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Greetings Friends,
Welcome to the fourth Green Mountain Tai chi Newsletter.
There is much to be grateful for from this past year and I am looking forward to watching life unfold in 2008.
February will be 10 years that I have been sharing the arts of Taichi, Qigong, meditation and philosophy in Vermont. To show my appreciation and to give back to the people of this area that have shown me so much support, I will be donating a portion of the tuition received this February to the Pawlet Scholarship Fund.
In addition, I am thinking of a number between 1 and 3000. The two closest guesses get a choice of a 6 week session of classes, a private lesson or an external-qi healing treatment. The next 5 closest guesses will each get a copy of my "Connecting to Tao" guided meditation CD.
E-mail your guess to me by February 10th to be included. By the way I have already thought of the number so see if you can get on my frequency :)
Next month look for info on our annual 100 day challenge!
I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year!
Rich
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Announcements
Start the New Year
with an opportunity for renewal.
" Stress Less Well-Being Day for
Mind, Body and Spirit"
at the Mark Skinner Library
Saturday January 12
10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
This program is free and open to the public. Call the library to pre-register
(space is limited) 802-362-2607
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Come join us
for a
3 day Qigong retreat in
Jackson Hole, Wyoming!
Fri. Sat. Sun. February 1,2,3
Primary focus will be
Wudang Tayi 5 element
nurturing life qigong
we will also be learning;
Wudang meditation, hard qigong, tai chi,
and philosophy
All food and lodging will be included!
(Manny and Hannah Bravo will be cooking
great food with a great attitude based on a special eating technique to improve digestion and assimilation of food nutrients)
This seminar is a closed door teaching that will provide lodging and meals for the attending students. There are 12 openings for this class to insure the quality of instruction passed to the students. The classes will be from morning until evening with time for meals, reflection and continual practice to harmoniously circulate the knowledge into your spirit.
Attending students are asked to have a true desire to experience the teachings to the fullest .
Tuition of $650 will cover the teaching, room and board. All students will be responsible for their own travel to Jackson, WY. A $325 non refundable deposit will be accepted with the enrollment of each student.
please contact 1-307-690-2246 or mr.manny.bravo@gmail to reserve your opportunity to experience this wealth of knowledge on the secret arts of Wudang health and longevity
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Tai chi Tip
Joints
Know the individual joints so they can move as a whole team. Each joint has a specific role to play and when a joint is healthy with good range of motion, it does that job well. When each "member of the team" does its job to its fullest, the whole team benefits. However if one joint decides to not do it job (such as not moving the hip joint) another joint has to take up the slack and do a job it is not designed to do (such as the knee, a hinge joint, taking over for the hip joint, a ball and socket joint). This can lead to injury and will have a negative effect on the whole structure of the body. So it is very important while performing Tai chi form to be aware of what each "member of the team" is doing, and if one is not able to do its job sufficiently, be careful not to compensate by having another team member do the job poorly. Awareness of what is happening in your own body is a key component in a healthy, happy Tai chi practice.
Happy practice!
Beginner and intermediate/advanced
Tai-chi classes are held each week in both Manchester and Pawlet
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Qigong
Wudang Tayi 5 element nurturing life qigong
I remember when I first learned this set of exercises from Master Chen that I kept thinking, this was the missing piece to my puzzle. Of course, since then I have said that about many things I have learned from Master Chen, but that is another story.
Wudang Tayi 5 element nurturing life qigong consists of 26 standing movements, 17 sitting movements and 16 lying down movements. There is great variety to this set. There is; meditation, stretching, Taichi like movements, gentle flowing movements, explosive movements and some of the lying down movements are incredibly strenuous.
I also remember the last time Master Chen came to Vermont to teach us this set, he would have me lead the group as he observed and corrected our form. It became quite a joke and brought much laughter that just before each movement I would proclaim " Oh this is my favorite movement!". The thing is, I really meant it. But I will say that the standing movement #12, rhino looks at the moon to search for the mystery, is not only my favorite move in this set but one of my favorites in all the Qigong sets that I practice.
Qigong classes are held each Tuesday evening 5:30-6:30 in Manchester
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Life philosophy
Please take the following with a grain of salt. It is just a description of a personal insight, agree or don't agree is of no difference, but perhaps it will spark an insight of your own.
Over the years, I have always read and thought that the spiritual path is winding, curved and filled with obstacles and difficulties. Recently I have come to see that the Path or Way is very straight and very narrow and that there really are no obstacles at all. The obstacles that we come across show up when we sidestep and are distracted from our true way. The curves show up as well when we are not on the path. If the obstacles do seemingly show up while we are walking on our virtuous path, we can realize they are illusory and we can walk right on through. There is power and flow in walking the straight and narrow path, there is difficulty in wandering off.
A friend recently reminded me that we are not humans having a spiritual experience but spiritual beings having a human experience. Please note, I am talking here about the spiritual path, our human experience and travels are winding and full of obstacle. So of course, because we are going through the human experience we can forgive ourselves for not walking 100% of the time on the straight, narrow and flowing way.
As Master Chen says " 3/4 good + 1/4 no good = happy".
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Thoughts For The Month
When in our speech, we have a need to be right
we are not speaking from our true voice
If you wait to enjoy Tai chi until you "get it"
you will never enjoy Tai chi
For without enjoyment, there is no Tai chi
-Rich
The Tao cannot be grasped by thoughts
It must be experienced directly with the heart
-from the book, Seven Taoist Masters
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Sites worth checking out
my site, of course
Definitely worth checking out
Master Chen's site
I have never personally experienced Holotropic Breathwork, but I know Lenny and Elizabeth Gibson very well and feel confident in recommending them and their work if it resonates with you.
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Richard Marantz www.GreenMountainTaiChi.com
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