The More Of TCC

Now and then, I wake up in the early morning to an invasive gloom. I feel a vague heaviness challenge my intention to greet the day. I get up anyway because T’ai Chi Chih practice begins at 8:30, and I know my mood will lift when I see my teacher and friends. Somewhere during the practice, the amorphous despair will disappear, and by the end I will be alert, lighthearted and eager to continue my day.

I practice TCC six times a week, three in a class and three alone. It is an important part of all that sustains me. Amazingly, I have found for me there is more. I’m 83 years old, considered “old-old” by gerontologists, and this is relevant to my personal more of TCC. I walk regularly, swim, lift weights, and go to an occasional yoga class. I also walk at a brisk pace for an hour or more, at least five days a week; I try to reach 10,000 steps daily. Sometimes I can do it, other days I come up short. Sometimes I’m very tired, other times not. And that is the heart of the more of TCC.

I tend to either walk after group practices, or after being more sedentary at home. I observed some months ago that I was more susceptible to fatigue when I would walk after sitting at a desk or doing light chores. Walking after a full practice, I have more energy, I walk faster, and I experience significantly less fatigue than after ordinary daily activity. How miraculous is that? I accept this more, my personal miracle of energy and endurance, with gratitude. I leave the explanations to wiser teachers, and those who have practiced for years.