Monday, December 14, 2009

Wind-Chill Factors

This morning began with a flurry of phone calls, e-mails, and then, a last minute work cancellation. After lunch I dug out an extension ladder buried in the snow on our deck. Then my brainstorm: "Why not continue shoveling to create a small outdoor TCC practice area?" Shovelful by shovelful I removed a heavy layer of snow from a 7x10' area outside the patio door.

By 2:00 pm it was 12 degrees ... warm enough, I guessed, for an outdoor practice. I stayed toasty in a fleece pullover, sweatshirt, down vest, and large, thick mittens. Here was uncontrovertible proof that I could continue my practice outside on other wintry days.

T'ai chi chih practice was lovely. I joyfully connected to the winter wonderland surrounding me. At one point I felt as if I was just one digital camera shot away from turning into a holiday greeting card. A woodpecker hammered on a nearby tree trunk. Nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, and black-capped chickadees conversed and twittered, flapped and flittered from tree to tree. A slight breeze danced through the tree tops. An occasional snowflake floated by.

I recalled an outdoor winter practice session some 15+ years ago with my t'ai chi ch'uan practice partner, Timothy. The ground was covered in deep snow so we decided to practice on the frozen surface of a lake. Dressed in Sorel boots and winter parkas we stomped out a small practice area and began our form: rising, falling, kicking, leaping, spinning, squatting. It was fun--we felt like kids playing in the snow--and it was also tremendously difficult to kick our way through snow while remaining surefooted on the ice-covered lake beneath us. Today's practice on a freshly-shoveled wooden deck was, pure and simple, easy.

What, you may ask, is the key to a comfortable outdoor winter practice in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin? "Dress appropriately," I respond without a second thought, "And ... pay attention to the wind-chill factor."

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