Tai Chi Around the World

Tai Chi can be enjoyed anywhere in the world. Even if you're travelling you can join in tai chi and qigong (chi kung) activities. Imagine practising while on holidays on a private beach in the Caribbean.

Tai Chi at Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort Aruba

Or take a sojourn to Wudang Mountain and train with Taoist masters where you'll be immersed in a traditional Chinese lifestyle. The masters are experts in kung fu, tai chi and qigong, play musical instruments and paint exquisite calligraphy. Students young and old are given opportunities to learn about the Taoist approach to life. Here is a video link to Master Chen Shiyu playing xiao (bamboo flute) with Wudang tai chi being performed in the background. If you've marvelled at Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon this will be right up your alley.

Beautiful Wudang music and flowing, serene tai chi

Closer to home, this is one date you can't miss...


World Tai Chi & Qigong Day - April 28th 2018

One world, one breath.

This Saturday on April 28th, tai chi lovers in 80 countries around the world will take part in World Tai Chi & Qigong Day. As the sun rises in different time zones, tai chi practitioners will join a global wave of goodwill taking place in various cities and towns.

If you're interested in trying tai chi and qigong or joining in one of the many events and get togethers on World Tai Chi & Qigong Day, jump onto the website and find a location near you. If it's not listed, then why not call one of the tai chi or kung fu centres in your city/town and enquire. Here are a few snaps from World Tai Chi Day 2017 featuring my friend, Bob Ivett, and his students from U3A and the Coolangatta Senior Citizens Centre enjoying fan and broad sword practice after completing Yang 24 form. Graceful, calm movements on the park green accompanied by smiles and heaps of laughter.

As you can see tai chi offers many avenues everybody can explore, even just sitting back and watching a tai chi video is calming and inspiring.

Tea Time - Green Tea and Chrysanthemum Tea

Qi and the Seasons

Whether you practice tai chi or not each one of us need to consider the condition of our body in relation to the changing seasons. For all of us adjusting our lifestyles to suit the weather is not just a matter of changing clothes we should also alter what we drink and eat.

Autumn is officially here in Australia. Generally Autumn is a time of harvest and storing food in preparation for Winter. To maintain our health we also have to make changes, the heat of Summer has passed and we should build up our qi or chi - the life energy within our bodies - to cope with the colder weather that's coming. My Mum would say it’s time to change any water you're drinking over to warm water or slightly cooled boiled water. Cold water will only chill rather than warm the body. 

Japanese tea time is fun - tea canisters, tea pots and my favourite nasu (eggplant) cup

Whenever it gets even remotely colder outside it’s time to pull out the tea pots!Having a freshly made cup of tea is always a comfort and helps clear the mind. I own several Chinese, Japanese and Western teapots and was given some beautiful teacups from my family and friends. These days you can easily find information about tea brewing techniques but I only learned when living in Japan that different teas are to be brewed at certain temperatures. For instance, green teas are best brewed at  70° Celsius otherwise they will have a bitter taste. Also, they are best made in a clay teapot not a ceramic one as they are milder than black teas.

Chinese tea time on the run

Tea Etiquette

Tea etiquette is a serious art in Asian countries, so it's essential to consider your guest when drinking tea with another person. When living in Sendai I was taught that if pouring from the same teapot, you should pour a third (⅓) into your guest's cup, then a third ( ⅓) into your cup initially. Then repeat this, alternating pouring of the tea until the pot is empty. This allows both people to enjoy the same strength tea in their cups. I think we all know that it's not very pleasant having a very strong or weak cup of tea is it?

Japanese sencha (green tea) for two

Chrysanthemum Tea - "It's good for you."

Herbal teas are always stocked up in my pantry cupboard. Harking back to younger days, whenever I was unwell and tucked up in bed, my mum would come into the room with a fresh cup of chrysanthemum tea and say, "Drink this, it's good for you..." and it was. I always felt refreshed and my tummy warmed by the soothing golden beverage.

You can buy dried chrysanthemum flowers in any Asian supermarket. Simple to make, just boil water and use your favourite jug or teapot. How many flowers your brew will depend on the size of the 'pot'. My daughter has been sick with the flu and it was only days later I remembered this remedy. So I just made up a glass jug full of tea. It cools faster this way which is great for the patient. Any remaining tea can be put in the fridge and either served cold or warmed up.

Down here in Australia, I'll be drinking it through Autumn and Winter but you can also drink it chilled in Summer and Spring. I sweeten it with honey but you could use sugar or anything else you fancy.

Powdered tea (left) and dried flowers (right)

In my house, chrysanthemum tea is a great all rounder as it has NO caffeine in addition to many other benefits. You can also buy it in powdered form which has sugar added. This is great if you live in humid areas and need a quick energy boost. The powdered tea comes in sachets as well which is handy for storage and convenient if travelling. My mum usually dissolved the tea in hot water but a friend of mine just mixed it with chilled water.


Here are some links I found about Chrysanthemum tea.
Holistic Health for Life  outlines benefits  of Chyrsanthemum tea and how to brew it.
Organic Facts details chrysanthemum characteristics in more detail.

More tea time later...happy brewing all!!!

Finding a Calm Centre Within Ourselves

In tai chi, firstly we quieten our mind and centre ourselves. This means emptying our minds of all distracting thoughts and going within. Matty recently commented that he often finds his mind running in different directions even in stillness. In tai chi, the constant chattering we hear that interrupts us when we’re trying to still ourselves is called “monkey mind”. Rather than fight these thoughts, the best thing to do is to let them come and go. If you fight it, your body tenses up and stress ensues.

Breathe

There was a full moon last night. I looked up at the shining silver orb and sighed at its beauty. This is my idea of an ‘Aha’ moment, that slow "in awe" drawing in of the breath - THAT is what tai chi breathing is about. There are no proper steps to take or fake. You just feel a giant release. You are part of everything and everything is part of you. That is ultimately where you wish to be.

A full moon is always breathtaking

However, if you're just beginning tai chi you should just breathe naturally and normally. If you run out of breath, breathe again. There is no point in holding a breath, or making it last longer than usual. Just breathe naturally as if you are taking a morning or afternoon walk.

Taking a leisurely stroll is relaxing at any time of day

There are 3 energy centres in our bodies according to traditional Chinese medicine. The lower dantien, in the lower part of our body, is located 3 finger widths below our navel and 1 inch inside our bodies. Apparently, no acupuncture needle can reach this point.  This is the point from which we breathe in and out in tai chi. I like to imagine that this is the point where we were first conceived, where we first breathed within our mother’s womb, before we entered the outside world - our true, pure self. 

Visualize

When I first started tai chi, back when I was a young 20 year old, it was really difficult to calm down. I’d walk into class after a busy day at work and attempt to slow down, …but I was just going through the moves, not doing tai chi. My teacher said we could picture ourselves in a quiet setting such as a tranquil place in the countryside or somewhere you feel at peace. 

The countryside of Wudang Mountain in China

For me, I visualise a valley overshadowed by dark stormy clouds. The clouds then slowly dissipate until there is only a clear sunny sky. Visualisation and deep breathing is really helpful at times when we are faced with stressful situations. I once had to undergo an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). This is not an altogether bad experience, but it can be daunting as it is quite claustrophobic. Lying in the metal tube with buzzing and clicking around me, I breathed slowly and regularly and zoned out into silence. Time in the tube passed by quickly for me. This is just one of many examples where tai chi breathing itself can help slow our racing hearts and minds.

Visualising helps clear the mind

Music

Listening to music while doing tai chi also makes practice enjoyable. Many tai chi classes have instrumental music playing in the background to help people relax and less aware of their surroundings. There are tai chi music CDs you can purchase and no doubt countless places on the internet you can find some nice music. The CDs I have usually tend to lean toward more traditional music. I like bamboo flute with its quiet controlled breathing and Guqin Chinese zither (harp). But other CDS have piano rippling like water and soft drumming. The main point is there are no words, just music.

Master Chen Shiyu of Wudang Daoist Kungfu Academy playing the zither

Many thanks to Matty who brought up this topic in his comment recently.
Do you have any favourite ways for quitening your mind?