Tai Chi Village - Issue 2 by discovertaichi

Discover Tai Chi

Our Tai Chi Village Newsletter

Cliffe Castle, Keighley

28th March 2020

Tai Chi Principles Over the next few weeks, we are focusing on Tai Chi principles which are the foundations of Tai Chi, without these principles Tai Chi does not look very much like Tai Chi. Without the principles, Tai Chi can look wooden or as if someone is just moving their arms and legs slowly. In the last newsletter, we looked at 松 Sōng meaning to loosen or let go. This week we’re going to highlight the Tai Chi principle of 静 Jìng - calmness or serenity and how it can make our Tai Chi more like…. Tai Chi. Often we carry tension without realising it, except perhaps when our shoulders or back become sore because they are so stiff. Tension can arise many times over the day, sometimes it could be from small frustrations or it could be from listening to

the news or an ongoing worry etc. Therefore, to counteract it we have to take time to actively relax - 松 sōng. Our last newsletter talked about how to do this.

静 Jìng complements 松 sōng and helps us to let go of tension and find calmness. Jìng can be visualised as a still mountain lake and we can try and find this calmness by becoming more aware of the breath and the body. When we begin our Tai Chi we start with 松 sōng, by letting go and relaxing. Then we can stand for another moment and try to appreciate the stillness. We know this can be tricky and people tell us it is difficult to take their time. To help, you could spend a moment visualising a still, calm lake and keep the relaxed breathing going. Then prepare to begin the movement, keeping awareness on the breath, being aware of your balance and where your feet are on the floor. Try to keep your movements smooth and even as though you were trying not to disturb the surface of the lake too much. When you come to finish your movements also take you time and end with a moment of stillness while standing. You can find out more about the Tai Chi principle of 静 Jìng and its complementary partner from last week Song in one of our earlier blog posts on Discovertaichi.uk

The Science of Tai Chi Each week in this section, we will bring you some scientific evidence for the benefits of Tai Chi. It’s possible that part of the reason that Tai Chi, in its many © Copyright Discover Tai Chi 2020.

different formats, has survived as long as it has is due to the benefits that people feel. Tai Chi can be performed across the life span in different ways. In this section, we hope to bring you some of the science behind those benefits. Recently a participant told us that when they finished the class they felt as relaxed as if they had a lovely warm bath! Many of you have told us that keeping up practice at home currently is a big help. This article from Psychology Today called ‘Why does Tai Chi feel good?’ is written from the perspective of someone who does Tai Chi but also provides some of the evidence for why it feels as good as it does. I’m sure you’ll find many of the things that he describes in his own practice familiar! https://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/202001/why-does-tai -chi-feel-goodhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/ca/blog/hot-thought/202001 /why-does-tai-chi-feel-good

THIS WEEK’S TOP CRAFTS Our top craft tip comes courtesy of Elizabeth who comes to our class at Cardigan House. She sent us some links to a lovely origami project: Origami Heart Card Here's Elizabeth's instructions on how to make a card: 1. Fold a piece of white A4 paper into a card. 2. Get a small 10 cm square of coloured paper or card. 3. Fold diagonally from corner to corner twice. 4. Fold one corner to the centre then turn around a fold the opposite corner to the top. 5. Fold in up from the centre line on both sides. 6. Fold over the outer corners and the top two corner to make a heart shape. 7. Stick onto your white paper to make a card. If you have access to YouTube, here is an additional step by step tutorial on how to make your first origami heart. © Copyright Discover Tai Chi 2020.

Shopping Top Tips We know that the big supermarkets have been overwhelmed with delivery orders but smaller businesses and local shops have started doing delivery to meet the needs of those self-isolating and wanting to keep a physical distance. Strawberry Fields- A wholesale greengrocer who has started doing home deliveries. There is no limit on quantities and you can opt for smaller items as smaller families and elderly people may require less. Fruit can be ordered in singles if necessary. A list of items is attached to this email. Payment is best by bank transfer or online banking an invoice will be attached to the delivery to pay at your convenience. If anyone would rather pay cash please notify us as we need to inform the driver. Phone number 01274 5922937/ 5918920 Fresh Pastures - home deliveries on a range of essential items such as eggs, milk and cheese https://www.freshpastures.co.uk/shop/ Phone number: 01924 908 500 Email: orders@freshpastures.co.uk

Stanforth Butchers - offering home delivery if you are within 10 miles, please ring us on 01756 793477. If you are further than 10 miles then please visit our website which is www.stanforth butchers.co.uk. We can deliver all meats as well as pies. We are also offering fruit/veg and bread from our friends at walkers bakery. We can support you if you support us!! www.stanforthbutchers.co.uk 9-11 Mill Bridge, Skipton, North Yorkshire, BD23 1NJ TELEPHONE 01756 793 477 EMAIL: info@stanforthbutchers.co.uk

Caterpillar Catering Home-cooked ready meals for people who are self-isolating or know someone who is housebound. Covering Keighley, Oxenhop, Haworth, Ilkley, Skipton, Denholme, Keelham, Thornton, Halifax, Call 07708 366655 info@caterpillarcatering.co.uk http://www.caterpillarcatering.co.uk

Keelham Farm Shop - deliveries for essential items such as fresh fruit and veg, milk, bread, meat etc. https://keelhamfarmshop.co.uk/ Gargrave Road, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1UD T: 01756 664170 E: help@keelhamfarmshop.co.uk Class One Direct- delivering fruit and veg boxes plus milk and eggs, to the following postcodes BD 20, 21, 23. Telephone: 01756 700244 https://classonedirect.myshopify.com/ https://www.facebook.com/classonedirect Farm Fresh Foods- quality local produce, delivering dairy, veg and meat to Oxenhope, Haworth and the surrounding areas. https://www.facebook.com/freshfarmdeliveriesuk/ 01535 509013

Tai Chi Buddies Let us know if you could help out a Tai Chi buddy, it could be just a call to chat and see how someone is getting on. It may be picking up shopping or prescriptions, © Copyright Discover Tai Chi 2020.

walking the dog or putting the bin out for someone who can't get out. We will try our best to support everyone in the Tai Chi Village and we appreciate the help from others to do so also. Please let us know if you would like a bit of support, we will do our best to help you and also pair you up with a Tai Chi buddy who lives near you. We also hope in this section of the newsletter to put out information and offers of help from our members. For example, it could be you have some spare craft materials, books or magazines to share with someone.

Poetry Corner Since ancient times Chinese culture has considered poetry, music, calligraphy and martial arts (swordsmanship in particular) the highest arts a person can cultivate. In more recent times poetry, tea (Chinese tea ideally), and tai chi make perfect partners to create a potent atmosphere of serene relaxation. We have some very talented people in our classes. Did you know Philip published a short collection of poems for instance? So, we thought we'd create a space in our newsletter for people to share their own writing, prose or poetry, or artwork, here on our newsletter. To get us started we'll feature a new poem written by Phil. Roots of Life And the pine said, Look, the roots of life lie all about you, In your eyes, And in the pungency of your nose, And in the sweet-sour taste of your mouth, And in the rough and smooth between your fingers and toes. Longing for bare skinned feet.

Our Online Tai Chi Class Many thanks to all those people who have already joined us on Patreon. To date we have 55 supporters who are paying a monthly subscription to access our videos. We getting a bit better at putting our videos together and have improved the audio. We also hope to be able to offer live classes via Patreon in the coming weeks. We have to get used to some new technological trickery to do that, but we aim to have that with you soon. If you haven’t already checked on the online classes website here is the link: https://www.patreon.com/discovertaichi When you go to the site you will have 2 options, which is essentially a choice between 2 different monthly subscriptions or membership levels.

The first level is just £12 a month and you will get a new Tai Chi instructional video each week. As a thank you for your subscription you will get a lovely Tai Chi principles postcard and a mention in our next video. The second level is £25 a month and for that, you get everything in the first package plus a one to one session either online or face to face with Phil and 15% off our workshops for a year. A private one to one gives you time to focus on your goals. You may like to: ● Focus on your posture, practise alignment for ease with certain movement patterns ● Take an in-depth look at the form to gain greater insights into the purpose of the intent behind each movement or sequence ● Develop awareness of your natural breath cycle and learn how to take notice of yourself and the world around you ● Study-specific movements or sequences to build strength and improve your balance and coordination ● Have a set of sequences tailored just for you to deepen your own practice and for your personal enjoyment ● Explore how to adapt certain movements or sequences to meet your needs as a consequence of injury, illness or disability ● Simply enjoy the personal attention you get with a private one to one session at a location of your choice

Thanks for reading our newsletter, we hope you enjoyed this edition. Please send us your thoughts, ideas, stories, long or short we will try to include as much as possible in our next newsletter. Please let us know if you have enjoyed the newsletter and what we can do to make it better. We look forward to hearing from you, in the meantime, Keep safe and well,

Helen and Phil

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