My friend Donna L and I are Tai Chi players. We are of the same age group and we started learning this art form together. We both struggle with the forms but find that we are enticed by its invitation to come back again and again to be seduced by its beauty and its mystery. This is how Donna describes her feelings as she begins her practice of this ancient art.

The room is silent but for the background music of ancient melodies played in a key
unfamiliar to the Western ear, both jarring and soothing at the same time. The overhead lights are dimmed and it is cloudy with fog outside, muting the sounds of traffic and construction. Other students come in quietly and we gather to begin our weekly practice of the ancient art. The numerous disciplines are a history in themselves of dynasties long gone but whose traditions survive. Yang style, Sun style, Chen style, each exotic and mysterious, elusive to the Western 65 year old woman who tries to learn this practice, originally taught to Chinese boys of 12 who would become warriors and protectors.

Each segment, or form, flows into the next so there is constant movement. Raising our arms in front of us, in unison, inhaling, and lowering our arms, exhaling, there is energy in the controlled movement. We continue the sequence of Yang 24 Form. “Parting the Wild Horse’s Mane”, “White Crane Spreads its Wings”, “Brush Knee”, “Play the Lute”.
Inhale, exhale.
“Repulse the Monkey”, “Grasp the Bird’s Tail”, “Single Whip” “Wave Hands Like Clouds”.
Inhale, exhale.
Block and kick right, block and kick left. “Snake Creeps Down”, “Golden Rooster”, “Fair Maiden Works the Shuttle”, “Search the Sea Bottom”, ” Fan through Back”, strike, parry, punch.
Inhale,exhale.
The background music, the breathing, the controlled flow and motion energize and center me at the same time.

There is comfort in the rhythm of the forms. Despite the somewhat gentle names of some of the sequences, others remind us of the original nature and intent of their use. Tai chi originated as a martial art and has evolved into a gentle form of exercise. I have mostly ignored the martial component until recently, realizing that I practice the art as a defense against the effects of aging on balance, mobility, concentration and the desire to learn new things. The forms flow yet demand precision.

Once a week, I join my fellow warriors to battle the negative aspects of aging and for an hour, lose myself in a mind and body connection that originated centuries ago for a very different purpose.
~ Donna Luby