Friday, February 10, 2012

Learning to Let Go

Today was a typical day off; half of the day I was situated in the kitchen, cooking, and the other half of the day I washed dishes, fed the fire, and talked on the phone with a friend. By nightfall--and T'ai Chi Chih practice time--I realized that my injured knee felt exceedingly painful.

Did I injure my knee yesterday when I pulled three sleds full of wood through the forest? Did I stand too long at the kitchen counter today? Or???

Since I'll be teaching four T'ai Chi Chih classes per week for the next month I decided that the most reasonable and safe way to conduct today's TCC practice was while seated. And ... it was a delightful practice.

The more I experience seated T'ai Chi Chih, the more I enjoy it. In other words, as I allow myself to modify the standing practice to be easily performed while seated, it's simpler to do without experiencing strain or discomfort. (I suppose I could have done this all along but--obviously--it took me some time to realize that I could relax into the "effort of no effort.") Ah, yes, it takes time to learn to let go....

No comments: