Someone asked me, Why Tai Chi?
What attracted you to this form of exercise / meditation to aid your rehabilitation from Stroke?
The answer lies in my history. In my youth, I had studied Traditional Chinese Medicine for a while. The concept of energy flows & balance, meridians & channels, caught my imagination and I began to see health breakdowns in terms of energy blockages, imbalances , deficiencies and excesses. I now began to see my health in its current state in these terms. Anyone wanting to understand this better is directed toward the following blog. http://drheatherjohnson.com/blog/?p=40
Nature has a way of judging and addressing imbalances. In my enthusiasm to realise many goals and ambitions in the various projects I was working on , I had lost sight of some basic, common-sense rules of self-preservation and nature has judged me harshly, but fairly.
To quote Jan de Vries from his chapter on strokes in his book on Blood & Circulatory Problems. 'Strange as it may seem, one of he characteristics of stroke patients appears to be that they all used to be active & energetic, then, suddenly. this is called to a halt.' The pace at which I was working prior to my stroke crossed many limits and spent scant resources depleting energies which should have been directed towards maintaining a balanced state of health. Time enough now for regrets and contemplation.
The physical pace of my life is unmatched by my mental activity and at times it is a real challenge to achieve the state of calmness I now need to experience. Hence Tai Chi. After much searching I tracked down a Tai Chi teacher with whom I feel safe and confident in practising this ancient martial art which harnesses the energies of the macrocosm to heal the microcosm within. In achieving the postures of Qi-Gong and Tai Chi I feel in tune and at peace with nature often visualising the forms of trees, clouds and waves, as I move. The effect is almost instant and I leave each class more rested and energised than when I join it.
I must not forget to be grateful for my dear friend Gill, another of my legendary Angels, who is making it possible for me to attend these classes.
What attracted you to this form of exercise / meditation to aid your rehabilitation from Stroke?
The answer lies in my history. In my youth, I had studied Traditional Chinese Medicine for a while. The concept of energy flows & balance, meridians & channels, caught my imagination and I began to see health breakdowns in terms of energy blockages, imbalances , deficiencies and excesses. I now began to see my health in its current state in these terms. Anyone wanting to understand this better is directed toward the following blog. http://drheatherjohnson.com/blog/?p=40
Nature has a way of judging and addressing imbalances. In my enthusiasm to realise many goals and ambitions in the various projects I was working on , I had lost sight of some basic, common-sense rules of self-preservation and nature has judged me harshly, but fairly.
To quote Jan de Vries from his chapter on strokes in his book on Blood & Circulatory Problems. 'Strange as it may seem, one of he characteristics of stroke patients appears to be that they all used to be active & energetic, then, suddenly. this is called to a halt.' The pace at which I was working prior to my stroke crossed many limits and spent scant resources depleting energies which should have been directed towards maintaining a balanced state of health. Time enough now for regrets and contemplation.
The physical pace of my life is unmatched by my mental activity and at times it is a real challenge to achieve the state of calmness I now need to experience. Hence Tai Chi. After much searching I tracked down a Tai Chi teacher with whom I feel safe and confident in practising this ancient martial art which harnesses the energies of the macrocosm to heal the microcosm within. In achieving the postures of Qi-Gong and Tai Chi I feel in tune and at peace with nature often visualising the forms of trees, clouds and waves, as I move. The effect is almost instant and I leave each class more rested and energised than when I join it. I must not forget to be grateful for my dear friend Gill, another of my legendary Angels, who is making it possible for me to attend these classes.
Devina,firstly Thank-you for inviting me to be part of your blog which i found refreshingly honest,endearing,sad and rejuvinating!!!
ReplyDeleteI have read with great interest and i have every faith you are finding writing this blog quite carthartic? writing as well as singing is good for the soul.
Am deeply sorry for the stroke, unfortunately i know only to well what they are capable of,from a very young age i have seen it strike both my nana &nani &then later my mum..it leaves devastation,but in your writings the positivity is almost tangible something they never had,so its been a delight for me to read yours highs and lows..mostly of which are highs!!! and i was so very pleased to read that you have found an inner stillness through Tai chi and like you say effects are almost instant...Well Done Hats Off to you :) i wish you onwards and upwards and look forward to reading the next chapter..sending you very many good wishes Sunita (trainwalli lol!!)
Thank you Sunita. I am grateful, both for your support and feedback. My intention is to make this a pleasant journey for all concerned. This is not to say that there will be no lows but my challenge is to make the negatives into positives. Stay with me on this journey and feel free to comment often.
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