Faces & Places: Bob Ivett & U3A (Australia)

Everybody's Tai Chi is about people enjoying tai chi in their daily lives. I dedicate today's post to my dear friend Bob Ivett who continues to be an inspiration to me.

Tai Chi Celebrations

Bob teaches tai chi at U3A at Chinderah. One of his students from Pottsville made this FANTASTIC cake for their end of term party. What an amazing creation, with tiny Bob complete with glasses and uniform. I am wondering what pose Bob is performing on the top of the cake? Is it Grasp the bird's tail or Snake creeps down or something completely different?

The U3A group meet each week and practice Yang and Sun style forms, the fan, broadsword, straight sword and an Australian Brolga qigong. This is always accompanied by good times, laughs and smiles all round. I am amazed at how much the group has learned under Bob's tutelage over the past 4 years and the enthusiasm that abounds in each meeting. 

Tai chi can help with a range of ailments including arthritis, balance issues, back problems, etc. The positivity of a tai chi group also helps lift up dragging spirits and chase away any blue feelings.

However, it is in the doing and "playing" tai chi that makes a lasting difference in one's life. Here in Bob's own words are his thoughts and feelings about tai chi/ taiji ...

Taiji is my greatest metaphor for life.

We all remember moments when “time stood still”; timeless moments, eternal moments. Examples from my own life abound; some that come immediately to mind are - looking into a baby’s face and having that look returned deeply; being still, in a canoe on flat water with reflections going beyond forever; sailing a dinghy when the ocean, waves, wind, boat and me merge into one; each an endless moment when time disappears, when an eternity of spaciousness is all around.

When I yield to the freedom that is Taiji, I venture beyond form into the eternal field of now; into eternal spaciousness.

When I bring this with me into my everyday life, I am free from reaction, resistance, hardness and fear and I enter the timeless spaciousness behind all form, the eternal moment.

Taiji is a regular practice that brings me home. It brings me back from the future, back from the past into the eternal now.

Taiji is a portal into eternal spaciousness.

What a gift.





By the way, Bob is not only a well loved tai chi teacher, he also sews his own tai chi outfits including braiding the Chinese clasps. Amazing. This outfit is inspired by the uniforms worn by Wudang Taoist masters and students.