Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan: • as per Tao and Sahaj, the ultimate goal is to realize God during the Dance • movement in Yuan-Chi is always in 1 direction • stretching out the arm (in sword) can cause leg movement; stretching within a boundary, reaching that boundary causes a recoiling movement in the opposite direction • Hand Method sets the boundaries, the mould • all spiritual evolution, energetic changes happen within the mould • it is a swirling movement (8 / infinity sign) between the spiritual and physical layers (within the mould, outside the mould)
I came to Tai-Chi as a bit of a sceptic, having dabbled with yoga and meditation with limited results, not really thinking it would bring any benefit. However, I was proved wrong on my very first lesson! I felt an immediate connection with the practice that left me bewildered, humbled and wanting more.
From that first week I began practising whenever I could, keen to learn the Dance and open myself up to the universal energy source, which I can feel myself tapping into at each lesson. Sifu Ric has opened a door for me that I have gladly stepped through, and with his guidance and the help of the rest of the group I am slowly learning “the Way”.
My interest in beginning Yuan-Chi Tai-Chi came from a desire to connect with my dan tian; to move from a central place. The standing weight shift element is highly applicable for my work as a hands-on practitioner (remedial massage, Feldenkrais), in how I move myself around the treatment table – having the force come all the way through, up from the ground, with my arms carried as an extension of what’s happening below rather than generating the power from up top. I feel lucky to have chanced upon this group in the park;
Sifu Ric Lum sharing wisdom cultivated from a long lineage via an apprentice style teaching, meeting each person where they’re at with a perceptive task to stimulate them to learn for themselves. I enjoy the clarity of precision in orientation/detail within the flow of collective energy that carries you along. Worth waking up early for, of a Saturday morning!
I have a long interest in Spiritual teachings and the history of Ancient eastern arts and music. Throughout my childhood I watched Kung-fu movies and of course did try to copy them sometimes 🙂 I have practiced martial arts when I was younger, but was always missing something in them: The Depth ,what is beyond the movements; love & compassion maybe…
Started to practise around the year 2005 Sahaja Yoga meditation, it is a great inspiration.
I have also worked as a traditional massage practitioner in Norway and India. I always liked to exercise to feel better …. The art of movement attracted attention differently. I have practiced different styles of Yang style Tai Chi Chuan before. But what Yuan-Chi Tai-Chi brings is more fluidity compared to my previous experiences of Tai Chi Chuan.
In 2013 I met Teacher Ric Lum in Moravka in my home country and experienced what I had previously only read about; The flow, Tao and stillness while moving?
Nowadays I live in Bangkok , self-learning Permaculture, building a tiny garden ecosystem in town and doing gardening and woodworking projects.
The journey begins with simple steps so here I am ..2 forward and 1 back 🙂
I’ve worked in IT my whole life. But as a mum of a 4-year-old boy, I now work part-time.
I have always been interested in and have done different types of physical exercise; including eastern techniques for harmonizing meridians, 5 tibetans exercise and latterly hatha yoga. Always amazed by martial arts, but never tried it.
My first experience of Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan came in 2015, when I watched Dagmar practising it. It was wonderful to watch. I was so excited to have a chance to join intensive course in Viterbo, Italy later that year. It was very interesting but very intensive. After that I continued to practise on my own, but my life went a different way for a while. I got pregnant and many things changed after that.
When I felt a strong need to come back to some type of exercise which suited me, I had a chance to join online lessons with sifu. I really enjoy practising, making progress, learning new movements and mainly realize how I feel while doing it.
For example, last lesson, doing “Once around the world”, I realized how much tension and blockage is present in my body, how the movements help to relax these parts, how my arms felt like being pumped up and full of energy. While moving, I relaxed my whole body as much as I could and let the energy flow. It is wonderful!! Mon, 23 Nov 2020 10:24:22 +0100 (CET)
Why did I start Tai Chi? I heard a call inside of me for it and I just followed it. It was “a feeling” or intuition that this is exactly what I need.
How do I feel when I practise Tai Chi? Every time when I finish the Tai Chi practice, I feel joy in my heart. No matter how tired I am at the beginning of the practice, at the end the feeling inside and the state of mind is completely different, meaning better 😊 It is almost like my heart is singing by itself. I do not understand anything of Tai Chi, I do not recall the names of the movements and I honestly don’t bother much about it. I just feel it. The joy is more important than understanding or knowing with the mind, for me at least.
Aron says we write history every minute of our lives. I had the chance to realize the truth behind these words. The feelings during Tai Chi practice are different every time. Sometime intense, sometimes very smooth – almost like silk or air – sometimes very fast appearing and disappearing, and sometimes they last longer.
Today, we did the first section four times in a row. The feelings were amazing. Usually, my movements are pretty fast. In order to practise slower than usually, I decided to give time to my mind to notice every detail of the changes in my body during the movements. I was surprised. Some parts of the body were totally relaxed, while others were very active. I discovered tiny muscles that I didn’t know that I have, the way the layers of subtle muscles from the spine/back and ponytail or from the abdomen changed gradually their state from tension to relaxation and … a little more. Something for which I do not have a name yet. It was more then joy. By the time we reached the third repetition of the first section, it was like my neck and my head were like a big fire, or like a spring of water spreading joyfully endless “light” in all directions. It was like all the previous practice was a preparation for this moment. Very precious experience!
Thank you Sifu for patiently guiding me. 21st November 2020
It was my colleague Timothy who introduced me to Sifu Ric Lum. It was perfect timing for me as I needed some gentle physical exercise after suffering tinnitus. And I’d been interested in Tai-chi for some years. Tai-chi looks cool. I always liked watching martial arts, because it looks cool.
I started learning Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan in August 2017. When I started, I felt absolutely hopeless. I struggled to learn the movement and used to blame my age. I’ve just turned 60! After attending sessions for more than two years, I finally got to the Initiate’s starting point; 04.01.
I was born, raised and schooled in Tokyo. Left for W.Germany to continue studying the bassoon and worked in Europe for 20 years before moving to Sydney. I joined the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in 2001. Love teaching bassoon to my students.
I enjoy learning with Sifu . It is fascinating to watch him performing. He challenges us. At every session I learn something new which makes me feel good. I mean, I gain awareness of my body and become more aware of the outside world (trees, air, wind, earth etc.) One day I’d like to be able to move like Sifu.
Today after practising CMC together we started Push Hands as usual. Today Sifu seemed more responsive and less predictable than usual without direction, and I lasted not even one round on each occasion. Magda very soon had to go earlier than usual. Magda and Sifu discussed “to be Insubstantial”, and after Magda left Sifu instructed me to attempt it during Push Hands. At the beginning of resting hands on the other one starts, and I was reminded to be “light as a feather”. Not being sure how to be insubstantial all I did was to kind of remain “light as a feather” i.e. only maintaining contact and following Sifu. When touching that lightly one needs to be very alert and feel what is happening. In the first bout Sifu kind of seemed to turn back and move passed me across from right to left. He immediately said something like “very well done, you’ve done it, you got me first time! I actually felt a bit disappointed because I didn’t know I had “done” anything, kind of felt like I missed something. The next bout I followed Sifu down, my foot became reactive and Sifu stopped and instructed me not to try to control my balance etc. The remainder of the Push Hands I maintained as above mainly “light as a feather” and Sifu said I had made a significant breakthrough, and should remember today’s lesson, and also present a report as I have done.
On walking back for Tai Chi Coffee I told Sifu about my experience in meditating this morning how I was just watching myself, and it seemed initially like nothing was happening. But out of that nothingness first I felt light, a small crackling release in my head, and a sensation like a sinus clearing. Waiting and watching a kind of experience of joy manifesting itself occurred.
Further to that Sifu elaborated around “not doing” and so spontaneously Mother Kundalini manifesting.
About myself I was born in Mudgee, NSW and lived on 3 different farms attending schools in Mudgee until I moved to Sydney to Study Dentistry at Sydney University following in the footsteps of my grandfather and great grandfather who were both dentists in Mudgee.
After graduating in 1988 I worked at Westmead Hospital for 2 years and since then have worked in private practice. I married in 1989 and have 2 children Mia and Nicholas.
In 2011 I was diagnosed with a congenital Atrial Septal defect, hole in the heart and Coeliac Disease which was a huge shock as I was rarely sick and quite resilient. In October 2014 I had open heart surgery, attended rehabilitation, returning to my pilates class and work in January 2017.
How I came to Yuan-Chi Tai Chi Chuan Although I had many hobbies and interests including botanical art class, photography, reading, gardening, movie going, creating I needed a way to deal with stress and self esteem. I think growing up in the country you become quite self reliant and I sometimes felt a lack of confidence in social situations. My values were not always those of some family and friends who seemed to have ever bigger houses and more expensive lifestyles but lacked compassion.
On Wednesday 6th April 2016 I arrived home from work and received 3 messages. My friend Vivienne had died that day of cancer, another of the school mums was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer and my cousin with throat cancer. As it turned out 2016 was to be the most challenging year of my life.
So now Tai Chi Robert De Niro, The Intern, Google, Constant Balance, Tuesday 2nd August 2016 7am first Tai Chi class. I was humbled by the acceptance and patience of all in the Tai Chi class which became quite a haven. I worried that my brain was not up to the task, I struggled to be on time but just kept trying, turning up. The magical park full of trees, birds, dogs, life served as a comforting backdrop. I hope that I can grow to experience an inner resilience, peace and wisdom.
In gratitude, no apologies! Belinda Sat, 1 Apr 2017 21:06:44 +1100
