Daughter In The Valley: Green Trees

Daughter in the Valley reminds me of beautiful Louisiana oak trees. I often focus on nearby oak trees when practicing this movement in my yard or at the park, and envision their systems helping me to cultivate the Chi in myself and in my community. I see Chi gathered in the roots, extending up the trunk and shared in the canopy for the world to enjoy.

Daughter in the Valley traces the outline of a tree as the hands sweep up forming the opposing “J” motions. The hands/wrists drop from their high positions sweeping inward tracing the lines of the tree’s root system, up the trunk and into the canopy as the hands separate and the tan t’ien retreats.

Daughter in the Valley also traces the energy system of the tree. As the hands approach each other, there is a growing appreciation of the Chi force as the polarity mounts. In the same manner, the tree’s roots coalesce, in grander systems as they get closer to the trunk to sustain the tree’s union with the heavens. Once the hands are close, the polarity of the Chi trembles the chords of freedom as the hands move upward along the trunk of the tree.

The tree erupts from mother earth in resolute embodiment of its freedom. At the apex of the movement, before our hands separate, there is a growing awareness in which we are invited to appreciate the majesty of the Chi and the tree, in all its strength and compassionate giving. We share in this wisdom and Chi, like the tree shares its beautiful boughs, branches and leaves with all of us. The shimmering Chi radiating from the palms reminds me of the amazing sunlit greens on display in the canopies, powered by the energy synthesis taking place in each leaf as it transforms light into matter.

Daughter in the Valley provides a clear metaphor of the liberation from the limitations we are ready to release, allowing us to transform ourselves with Chi into lighter beings. Paradoxically, as the daughter descends the mountain, she becomes increasingly aware of her appreciation of the Chi expressing in the valley’s biota and resonating from her tan t’ien. The descent from the mountain metaphorically represents her decision to depart from the precipice of untruth of the egoic state of awareness to the valley where fertile fields are free from the blockages of the unbending mountain and the limits of ego, allowing a flow of Chi. Here, she may cultivate the Chi in the soft, malleable soils of the mother and liberate her consciousness.