because if it can take a human being from feeling cruddy and weary to feeling healthy and happy in forty minutes, maybe there’s something to that?
I’m mindful that I’m in the middle of changing my habit, too. It looks like, when I look back at the last few weeks, that I began my “full set” = four tai chi forms and two qi gong forms on 8 February. Which means that it’s been 14 days of constructing a new habit, or halfway through the cycle and process of 28 days that it takes to form a new habit. On February 6, I did tai chi in sort of a small and cramped space. And that was the beginning of my new process, I think — feeling like I’d let my practice slide. This was a renewal.
And it’s working, I think. More minutes of practice, more frequency, more challenges.
Update: I forgot that today is the eve of the Feralia, and that means that tomorrow, Tuesday, and Wednesday are the three days of sacred work at the end of the old Roman/pagan year: the Feralia, the Charistia, and the Terminalia. If you’re looking for a way of renewing your New Year’s Resolutions, now is a good time to do so — because the delight and vigor of the new year has probably worn off; but that doesn’t mean you can’t start again.
