Rooted In Earth, Suspended From Sky

I set a goal for myself on Thanksgiving 2009: Engage in a daily T’ai Chi Chih practice and blog about it. Move, then write. Record what happened, how I felt and what I learned. It’s record I’ve kept every day since and a journey of discovery. Why did I begin this project? I recognized that my TCC practice brings me many benefits. I also knew how easy it was for one day, and then another, to slip by without a practice session. It was time to get back on the main Chi highway after following a long off-road track. And since I wasn’t adhering to my own private practice obligation, I needed to up the ante, to commit myself publicly.

December 8, 2009: “I relish these early morning TCC moving meditation practices and writing sessions. If I accomplish nothing else during the day, I’ve begun with two disciplines that ask much of me but give me a tremendous return. I feel lighter, more energetic, calmer, more centered.”

It’s important for me to write honestly about the struggles and successes of my practice. I confess: Some days my TCC practice is smooth, flowing, energizing, and easy to write about. Other days it is not. That’s typical, I suspect. Since I live in the middle of a forest in northwestern Wisconsin, my blog includes descriptions of nature because it’s an integral part of my life and practice. I see the workings of the Chi all around me.

January 9, 2010: “My TCC practice feels better – the energy stronger – when I envision myself as an integral player in the living energy force that flows from Heaven to Earth, Earth to Heaven. My body and pores soak in – and are nurtured by – the energy that surrounds me.”