Dinh’s Diary

Dinh

I’ve been doing Tai Chi with Ric and the class since the end of 2005, after my husband and I first noticed Ric in the park from our balcony when we used to live in Glebe. I enjoy being in the park and being part of all the life that goes around – it’s probably the one hour in my week when I take time out to slow down and generally, my mind is clear of most thoughts during Tai Chi.  We have also found a special group of people in the regular members of the class. I am now almost 6 months pregnant with our first child and we are looking forward to bringing our baby along to class in the near future.

Dinh’s Tai Chi Diary Entries

*Sent*: Sunday, December 17, 2006 2:34 AM
Subject: *latest viewpoint
*Saturday, 16 December 2006

I was looking forward to Tai Chi today and when we walked to the park there was a nice calm and still feeling in the air. In a small group I went through the movements from where I last left off in section 3 until the end of section 3. I enjoyed it.

When we did the form as a group, during either section 2 or 3, there was a point when a work-related issue came sharply into my mind.  I made a very conscious effort to shake it out of my mind including closing my eyes briefly. After that, as I was doing the form for the next minute or two, my arms felt numb. In a way it was as if I felt them more because they felt quite solid but in another way, I felt them less. They felt like a piece of wood floating along a river. Shortly afterwards I sneezed and then for the rest of the form my nose was clogged up so my concentration went towards my stuffy nose and the numbness in my arms was gone.

*Sent*: Sunday, December 17, 2006 2:44 AM
Subject: *Another viewpoint (sorry!)*

My legs have been hurting/aching since we came back from our German trip at the end of September. Initially I noticed it when I was at work ? my legs would tense up and I thought that the stress had gone from my jaw to my legs. At least the tension in my jaw was somewhat less. Then my knees would ache at times when I walked and sometimes I thought they would buckle under me. More recently the pain has moved down my calves although sometimes I can still feel it behind my lower thighs. It now feels more like the muscles are aching rather than the knees. It aches whether I’m walking or not and used to disturb me when I was sleeping at night or resting on the couch.

*Saturday, 28 October*

I haven’t written anything for the last couple of Saturdays. I was using a steroid-based nasal spray since April to control my chronic sinus and it worked like a miracle. I’ve stopped using it since September because it shouldn’t be used for long periods of time. I’ve tried using an antihistamine which isn’t as strong but it doesn’t work. So my sinus is back and it’s hard to do Tai Chi with the sinus.

But this Saturday morning my sinus didn’t irritate me and I enjoyed the class.  It was windy at times but when the wind ceased and allowed a warm breeze to settle, it felt calm.  I was behind point with Ric being point.  The main thing I noticed whilst doing the form was the different pace at which Ric went. Not just the visual difference but during the form and particularly during “Cloud Hands”, it seemed like he was riding with some energy.  He seemed quite excited and like he was in his own world.

*Sunday, 8 October*

I had been sleeping a lot this weekend and having early nights.  It was easy to wake up today and go to Tai Chi without much effort.   Class was good. We did the part of section 3 that I’m up to, in a small group of 3 and then 2. It was easier to pick up the moves than previously, when we practised in a larger group and things seemed faster.

When we did the form today, during section 2 when we did “Sea Bottom Seek Noodle”, we were bending over and I felt a drop of water fall onto the bare skin of my lower spine/tail bone. I thought it was a drop from the tree, then my negative mind thought it must be a bird dropping. It felt incredibly real and I was sure it was bird poo.  As we continued the form, I felt it slide a bit down my left side.  I was sure everyone could see I had bird poo on the top of my trousers.  We went on to do section 3. I wanted to wipe it but knew that if I saw it on my hand, it would stop me from finishing section 3 so I left it alone. The bird poo felt cool and wet especially when it slid down my side.  When we finished, the first thing I did was ask Gregor “do I have bird poo on my bum?”  He said “no” and I was shocked.  I swear I felt it drop. But when I touched my skin it was completely dry. When we told Ric later on he mentioned ‘Kundalini’.  I am still stunned that there was nothing on my bum when the physical sensation felt very real and lasted throughout sections 2 and 3.

*Saturday, 7 October*

I was looking forward to class because it felt like a long time since I’d been as I didn’t go last Saturday.  I made the mistake of taking my daily antihistamine (nasal spray) before class.  On usual days, the drug makes its way into my throat/mouth from the nose and it tastes horrid.  This usually passes after a short time.  Today it really stayed and seemed worse when we did the form at the end of the class, especially during section 3.  It lasted for over an hour, into our coffee break after class.  It felt like poison going through my body.  All up, section 3 felt very muddled up today and long and tiring, especially with the drug in me.

*Thursday, 28 September*

My 2nd time to Tai Chi class on a weekday morning.  Today it was really tough getting up and going to class. I felt very grumpy.  We didn’t do section 1 or 2 so section 3 felt very quick and less tiring.

*Monday, 1.15am, 25 September*

Today will be my first day back at work.  I woke up during the night and couldn?t go back to sleep. I also remembered something I had wanted to write in my diary on Sunday but forgot. It’s this: on Sunday Ric came to our place.  He mentioned that certain foods are good for Tai Chi, one of these being the red bean broth.  My mum used to make red and green bean broths and ironically, I’ve had desires in the past year or two to ask mum for the recipe so that I can make this for Gregor as I wanted him to try it?!

*Saturday, 23 September*

It was good seeing the group again after being away on holidays for 2 weeks.  When we did the form, it was good to do section 1 and section 2.  But I felt tired and impatient during section 3 and felt like I’d had enough of Tai Chi for that morning.  My sinus was fine before (during that morning) but during section 3 I felt a bit irritated in the nose.

Nicest thing: when Ric was positioning us for the form, I was directly behind point.  Then I heard Ric say “stand behind point” or something like that behind me. When I turned around I saw he was talking to Lionel.  I felt something was wrong, with me in between Lionel and point.  I gestured to Ric to query whether he wanted me to move. His response was a clear no. I turned facing point and it still felt odd.
Shortly afterwards, Ric asked me and Miranda to move a little to the left so that our mid point was behind point.  We did, and there was no longer an obstacle behind Lionel and point, only space.  It suddenly felt better, felt right.

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8 Comments

  1. Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2006 2:44 AM
    Subject: Another viewpoint (sorry!)

    My legs have been hurting/aching since we came back from our Germany trip at the end of September. Initially I noticed it when I was at work – my legs would tense up and I thought that the stress had gone from my jaw to my legs. At least the tension in my jaw was somewhat less. Then my knees would ache at times when I walked and sometimes I thought they would buckle under me. More recently the pain has moved down my calves although sometimes I can still feel it behind my lower thighs. It now feels more like the muscles are aching rather than the knees. It aches whether I’m walking or not and used to disturb me when I was sleeping at night or resting on the couch.

  2. Sent: Sunday, December 17, 2006 2:34 AM
    Subject: latest viewpoint
    Saturday, 16 December 2006

    I was looking forward to Tai Chi today and when we walked to the park there was a nice calm and still feeling in the air. In a small group I went through the movements from where I last left off in section 3 until the end of section 3. I enjoyed it.

    When we did the form as a group, during either section 2 or 3, there was a point when a work-related issue came sharply into my mind. I made a very conscious effort to shake it out of my mind including closing my eyes briefly. After that, as I was doing the form for the next minute or two, my arms felt numb. In a way it was as if I felt them more because they felt quite solid but in another way, I felt them less. They felt like a piece of wood floating along a river. Shortly afterwards I sneezed and then for the rest of the form my nose was clogged up so my concentration went towards my stuffy nose and the numbness in my arms was gone.

  3. Saturday, 28 October

    I haven’t written anything for the last couple of Saturdays. I was using a steroid-based nasal spray since April to control my chronic sinus and it worked like a miracle. I’ve stopped using it since September because it shouldn’t be used for long periods of time. I’ve tried using an antihistamine which isn’t as strong but it doesn’t work. So my sinus is back and it’s hard to do Tai Chi with the sinus.

    But this Saturday morning my sinus didn’t irritate me and I enjoyed the class. It was windy at times but when the wind ceased and allowed a warm breeze to settle, it felt calm. I was behind point with Ric being point. The main thing I noticed whilst doing the form was the different pace at which Ric went. Not just the visual difference but during the form and particularly during “Cloud Hands”, it seemed like he was riding with some energy. He seemed quite excited and like he was in his own world.

  4. Sunday, 8 October

    I had been sleeping a lot this weekend and having early nights. It was easy to wake up today and go to Tai Chi without much effort. Class was good. We did the part of section 3 that I’m up to, in a small group of 3 and then 2. It was easier to pick up the moves than previously, when we practised in a larger group and things seemed faster.

    When we did the form today, during section 2 when we did “Sea Bottom Seek Noodle”, we were bending over and I felt a drop of water fall onto the bare skin of my lower spine/tail bone. I thought it was a drop from the tree, then my negative mind thought it must be a bird dropping. It felt incredibly real and I was sure it was bird poo. As we continued the form, I felt it slide a bit down my left side. I was sure everyone could see I had bird poo on the top of my trousers. We went on to do section 3. I wanted to wipe it but knew that if I saw it on my hand, it would stop me from finishing section 3 so I left it alone. The bird poo felt cool and wet especially when it slid down my side. When we finished, the first thing I did was ask Gregor “do I have bird poo on my bum?” He said “no” and I was shocked. I swear I felt it drop. But when I touched my skin it was completely dry. When we told Ric later on he mentioned “Kundalini”. I am still stunned that there was nothing on my bum when the physical sensation felt very real and lasted throughout sections 2 and 3.

  5. Saturday, 7 October

    I was looking forward to class because it felt like a long time since I’d been as I didn’t go last Saturday. I made the mistake of taking my daily antihistamine (nasal spray) before class. On usual days, the drug makes its way into my throat/mouth from the nose and it tastes horrid. This usually passes after a short time. Today it really stayed and seemed worse when we did the form at the end of the class, especially during section 3. It lasted for over an hour, into our coffee break after class. It felt like poison going through my body. All up, section 3 felt very muddled up today and long and tiring, especially with the drug in me.

  6. Thursday, 28 September

    My 2nd time to Tai Chi class on a weekday morning. Today it was really tough getting up and going to class. I felt very grumpy. We didn’t do section 1 or 2 so section 3 felt very quick and less tiring.

  7. Monday, 1.15am, 25 September

    Today will be my first day back at work. I woke up during the night and couldn’t go back to sleep. I also remembered something I had wanted to write in my diary on Sunday but forgot. It’s this: on Sunday Ric came to our place. He mentioned that certain foods are good for Tai Chi, one of these being the red bean broth. My mum used to make red and green bean broths and ironically, I’ve had desires in the past year or two to ask mum for the recipe so that I can make this for Gregor as I wanted him to try it…!

  8. Saturday, 23 September

    It was good seeing the group again after being away on holidays for 2 weeks. When we did the form, it was good to do section 1 and section 2. But I felt tired and impatient during section 3 and felt like I’d had enough of Tai Chi for that morning. My sinus was fine before (during that morning) but during section 3 I felt a bit irritated in the nose.

    Nicest thing: when Ric was positioning us for the form, I was directly behind point. Then I heard Ric say “stand behind point” or something like that behind me. When I turned around I saw he was talking to Lionel. I felt something was wrong, with me in between Lionel and point. I gestured to Ric to query whether he wanted me to move. His response was a clear no. I turned facing point and it still felt odd. Shortly afterwards, Ric asked me and Miranda to move a little to the left so that our mid point was behind point. We did, and there was no longer an obstacle behind Lionel and point, only space. It suddenly felt better, felt right.

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