Send us your BEST quote regarding Tai Chi, Qigong, Meditation, Martial Arts, etc. Be sure to include who said or wrote it. Place your quote in the body of the email, and include your name if you’d like to be recognized for the submission. Send to: CTCCgwan@yahoo.com with “Quote of the Week” in the subject line. You may also share a quote on this week’s topic in the comment section below. Have a great week!

Read more on Tai Chi Quote of the Week…

I was walking back to my office after lunch today when I came across two students in the driveway of the science building. One was in her car in a near panic because she was late for a meeting with her advisor and she was completely and utterly lost.
Her GPS directed her to a street that was closed off and she was so distraught by the unexpected setback on top of being in a new city on an unfamiliar campus, that she couldn’t muster up the presence of mind to turn her car around and go to the parking garage nearby.
Thankfully, the other student was kind enough to turn the car around for her while I gave her directions and time to slow down the panic and refocus. I could empathize with her. I still get turned around whenever I try to navigate my way around certain parts of town and it feels frustrating!
One of the first things you learn in Tai Chi is how to breathe. If you watch babies, you’ll see quickly that they take deep, diaphragmatic breaths. Their bellies rise and fall with each breath as they use the full capacity of their lungs to provide their bodies with the oxygen it needs. As adults, we rarely take these types of breaths. Our hectic, busy schedules reduce us to breathing high in the chest, creating tension in the body and mind.
When you stand in Wu Chi at the beginning of class you’re not only building awareness of your body in space, but also the awareness of your state of mind. There are many sessions where my mind feels quiet and settled and others where it is all over the place with thoughts and activity.
I try not to call these sessions “good” or “bad” because overall I’m learning the tendencies of my mind. Now, whenever I feel mentally anxious, I take deeper, slower breaths; feeling my belly expand and contract just like in Wu Chi. It has a calming effect and in fact, it was what I kept telling the student as I gave her directions–“Just breathe.”
It is like we say in class: “Chi (body’s energy) follows Yi (intent) and vice versa.” It should be easy to see how you can use this feedback loop to your advantage. If you relax your body then the mind will eventually follow. Tai Chi practice provides the opportunity to build these healthy habits so that when you find yourself facing a sudden setback in life, you automatically center yourself and refocus on the present moment so you can find a solution. Over time, you’ll find that having this awareness is not only a benefit for you, but for the people around you!
The student was very grateful for the help of two strangers setting her on the correct path. If she gets lost again, hopefully she’ll remember to just take a deep breath and double check her GPS unit.
When was the last time you found yourself dealing with an unexpected setback? How did it make you feel? How did you handle it?
–De Anna Beasley is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar
at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC.

Read more on Just Breathe…

Click the Thumbnail to read the InfoGraphic below, or read it at the original site: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/09/breathing-health_n_3696302.html?utm_hp_ref=serenity-saturdays

“The Complete Book of Chinese Health & Healing” by Daniel Reid is on The Peaceful Dragon’s “Recommended Reading” list.

Review from Amazon.com
Amazon.com Rating: 4.5 Stars
Look Inside Link: http://amzn.to/1bYldPU

5 Star Rating: By Rocannon MacGregor “zenfire”

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I was thinking about a statement made by Bruce Frantzis where he said:

“Tai Chi is the one exercise that can universally help solve our growing health crisis. It has stood the test of thousands of years. We have a generation of baby boomers with increasing health problems; old people who are sick, in pain, fearful, and cranky; a middle class that is increasingly incapable of affording most of the drugs that are prescribed for their ailments; children that are flaccid, diabetic and asthmatic. People of all ages are addicted to drugs, alcohol, sugar, cigarettes, and caffeine. Stress follows almost everyone like a shadow.”

Read more on A Message from Sifu Wes Adams…

The six students promoted to Disciple level at the annual Chinese New Year’s Dinner last February are (standing left to right): Leigh Sheridan, De Anna Beasley, Michael Norton, Jeff Donovan, Jesse Bristow, and Pam Squires.  Sifu Wesley Adams is seated in front.

Read more on Tai Chi Photo of the Week…

Send us your BEST quote regarding Tai Chi, Qigong, Meditation, Martial Arts, etc. Be sure to include who said or wrote it. Place your quote in the body of the email, and include your name if you’d like to be recognized for the submission. Send to: CTCCgwan@yahoo.com with “Quote of the Week” in the subject line. You may also share a quote on this week’s topic in the comment section below. Have a great week!

Read more on Tai Chi Quote of the Week…

Background Information
At the appropriate point during the Mastery Program students at Columbia Tai Chi Center may elect to begin working with a weapon. The first weapon they learn is the “Staff” (also referred to as a “Bo” in Japan, “Gun” in China or “Bong” in Korea). Many modern practitioners use a staff that is a few inches taller or shorter than they are. Considerations when using a staff is that while the longer staff extends your reach, the shorter staff is easier to handle. Columbia Tai Chi Center uses a traditional staff which is 6’ long and 1.25” in diameter. A staff of this size is wielded with both hands due to its weight and size.

Read more on Tai Chi Weapons: How to Make a Waxwood Staff…

Learning the Tai Chi Spear Form
By Rachel Prevost

Students from The Peaceful Dragon demonstrate Shaolin Iron Body techniques.

The Peaceful Dragon held a special workshop in their amazing facility in Charlotte’s Steele Creek area over the weekend of July 9-11 [2010]. Unlike previous years, the focus for the workshop this year was one thing—the Tai Chi Spear Form.

Read more on Columbia Tai Chi Center Newsletter Re-Print…

“Music for Zen Meditation” by Riley Lee is recommended by Barbara (Bobbie) Purvis.
This is the perfect music for those just beginning a meditation practice that is moving toward silence.

This 2 CD collection received a 4.5 star average rating on Amazon.com

Read more on Music Review: Music for Zen Meditation…