An Internal Cleanse

I have been feeling like an absolute slob for the last two weeks. I haven't wanted to do anything. Not yoga, not tai chi, not running, not meditation, not nothing.

In defense of self, I have been writing. I'm prepping for a script pitch in October -and its going really well. But that's not the point of this particular blog. Here I'm supposed to  be regaining my love and mastery of the internal arts. And for the past two weeks I have not moved physically or mentally in that direction.

I been feeling like crap: tired, rundown, sleepy, irritable. It wasn't until I realized that I've been craving crap (chocolate bars, potato chips, EGG FU YUNG!) that I realized it might not be physical or mental. It might be internal.

So I decided to fast. I'm a big fan of the Master Cleanse. Its also known as the Lemonade Diet. It became really popular when Beyonce talked about how she lost a lot of weight really fast on it. Most people don't understand that what you'll be losing is water weight. Water weight that comes right back after you cease the lemonade. I look at the weight loss as a side effect of the other benefits: mainly clarity and energy. I used to do it twice a year for at least a week. Each time I was left feeling fantastic, like I just took an internal shower.

This time after the first day of the cleanse, I felt fantastic! The fog cleared from my head. I had a ton of energy. I felt like doing everything all at once! Its day three and I don't want to stop. But I know I have to. I start officially training for the Annapolis Half Marathon this week and I'm going to need the calories so that I don't injure myself.

I'm just so happy that I'm feeling happy!

Stepping Issues

I'm still here! Its just my last week before the kids get back from Camp Grandma's and I'm trying to make the most of it!

So I'm having issues with stepping in Yang 64. I am so wobbly stepping into these sunken stances. I'm going through my notes trying to recall warm up exercises or leg strengthening exercises from when I started my practice.

Currently I feel like a toddler learning to walk from crawling. I know my stepping is supposed to go skin-muscle-bone, but I have to plant my heel hard otherwise I topple over. And its doubly frustrating because I'm not a schlob! I do 90 minute yoga classes. I run. I hiked 8 miles in the WV mountains this past weekend with no issues. Why's it so hard to take steps with bent knees?

Any suggestions gurus, sifus, masters?

I'm Still Here!

Working on a dialogue to teach Section One of Yang to the local Guru on Sunday. Will post the experience after it happens.

38 Days of Tai Chi -Ward Off

Postures 3 and 4 are called Ward Off.

Ward Offs are used to deflect a chest strike. The key to avoiding the strike is not in the arms, which is lucky for me because I lack upper body strength.

No, the key in the legs. You must root yourself to the earth. Sinking into a stance makes you strong. This is great news for women since most of our strength comes from our lower body. More proof that when we connect ourselves to Mother Nature we receive her protection.

On another note!

I asked the college where I teach if I could offer 30-minute Tai Chi classes to students and staff. I've learned that only when I teach information do I gain any mastery over it.

It will be a free will offering and the benefit will largely be mine!

Back to Chi

Vacation's over. Kids are gone to Camp Grandma. I'm headed back to Chi.

This week, I'm going to focus on the four essentials of Yang 64, which are the next four positions in the Yang form.

Ward Off

Rollback

Press

and Push






I'm also training for a half marathon that takes place in my hometown of Annapolis this December. I have a goal of running 30 minutes three times this week. Right now I've cosigned onto the Galloway plan of run/walking a ratio of 2:1 which sets me running a 12 minute mile comfortably. I don't have a time goal. I just want to finish and run as much of it as possible.

38 Days of Yang: Rising Posture

POSTURE 2: Rising Posture

The second posture in Yang is the Rising Posture aka The Beginning Posture. There's a lot going on between this posture and the third, which begins the four essential movements of the form. This posture has always made me think about Ra's journey from the underworld on the path of the Sun.

First your hands rise from the Preparation Posture.

Then they sail towards your body.

And finally, they sink down again.

Just like the sun rises and falls each day; just like Ra traveling on his barge.

Chen says the purpose of this posture is to open and relax the wrists, which makes sense as the wrists rise, stretch and flex during this journey. But as I read Chen says the wrists go through six changes from Preparation to the end of the Rising posture. I hadn't noticed that before today. The funny thing is that I have each change underlined in my book, but today is the first day, that I can recall, actually noticing this minute movement.

38 Days of Yang -Opening Position

POSITION 1: Opening Position aka Preparation Posture

There are so many things going on in this seemingly simple posture.

• Head floats up like a ballon.
• Sacrum sinks down to the ground
• Tongue at the roof of your mouth
• Shoulders down
• Finger tips pointing slant forward

And that's all before you actually move!

"From the state of attention, first shift the weight to the right leg. Bend the leg slightly and sit on it. Lift the leg and move it one step to the side. Then shift the weight to the left leg. Raise the right toe and turn it to the front, placing it straight ahead."

For me this takes two breath cycles. One to prepare myself; one to begin.

The opening position is all about getting the practitioner ready for moving the chi throughout the body.  Its the weigh station for the yin and yang to separate says Cheng Tzu in the book "Cheng Tzu's Thirteen Treatises on T'ai Chi Ch'uan." I'm thumbing through my worn copy of the quintessential volume as I prepare myself to study all 38 positions of the Yang form.

Chen muses that during this opening or preparation posture, he is waiting for the opponent's move. In the early stages of my practice I always envisioned an opponent opposite me. I did this to remind myself that Tai Chi was still a warrior's study. I like making it pretty, but that imaginary opponent reminded me that these moves were still martial.

On another note...
Its my first day without yoga. I thought I'd feel guilty. I don't. I just wanted to rest. Its my first "real" day of vacation. School's out -at the college where I teach and grad school where I attend. I had one virtual meeting that took 30 minutes. Right now, at 7pm, I'm still in the pajamas I woke up in. That's rare for me. I scheduled this day as a day of rest and I see that I truly needed it!