Jane
Morro, Camperdown
I have come to Tai
Chi due to a myriad of sporting injuries which have had a
myriad of treatments but still remain firmly entrenched in
my body. As a mum of two small children Tai Chi also
provides me with some quiet time and a time for reflection.
I have found that Tai Chi helps me greatly - not just
physically. It also helps me as a parent, especially in the
way it reminds me how one learns effectively. This is
extremely helpful for our family, due to my daughter's
learning difficulties... and she will hopefully continue to
join our class. I feel Tai Chi is of great benefit for both
of us on so many levels.
Sent:
Tuesday, June 26, 2007 7:37 PM
Subject: RE: postscript
{please show Eloise?}
I have been thinking
about my illness and I have been wondering about
something... on Saturday morning I got out of bed (in bed
most Wed, all Thurs and Fri) and found I could barely walk -
it was like my brain had forgotten, but my brain feels weird
now, like it has realigned or something.
It is like I am sharper and I think faster and more
clearly...my typing is faster... weird. That feeling of not
knowing which way was up was part of that realigning. Can't
explain it any more than that.
Sent:
Sunday, June 10, 2007 1:20 PM
Subject:
One
more thing
I just wanted to
mention that I found it interesting practising the new parts
of section 2 last night. When I got to the new part where we
were facing left wing it was a bit of a blur, literally...
when I was remembering how you did that part, it was like
you were in fog. So I suppose that is how the learning is
going at the moment... the fog is lifting.
Sent:
Sunday, June 10, 2007 12:33 PM
Subject:
Yesterday
Saturday 9th June.
Quite sore in the bad bits at the beginning of Tai Chi, so
it was a bit difficult to let go of the pain and not focus
on it. The 'voice prompt' from you was very helpful re the
new parts of S2. The form was great... so much happening...
I am noticing a difference between S1, which I sort of know
and the rest of the form. The first part flows whereas the
rest is just 'clunk, wobble, clunk'.
I found myself
watching your hands and knees Ric, and of course your
'straightness'. I felt that by using the knees more, which
was not easy when I tried, was like the power was being
drawn out of the ground... more strenuous, a definite work
out. I am focusing on my straightness too, which provides me
with a stronger sort of balance.
Then there was a
realisation that we were telling a story with the form...
that was fun as my mind was getting into the movements. As I
mentioned at coffee there are movements that evoke certain
things for me. There is 'certainty', 'searching', 'coming
out of the mist' and 'contentment', amongst others. Eloise
has her own name for certain moves - 'holding the mirror',
'putting the mirror down', 'the giraffe' and 'the honey
jar', with more to come no doubt.
So Tai Chi was a
series of 'wow!s' yesterday. Wow this feels great! Wow this
feels clunky! Wow look at those hands! Wow the straightness,
wow the knees! Wow that's hard! Wow I love this bit, wow
what is this story? All interspersed with a few pangs of
pain, a dog running off with my shoe and noisy birds.
Thoroughly enjoyable.
Sent:
Saturday, June 02, 2007 9:09 PM
Subject:
match reports etc.
MATCH REPORT:
Saturday 2nd June.
The first part of the lesson practising the beginning of
section 2 was 'interesting'... a to and fro of not thinking
and then thinking. The trend is going more into 'not
thinking'.
The form felt like it was a big rubber band stretching back
and forth and in and out as everybody moved around and
sometimes at different tempos... as usual it all came out in
the wash at the end. It's like the form has a life of its
own with all of us in it.
Sometimes the bits that I don't know, even though they are
familiar, are like I haven't seen them before and this was
one of those days. Some of these parts felt 'rough' and the
movement 'clunky'.
When I got home I realised that the soles of my feet were no
longer sore. I also want to thank you for the last five
months... I believe they have been a life saver and I don't
say that lightly. The way my body and my soul feel is a
remarkable turn around. Yes it is all very weird... I came
to Tai Chi with hope that my aches and pains would decrease
and my flexibility improve. Yes, this has happened, but also
much more. It is 'weird' because I do struggle to get my
head around the spiritual elements, but at the same time
this struggle is ending... another trend.
ETC: The whirlpool
things:
Ric do these things travel with you? Is there any more that
you can say about them? You were at the apex and they were
at the other corners of the triangle... it was not an
equilateral triangle. The 'base' between the things was
quite wide; longer than the distance between you and the
things.
You mentioned sparkling Chi in relation to the dots... these
didn't sparkle but they did shine even though they were
clear. They moved around in their spot but they were like
jelly, wobbling/moving in and out and also around.
Cheers, Jane.
Sent:
Saturday, May 26, 2007 3:13 PM
Subject:
Gregor in air
My first experience
of 'Round the World' was a bit disorientating, and I had to
sort of 'stay in myself' to keep track of where we were at.
At one stage, early on in the piece, Gregor was in front of
me and he appeared to be somehow 'in' the air (but still on
the ground), surrounded by it and moving through it, like he
was making ripples in the air but not really(!).. and then
it was gone.
I was noticing your stance in R the W, and was looking at
the effortless straightness of your body... is that
something to do with "Charlie Chakra"?
After the Chi therapy today and also last week, my stomach
was making gurgling noises and felt great. This has happened
to me before following acupuncture. Psoas, glute and sacrum
feel much looser, and the 'bad bit' feels smaller. Hip is
getting better. Sore point near my left shoulder blade is
not good - what is that?
Sent:
Friday, May 25, 2007 10:03 PM
Subject:
How much can my shoulders sleep?
Saturday, 19th May.
The Tai Chi session last Saturday was one of those lessons
where things seemed to flow... I'm not so stuck on that part
of section 1 where I seemed to be stuck for so long. I think
this is in part because I'm not trying to think things
through so much, but I am just starting to learn how to move
from visual memory, trying to piece together the different
views that I have of you doing a particular movement.
The 'Booster Shot'/Chi Therapy was pretty amazing... the way
the energy changed and moved from my shoulder to down my arm
and also down around my spine was something I find I can't
really describe. The ramifications this week have been an
interesting array of pulses, pins and needles, pain and
discomfort in my neck, jaw, and head (really weird pins and
needles starting at my neck then quickly travelling up my
jaw, ear and side of my head, off and on since Sat), right
side 'Bad Area' and also finally my right groin is starting
to loosen up so that my right leg is starting to have a
better range of movement. I am waiting patiently for my
psoas, sacrum and glute, all on the right side, to chill
out. Maybe then the bad area will shrink more... the right
side of my diaphragm is no longer part of the bad area.
As to other areas that are continuing to chill out, I must
say how much I enjoy walking now... my feet, toes, ankles,
knees and sometimes my pelvis just relax and I seem to 'flop
along' and I enjoy feeling the mechanics of those parts of
my body moving as they should... something that hasn't
happened for over 20 years. My shoulders are getting there,
and I wonder how much more my shoulders can 'sleep'...
although I know that the right shoulder needs to more than
the left.
I realised suddenly the other day that the large swelling on
my left ankle, from an old sprain and then fracture over 10
years ago has gone... disappeared. It was there maybe even
two months ago, but now nothing. Yee Haa!
Sent:
Monday, May 21, 2007 8:35 PM
Subject:
Dance programme structure
Hi Master Ric,
Can you tell me the significance of the spiral in the
image?....Just had this strong pulse in my neck for about 5
seconds, on the RHS of my neck as I was about to send
this... things are movin'.
Sent: Friday, May
18, 2007 9:50 PM
Subject: Bits and pieces (including 'the
finger')
Hi Master Ric,
It has been a very
interesting week in lots of ways this week. I have felt the
need to do lots of Tai Chi this week, and I am not so
'stuck' where I have been. It may be a strange coincidence,
but it has been a week where a couple of personal issues
that have been buzzing around in the background, have come
forward to be reconsidered and reassessed... it's been a
case of moving forward in Tai Chi and in life.
I was practising in
the kitchen last night with Eloise, and Sebastien joined
in. First he did want to join in, then he didn't, then he
did. The 'session' was quick and fun, and then they raced
off to play after.
My back and side
have been on the mend, with the bad areas sort of opening
up. This means it is easier to get to the areas that I
believe cause the pain. They are still very difficult to
get to as they are in the deep muscles around the spine and
in my stomach but at least now I can locate and isolate them
whereas up until very recently those same areas have been
just a mass of rock like numbness causing very deep pain...
which takes me to "the finger".
As I mentioned Ric,
I started to experiment using my own sense of touch and
feeling following that session a couple of Saturdays ago {5th
May} where
you pointed one of the fingers of your right hand towards
one of my trouble spots in my stomach while I was
experiencing my usual deep cramping and tightening pains.
This I found offered a 'clearing' type of relief and the
pain and cramping subsided.
So I thought I'd
give it a go, so have been trying it on myself, the kids and
the dog(!). For me, I found I have been able to locate in
most (not all) areas of pain, a pulse that is at times
strong yet spasmodic. I hold the middle finger of my right
hand on the area and just wait either until the pain clears
or that bulging sort of pulse stops. I have found it worked
incredibly well on areas of inflammation - my own and my
son's. Sebastien bumped his chin and put his teeth through
his lip the other day. Once the bleeding subsided I held my
finger lightly on his lip... and the swelling went down as I
was doing it, and it healed very quickly.
I have also found
it requires a certain amount of focus. It works when I can
feel a very warm, tingling sort of feeling coming from my
fingertips. I use it on a needs basis and experiment with
it a bit to work out how best to do it.
I feel a bit weird
about all this Ric. At first I thought I was imagining
things, but I was amazed at how it worked on a number of my
problem areas (neck, thyroid, shoulder, jaw, chest, head,
stomach, back etc). I find it hard to use on the deep areas
around my spine as it is very difficult to get in there but
I am working on it.
Sent:
Thursday, May 03, 2007 11:05 PM
Subject: Thoughts
I thoroughly enjoyed
the class on Saturday... it was one of those sessions where
I noticed a few things that I hadn't seen before. It was
sort of like a 'breaking', almost like discarding what
wasn't necessary, and building something new. This has
happened a couple of times before, and maybe it is progress.
I still feel 'stuck' in other parts, but I know that will
resolve in time. I miss not going twice a week.
Also, at one stage
when I was at point I felt and sort of heard a 'pulsing'...
and then it was gone.
Eloise flitted in
and out and loves going to Tai Chi. I asked her later if she
felt anything when she was giving it a go and without
hesitation she said "I felt a glow in my stomach". Wow!
I've also noticed
this week that my walking has changed and is more balanced
and free...I'm not so lopsided and twisted over to the
right. It sounds silly but my legs feel long and my feet
more relaxed. The untwisting continues.
Sent:
Monday, April 16, 2007 10:20 PM
Subject: To Know
There
is a difference between the intellectual process of
learning/ understanding and the true insight gained through
experiencing a given moment/epiphany... it is one thing to
'think I know' based on what I've been told, and another
totally different thing to 'know' through an experience.
Whether one wishes to remain open and receptive to
experience such insightful moments/reminders, is up to the
individual... or they can be blinded by their own endeavours
to maintain control - you can't make the horse drink.
It could be that understanding without Knowing can lead to
extremes, because usually the essence is overlooked, ignored
or perverted later, in order to justify future ends...
something that seems to happen so much today.
Sent:
Tuesday, April 03, 2007 9:06 AM
Subject: Today
Following class on
Saturday, I felt a sort of loosening on the left side,
across the top of my glute. I thought this was unusual... I
have never felt anything like that before. Later in the
day, that sensation went away, but then popped up on the
right side - not as intense, and for not as long. The area
of the twist and 'stitch' feeling that I have on the right
side of my hip and diaphragm is decreasing in size and
intensity, becoming more localized. I feel like I am
'untwisting'.
Sent:
Monday, March 12, 2007 2:01 PM
Subject: "Tennis Anyone?"
I find that recently
I am thinking more about Tai Chi Chuan and practising more
even if it is just mentally going through the parts of
section 1 that I know.
Whenever I practice or go to class, my skin feels
different... the skin on my hands and face feels and looks
softer and less lined... my forehead doesn't feel so tight
or furrowed, and in general I feel more relaxed.
Also, I have not
played tennis for a long time... almost 9 years. This was
due to a combination of factors. I was sick of it, and it
was just too debilitating. However, this year I have been
thinking about having a hit again. Michael my partner and I
had a hit on Friday... and it was fun! We laughed and
laughed, even though it was not easy and quite humbling.
The next day I was nowhere near as sore as I expected and
the 'bad bit' around my side/hip/diaphragm/stomach was not
bad at all. In fact it felt better.
The other interesting thing is that I am always worse on the
2nd day after, which was Sunday, but I was fine. |