boltonblue

Val,
if you really want to clear your mind of everything else, try golf.

you can only think about golf while golfing.... except a little or and maybe even a little now and then...

MsPerky

Glad you are enjoying your class! Once you are well along on the path to enlightenment, beat another path up here and visit! Haven't seen you guys in ages.

valentine

I was thinking about that the other day. The north beckons!! We're both getting a tad homesick and would have already beaten a path back to Va if we didn't like/need the classes so much. We're looking forward to seeing the kids and we're a little on the side after reading of local flooding near our home. HOWEVER, there's nothing we can do from here and our neighbors say the house looks fine from the outside, so . . . not to worry.
Lainey, I really wanted to do Yoga classes, but felt the tai chi was of greater benefit especially to +1 since he's a little older than I am. Inflexibility and balance issues (not to mention bone pain) often cause older people to just stop moving. I "preach" to +1 all the time that we have to keep moving or we lose the ability to move.
I think you'd love Yoga and I'm sure I would too, but I simply couldn't interest +1 in yoga. I'm glad he consented to tai chi.

valentine

just in case Patty's reading this, here is a very long and boring demonstration of the style of Tai Chi that we're learning. We've only made it to about the first 2 minutes of this demo. I have no idea what he's doing next and haven't even watched the whole thing. There is no sound, btw:

tai chi style of Master Moy

Not Sure

I love chai tea. Spiced with cinnamon and cloves. Mmmmm.

WhiteS2k

Thanks for posting the link. Actually he is doing a good job, and his movements are very fluid as I had previously mentioned. This may be a "stylistic" thing, but I noticed a couple things that are different from what I've learned.
- When he is pushing forward, his body tends to lean too much forward. We were taught to keep our bodies straight (up and down) when pushing.
- Most of his forward stances, his forward leg is too straight. We were taught to bend our knees more. This is probably one of those "martial arts vs. exercise" differences.

But otherwise a good set to practice. Thanks for posting the link.

valentine

^^ Whites, your comments are dead on. Our instructor has given us the same directions. My husband who is 6' tall has no problems with the shorter step and keeping his body straighter, however I'm only 5'1" and I've ALWAYS had a long stride (so I can keep up with the taller folks I guess). The instructor is constantly correcting me and telling me to take shorter steps keeping the body straighter. I do enjoy watching this guy and practicing with him. It would appear he has had MANY years of practice in order to be so fluid. After only two months our movements are very hesitant and without the fluidity he has. Another prob for me is the ADD but I believe the mental FOCUS is extremely helpful. Jim and I practice together every day and plan to keep this up during the class hiatus. We enjoy this form of Tai Chi.

WhiteS2k

Congratulations. Sounds like you have found a teacher who understands Tai Chi. Just keep practicing and your movements will be more fluid and smooth. I found that if I don't concentrate, I'll lose track of the movements also.

fltsfshr

Hooray for Tai Chi

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