World Tai Chi Qigong Day 2016

It's world tai chi and qigong day today, the first year in many that I have not held an event in my local community to celebrate the arts. So to all of my tai chi and qigong sisters and brothers across the globe, enjoy!

Instead, I'll be meditating horizontally, recovering from a development in my condition which has caused a spine injury. So I'm practicing a literal version of Wu wei at the moment whilst kept good company by my nurse maids; the cat and dog. Over the next while I will be plotting my progress in recovery, sharing the tai chi and qigong methods I will use to first get walking again, then back to my training and onwards.

Meditation is a key part of my day at the moment. With simple breath work and some basic methods like dantian breathing, five gate breathing, the inner smile and the microcosmic orbit. Depending on the pain level, sometimes the simpler the better. This alongside both holistic and conventional support and treatment, I am keen to see where they all lead.

To share my story with others, I hope will mean that someone somewhere will benefit. It doesn't matter how, why or in what way, sharing experiences brings us closer together as humans. Life is ebb and flow, up and down, yin yang. Embracing the yin phase is as important as the yang phase.  I am doing my best to yield to life changes, to live in grace and grow from the journey.  For me my Tai Chi and Qigong training is not about performance, achievement or competing with others. It is about me personally, my heart, my body, my spirit and right now my health.

Casey Kochmer of www.personaltao.com is a wonderful Taoist mentor and to use an excerpt from his website; "Our essence, is our spark of life that explores one story to the next. Wearing a story as clothing: to interact with the world. This is very important, since in Taoism we teach how to embrace one’s story fully and gracefully. Since humans are a story by nature, it means we enjoy listening and learning from stories also."

So see you in the weeks and months to come.