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Sept.-Dec. 2014 Schedule
Date: Wednesday, Sept. 17th
Location: Silver Spring
- Beginner 1 (Postures 1-12) 6:30 - 7:30 pm
- Beginner 3 (Postures 25-37) 7:30 - 8:30 pm
- Corrections (all 37 Postures) 8:30 - 9:30 pm
Date: Thursday, Sept. 18th
Location: Washington DC
- Beginner 1 (Postures 1-12) 6:30 - 7:30 pm
- Beginner 3 (Postures 25-37) 7:30 - 8:30 pm
- Corrections (all 37 Postures) 8:30 - 9:30 pm
Date: Sunday, Sept. 21st
Location: CityDance at Strathmore
- Corrections (all 37 postures) 9:00 - 10:00 am
- Sensing Hands (Corrections students only) 10:00 - 11:00 am
- Beginner 3 (Postures 25-37) 11:00 -12:00
- Beginner 1 (Postures 1-12) 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
- Beginner Sword (Permission required) 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
- Correction Sword (Permission required) 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
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follow Cloud Hands Tai Chi
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Above is a picture of Maggie Newman at a gathering to celebrate her 90th birthday in NYC. Ed Young, another of Professor Cheng’s senior students is standing directly behind her. Many thanks to Lee Fife from Rocky Mountain Tai Chi for the photograph.
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Being truly present, here, in this moment, in this place, is a always a challenge, but it is particularly difficult when what we are doing is very familiar to us. I have done the same 37 postures of Professor Cheng's Yang Style Tai Chi form for over 35 years. My familiarity with these movements allows me to pay closer attention to some of the subtleties involved in doing them. That same familiarity also puts me at greater risk for what Maggie Newman, calls "doing a blueprint" Tai Chi form. Maggie, one of Professor Cheng Man-ch’ing’s senior students in NYC, has constantly reminded us of the need to "stay connected" to what is happening in the present moment. She said that the longer a person practices Tai Chi, the more susceptible they are to doing their Tai Chi in a rote manner. This rote performance of the Tai Chi movements is what she calls "doing a blueprint" of the your Tai Chi. In building a house, if the builder accurately follows the blueprint, the physical result will be exactly what has been described in the plan for the house.
The problem with the blueprint, when it is applied to Tai Chi, is that the blueprint is a preconceived idea of what the movement, or posture should be. When I do "blueprint" Tai Chi, I am trying to make my Tai Chi conform to this preconceived idea. Because my attention is on achieving the preconceived idea of a movement, I am not paying attention to the present moment feedback being broadcast by the body as it moves. Instead of listening and following, adapting Tai Chi movements to be a part of something that is being newly created in each present moment, "blueprint" Tai Chi designates the "correct" position and then requires us to put the body into that position regardless of its protestations.
This is not to say that Tai Chi is improvisational movement. Much to the contrary, it takes a good deal of time and effort to learn the 37 postures of Professor Cheng's Yang Style Tai Chi, let alone the movements involved in the transitions between the postures. This is all time well spent. Indeed, this time is absolutely essential if one is to ever succeed in learning Tai Chi. It is, however, only the beginning. There is a difference between learning “what” those postures and movements are, and quieting the mind and heart sufficiently to listen, discern and follow, moment by present moment, the watercourse way through them. Being aware of the present moment while flowing through the Tai Chi movements is a bit like standing at Great Falls gazing at the Potomac River as it surges past. It is always the Potomac River, but in each moment, it is also something new. I cannot hold on to the present, because it is now the past. The river of a moment ago is now downstream.
This,
is the river,
Now,
and Now,
and Now....
It is the same with our Tai Chi. The Tai Chi I did yesterday, last week, last year, or even five minutes ago is not the same as the Tai Chi I am doing, Now. Tai Chi, like anything we do over and over can become fixed in our mind. This fixed way of doing our Tai Chi, (and I would suggest, our lives) limits our connection to everything around us, leaving us blind to what is new, vital and most alive.
So, the next time you practice your Tai Chi, pause and take a breath. Before starting your movement, feel that breath move and notice how your body moves with each inhalation and exhalation. Relax into your breath, allowing that relaxation to create more space for the breath's movement. Professor Cheng said we only get one breath in this life. We inhale when we are born and we exhale when we die. In between we just need to keep it moving, be aware and (in my humble opinion) be grateful for such a wonderous gift...that we are, indeed, alive and breathing.
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2014 Tai Chi Camp with Maggie Newman at Keuka Lake
I can always remember how many of Maggie Newman’s Tai Chi camps I have attended, because it is one more than the age of my son, Colin. Starting in 1992, when Colin was six months old, we began loading the family (My wife, Jessica, my now 24 year old daughter, Maya, and 22 year old son, Colin) into our little Honda civic station wagon for the drive to Keuka College and Tai Chi camp. In those early years, we brought so much stuff (playpens. strollers, toys, clothes, etc.) that we brought along our canoe, not for paddling, but to serve as a luggage carrier on the roof. Above is the group photo of the 2014 attendees. They were a stellar group by any measure.
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Saturday morning practice in Silver Spring
A great way to start the day! There is nothing like a few rounds of Tai Chi to get the body up and moving. We meet every Saturday morning from 8:30 – 9:30 am. No experience is necessary. It is a great way to be introduced to Tai Chi, brush up after the summer break, or just get outside and enjoy doing some Tai Chi with a nice group of friendly people.
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