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Sally, Annandale
I have always
done some kind of dance or yoga classes but it
was my poor health which prompted me to learn
Tai Chi from Ric. I was living beside Jubilee
Park and would see Ric practising most days. It
was clear he was a Master, and it was also
clear that I was needing some help for my health
as I was coming down with one virus after
another. Also being in my mid-forties I was
beginning to think about aging. I was inspired
by my aunt who had learnt Tai Chi all through
her seventies.
I wondered if I
would ever have the patience to do such a slow
practice as Tai Chi- now I find I love this
slowness, so much happens within it. Practising
in the park I enjoy not only my own slowing down
but the sense that the whole world around me in
the park also seems to be in slow motion. I feel
on much firmer foundations after my Tai Chi
lessons and I try and take moments throughout my
days to practise a little more to touch base
with the grounding, spaciousness and calm I have
found through Tai Chi.
Practising Tai
Chi outdoors is very important for me as I love
to feel the connection with the earth and the
natural surroundings. I also particularly love
the way that birds and dogs show up to have a
look at what we strange humans are doing.
Updates:
Sent:
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 9:22 AM
Subject:
1.07
"soft feet..."
Dear Ric,
Being
introduced to this lesson on such a cold day
when my toes felt like ice I didn't think I
would be able to experience soft feet at all.
And when I did first try it though I did soften
a bit I thought I would just sink down and stop.
But after practising a bit more I did experience
that there was an energy movement that did
indeed come out of the softening and surrender
to Mother Earth. It was quite strong and was
most surprising. But I observed that while my
left foot was eager for this my right foot
struggled and resisted until eventually it
trusted my left foot's experience..
As a result of
practising I could feel a shift in my awareness
and then quite intense nausea. I recognised this
nausea as something that happens for me whenever
I am introduced to a 'new lesson'. Today was the
most intense experience of it since it first
happened with 'E.F.H.'- this was a practice that
had a very big effect on my practice and
attention, so I am guessing this will also be
true of 'soft feet...'
One other thing
- although my toes got even colder and number
during the lesson I did once experience a quick
flash of heat through the sole of my foot - most
surprising- hard to recognise even it was so
paradoxical.
Thank you for
this lesson- it moved me in a number of ways.
Sally
Sent:
Monday, October 23, 2006 12:11 PM
Subject: Something from Sally
During class today I felt a
shift in how I was experiencing ‘E. I. F.’.
Until now I had experienced it more as an
attraction ___ to the earth, images of magnets
or glue or Velcro coming to my mind. Then
recently I started to focus more on the
relationship of my foot to the earth, when
it was raised above the ground. I realised there
was a connection still working then. Today I
felt more the relation as one of connection and
even longing to return home. This feeling of
return home then started working through both my
feet.
While I have intellectually
and spiritually thought of earth as home before
this time, it feels very different to have the
felt sense of this through my feet– it makes me
realise how deep Judeo-Christian thinking is in
me, even although I didn’t have a religious
upbringing. The experience also brought back a
dream I had a month or so ago. In it I am
walking on stilts playing a very beautiful Irish
melody on a simple Irish flute. In the dream I
effortlessly step off the stilts to walk on the
earth without missing a beat. As I have no
particular personal association with Irish music
or flutes I wondered if this was a return to my
Irish ancestry which is part of this earthing
process I am experiencing. An interesting
thought to be coming home to my Irish ness
through Tai Chi!
Sent:
Saturday, August 26, 2006 5:03 PM
Subject: Feedback
Hi Ric,
Here's a few comments about my recent lessons
while they are fresh
Flatten ...
Doing "Flatten ..." the first time I
initially felt sick , just as I had with 'Eyes
... Hands" - again a whole new orientation and
awareness . But by the end of the first lesson I
felt an energy source in the middle of the soles
of my feet connecting me deep down into the
earth - grounding like I'd never experienced it
before Since then I have been unable to wear
boots or high heeled shoes to work so strong is
my feeling of needing to keep my feet flat on
the floor when I most need to ground. I've also
had a series of dreams about getting the right
shoes for me to move in and other references to
Earth in my dreams.
Push Hands
Starting Push Hands I felt I was in totally
foreign territory to the extent that I have not
had the words to even begin to think about what
I'm doing and seeing. It’s very unsettling at
times and at other times absorbing even while I
don't know what I'm doing (or should be doing).
The effect on me varies. Generally I come to
class tired at the end of the day. Then I find
myself getting energized, feeling very alert and
absorbed. Times goes quickly. Then towards the
end I feel like I've had a huge workout - my
muscles ache, particularly my lower back. Last
class was the first time I had any words or
thoughts about what we were doing - and these
were the ones you gave us about yin and yang. My
mind can't grasp much but my body is having very
new experiences - I had huge dreams about it
after the last class in which I was aware of my
body aching and heat arising as a result of Push
Hands, and of a huge snake who could be
companion or killer. Of all the practices I've
done so far this is the most stirring and
confronting. I can feel it changing me, undoing
old patterns.
Learning Tai Chi from Ric Lum over the last
four months has been highly enjoyable and
very beneficial. I feel much less stressed,
my digestion has improved and my energy
levels are higher and steadier.
I love the
spaciousness of the practice along with
Ric's simple yet subtle teaching methods. I
always feel I've progressed each session and
doing Tai Chi alongside Ric is a wonderful
experience which clears mind, body and soul.
I feel I can look forward to years of
learning from Ric; he is a skilled, patient,
good-humoured and generous teacher who
teaches on many levels at once.
-30/11/04
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