Tai Chi Village Issue 4 - 9th April 2020

Discover Tai Chi

Tai Chi Village - Issue 4 - 9th April 2020

Welcome to our latest issue of Tai Chi Village. We have the privilege and pleasure to showcase two images taken by wildlife photographer Melvin Grey. Melvin enjoys our tai chi for health class at Glusburn Arts and Community Institute on a Thursday with his wife Cheryl. When I mentioned that a pair of Peregrine Falcons nest in the chimney of Dalton Mills in Keighley, only 200m from our backdoor it soon gained Melvin's interest. It didn't take long for both of us to arrange an early morning visit for Melvin to join me as I guided him around the best vantage points from which to watch this magnificent pair of urban birds of prey.

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We hope you enjoy these two wonderful images taken by Melvin. Since moving to Keighley in 2005 it feels rather special to have this pair of sentinels of wild-life on our doorstep.

Poems from the Tea House I had the privilege and luck to witness another close encounter with a Peregrine Falcon one cold and misty Monday morning in November 2018 in the centre of Leeds as I walked up to the School of Medicine to teach a group of year two medical students. I had just reached the junction of East Parade and Infirmary Street when I looked up and came to a complete standstill. There no more than 30 feet above me flew a large Peregrine Falcom emerging from the mist right down the centre of East Parade. I wheeled round to watch it turn down Infirmary Street in a silent glide between the skyscrapers toward City Square where it disappeared into the mist. I think my heart soared for the rest of the day. Once I arrived at the medical school I quickly penned this short poem to capture the moment:

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The Wild and the Tamed Peregrine flew down East Parade, Peeled down Infirmary Street In a silent glide toward City Square. We the tamed Walk beneath wild wings, Pale imitations of a thing. by Philip Sheridan

Tai Chi Principles Each week we have picked a different Tai Chi principle for you to reflect on and build into your enjoyment of your tai chi. This week we introduce 篷 - Péng (pronounced pung) - awning, canopy, tent. Extending support to all directions, Stretching outward, Drawing inward, Strength, everywhere. 篷 Péng combined with 松 sōng (to relax and let go) represent two fundamental skills or principles to bring into one's practice of tai chi. Like a parasol, with extended ribs supporting the tension of the soft paper or fabric so the whole structure can support itself, so too, the whole body must extend with a relaxed sense of even tension, so we can support ourselves. You could also think about the just right tension of a well tuned guitar string, piano, or Chinese zither/Guzheng. Not too tight, not too slack, just right.

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Here's a beautiful performance of the Guzheng for you to enjoy as you ponder the qualities of péng as you enjoy your tai chi.

Tai Chi Buddies We love to hear from people and to find out what they have been up to. Erica who enjoys our class at Firehouse Dance Studio in Skipton got in touch and she said she would like to share what she has been doing during her time indoors and how it helps her. Erica says that every evening she writes a small note with something that she wants to achieve the next day. It could be writing a postcard or a letter or it could be making a soup or going for walk. Currently, Erica has been making cards and decorating them to send to her grandson and finds giving her self permission to be a bit creative very therapeutic. 'Getting to the end of the day and getting rid of that note that had your goal written on is very satisfying' says Erica. 'You can then start with a fresh note with a goal for the next day' Erica's top tips are to have a variety of tasks and get a bit creative. Phil and I wholeheartedly agree that while we may know there's a job that needs doing sometimes we have to give ourselves permission to do a variety of things that are also fun or creative as well as the jobs we 'have' to do. © Copyright Discover Tai Chi 2020.

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Elizabeth from our class at Cardigan House, Bingley, took advantage of the nice weather and got outside to enjoy her Tai Chi. She told us 'I decided yesterday that I’d ask my neighbours if they would like me to do a short tai chi session. I started today with four neighbours and we worked for about 20 minutes doing some warm-ups including the shopping bag challenge and paint the fence. I apologised for my lack of professionalism but they said I was very good. We did a lot of breathing exercises this morning too. Being an ex-primary school teacher myself, my neighbour suggested I should treat them all like five-year-olds! If you have some top tips or a story you would like to share please do get in touch. You may have a photo of you somewhere exotic or a view of you practising in your garden or even in your kitchen, with the cat, dog or guinea pig send us your story send us your image so we can share in it in our next edition of Tai Chi Village. Image Credit Elizabeth R

Online Tai Chi Class Our online learning site at Discover Tai Chi called Tai Chi Foundations goes from strength to strength at the moment. We've received lovely feedback from members saying how much they enjoy it and how it helps support their tai chi practise at home. We've focused on producing lots more videos this week and will continue to upload more over the next week to really build up the library of resources that you watch at your leisure as many times as you like. Anyone can join us anytime. We look forward to seeing you.

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Facebook Live Streams Keep these dates in your diaries or calendars. We will run two Facebook live streams each week on: ● Tuesday's from 11:00am and ● Thursday's from 7:00pm In each live stream we talk about the tai chi for health programmes we teach in our classes and workshops as well as keep you up to date on the work we're doing online. We'll review one of our favourite books that we think you might like to read, it might focus on tai chi or on the culture and philosophy from which modern day tai chi practise draws inspiration. The live stream offers a great opportunity for us to answer some of your questions which we don't always have the time in a hours class to do. We've had some fab questions so far, keep them coming. To finish we'll offer two or three movements familiar to you from our classes that you can follow along to or simply enjoy watching.

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

KEEP IN TOUCH T: 07528 959091 (Text or WhatsApp also) E: huntunwellbeing@gmail.com Facebook: @discovertaichi Twitter: @discovertaichi Instagram: @discovertaichi

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