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Greetings Friends,
Welcome to the 7th Green Mountain Tai chi Newsletter.
This month I am formatting this newsletter differently. I have omitted the Tai chi tip and Qigong sections. Primarily due to what it is that I wanted to write about.
In this issue I have written about a tai chi video series, balance and the 100 day commitment in which some of you are taking part. There is also the Thought for the month.
Enjoy!
Expert Village video shoot:
It has been an "interesting" month. In early April I spent a Saturday and a part of a Sunday filming a Tai chi instruction series for ExpertVillage.com with camera man Joseph from Equilibrio Films and chef/tai chi student Ray Chen. (Ray's blog).
The shoot consisted of a total of 8 series that range from tai chi forms, conditioning, tai chi for seniors, partner exercises and martial applications. It was a lot of work but mostly it was a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I was told the finished product will be posted on the site sometime in June.
Balance:
About two years ago Master Chen gave a profound lecture about finding unity in the opposites. Over the last month this idea has been showing up to me in a variety ways. I would like to share with you a portion of the insights I have had.
Physical and non-physical:
We live in the world of yin and yang. Where there is up there is down, where there is inside there is outside, where there is this there is that. What we see, touch, taste, hear and feel is our physical world. This we can call yin. If there is yin there must be yang, this is the non-physical realm. When we live only in the physical world and ignore the existence of the non-physical world our lives become very heavy, like carrying around a backpack full of rocks. When we try to live only in the non-physical yang world while we are still in the world of yin and yang our lives can become confusing, frustrating and we are at the mercy of whatever the physical world brings upon us.
The idea of balance is to live in and respect the physical world while never forgetting that there is another aspect always at play in our lives. Flipping the coin, can we live a spirit guided life while still attending to our chosen worldly obligations?
Qi:
Within our skin, at any given moment, we have "X" amount of qi. Through the course of our lives this amount can vary as we either deplete or cultivate this vital resource. Within this "X" amount of qi there is always a balance of pre-heaven or yang qi and post-heaven or yin qi. There will always be yin and yang qi as long as we have a human body. The idea is to minimize the yin qi in the body and cultivate and grow the yang qi.
Some of the consequences of a balance of more yin than yang qi are; lack of energy, extreme emotional states, lack of mental clarity, increased chances of illness and injury, rapid aging and diminished spirit. Reverse this balance of more yang than yin qi and you will experience the opposite of the above.
It is important to note this is not in relationship to anyone else, this is not a competition. Finding a balance that has a higher quantity and quality of yang qi allows us to get closer to realizing our potential as a human being, which to me is the very best we can do with that which has been given to us as the ultimate gift, this human life experience.
100 Day Commitment:
As of this newsletter we have just passed the halfway point. 55 days and counting. Even of you have missed days, honor your commitment and keep going. This is meant to be a 100 day block whether you are able to practice each and every day or not. When we look at our practice long term, then missing a day or two is no big deal. When we look at our practice long term then with that every day effort of not missing a day, it will bring us closer to our goal. Either way we want to learn something about ourselves and our relationship to our practice that we did not understand prior to this undertaking. I know that I have already learned some valuable lessons on what my practice means to me.
On a lighter note.
If you like animated movies, we watched "Surf's Up" the other night. It was in my opinion the best animated movie I have seen. We laughed out loud many times.
Peace, prayers and happiness,
Rich
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Thought For The Month
The following is from a classical book of Chinese literature, Monkey; A Journey to the West. This passage seems to hold so much value to the way we approach many aspects of our lives. - Rich
"The seasons passed and with the seasons, the years. Each new adventure and difficulty provided an experience from which the travelers had something specific to learn. Their journey thus seemed to be without end, for each of the disciples and the Master in particular had much to learn. They needed to be tested in the iron-hard realities of life, until they had been made malleable and trustworthy servants of the Way.
Tripitaka had the dual task of mastery over himself and his disciples, and each disciple had his own weakness to overcome besides having to learn to respect the functions that the others performed. For it is no easy matter to see that each one is related to the Whole, and that the Whole is One."
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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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