Transformation

The candidate moved extremely slowly, inching her way through the movement with head held downward as if listening to a voice from below instructing her on what to move next. She was trying hard to get everything right and to remember every detail of the movement. Nothing was connected; nothing flowed. The mind was trying hard to do the movement correctly. It was painful for me to watch.

Being the oldest of many siblings, a mother, and a caretaker of a parent, she has long been the role model, the example, the one the family members turned to. About the fourth day of her teacher training course a transformation took place. Not only did the head lift with a meet-you-in-the-eye gaze, but her whole countenance was beaming. Her smile was a constant. The last day of training she shared with everyone present that throughout her life she has been the one to take care of her family. Their needs came first. But in the last two days an awareness flowered in her of her own Being. As she spoke you could tell it was a joyous revelation.

Another candidate at the same training physically transformed. At the beginning her shoulders were so tense they appeared to rest under her ears. (This may be a slight exaggeration.) This seemed to be her perpetual state of being – and not just from the pressure of attending the course. During the last couple of days at the training a graceful neck appeared between her shoulders and head. Confidence and a smile seemed to perpetually shine from her.

The transformative power of the flow of chi is demonstrated over and over again at trainings, workshops, conferences, and in our own private practices. T’ai Chi Chih is the tool. As we flow on the path of this practice, letting go of expectations and trusting that we are connecting with an innate wisdom alive in every cell of our body, awareness blossoms and transformations unfold effortlessly.