Yoga & Tai Chi

Illustration of a bird flying.

Category: Tai Chi

  • The Gold Lute

    The Gold Lute

    A Mnemonic Fairy Tale A mnemonic device is something that is intended to assist your memory. There are many types of mnemonic devices. Think of ROY G BIV: the acronym that helps us remember the colors of the rainbow – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet. “The Golden Lute” is a mnemonic device -…

  • Circularity

    Circularity

    Curves, arcs, circles, spirals: these are the geometric forms that make up the architecture of nature. When we practice tai chi we try to simulate the forms in nature. This means that we move gracefully without locking out the joints. To do this we must first open the joints and we can do this by…

  • A Face in the Crowd

    A Face in the Crowd

    Ever stop and watch people? It is especially fascinating if you are in a crowd. A Face in the Crowd was a photography assignment that turned out to be more enjoyable than I had anticipated. I love street photography but I find it intimidating so I have to work up my courage to get out…

  • A stroll under the skin

    A stroll under the skin

    Take a stroll under the skin to see how the human body is really constructed. Strolling under the skin is a fascinating journey of how the connective tissue and fascia are the constructs of the entire human body. The author of this film is Dr Jean Claeude Gumberteau. He used video endoscopy or small camcorders…

  • Pivotal moments

    Pivotal moments

    In Tai Chi you learn to change direction by pivoting on one foot and then the other.  It makes for a smooth graceful transition to a different location in space.  If the pivot is irregular or unsteady the following movement will lack cohesiveness leading to a fragmented series of movements.  It is the direct opposite…

  • Do you Know where your weight is?

    Do you Know where your weight is?

    One of the very basic principles of Tai Chi is a controlled, fluid, relaxed transfer of weight as we move from one form to another. This is not easy and practitioners will spend many years honing just this one principle. Today’s challenge is one that highlights this principle of weight transfer. It will help you…

  • The Room is Silent but for…

    The Room is Silent but for…

    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.…

  • Caesura – What is it and why is it important in Yoga and Tai Chi

    Caesura – What is it and why is it important in Yoga and Tai Chi

    The Merriam Webster word of the day for July 16 was “caesura” pronounced sih-ZYUR-uh. Caesura means a break or interruption.  Caesuras are those slight pauses one makes as one reads verse.  We often need these little stops to set the cadence and phrasing of natural speech into the metrical scheme.  This word intrigued me because I…