When Do I Practice?

After finishing two beginner T’ai Chi Chih sessions with my teacher, Dorene Krause, I started practicing more and more at home. With each practice, the wonderful benefits and joys of TCC started manifesting. Starting my day with serenity and calm is just what the doctor ordered, so to speak. Unfortunately, though, I can’t start every day with a practice. And that’s created some turmoil for me. I tried to practice daily, looking at the clock knowing I was late for work or needing to be someplace. But it certainly wasn’t conducive to serenity and calm. Dorene would often tell us that the effects of TCC practice are accumulative, and when that finally sank in, I found a way to practice every day.

If I don’t have time to do a complete practice at one time, I do half or part of the practice and finish the remainder later that day. I’ve learned that, while this isn’t ideal, I can still benefit from the TCC practice I can do. Instead of my mind wandering and telling me to speed up during Rocking Motion, I find an inner calm and take the necessary time to perform each movement correctly. When do I practice? Quite often.