Just before sunrise the sky was awash with color. Then the sun rose and it was gone!
The Details:
The sunrise was at 7:03, low tide at 8:26. It's 60 here at the house. There was little to no discernible wind and it was pleasantly warm, especially as the sun rose. There was plenty of beach and hard packed sand to practice on. The was low and coming down. It was another very social morning with several 'regulars' stopping to chat. There were lot's of tourists on the beach this morning due to the Daytona 500 this coming Sunday. Race week (Daytona 500) is a big deal in this area....A really big deal!
The Practice:
After setting up my rig and snapping a few photo's I started with a round of The 10+ focused on the joy of moving my body, ala a cat stretching or a human yawning and stretching their arms, shoulders and upper back. It just feels good. I stayed tuned into simply the 'Joy Of Movement' (JOM) throughout the session.
Next I did a Round (right side) focused on JOM and agility. I was using deeper, wider. longer steps without straining, but rather focusing on the 'counter' balancing that is ever present in GM T. T. Liang's Taiji.
Next I did a round of Anyo Lima and Chinto Kata tuned in to quality basics and agility. I used deeper Crane Stances to help open my hips up. I've been missing some of those opportunities trying to take care of my knees. Oy!! My big knee injury (slow twisting fall in fresh powder, skiing) was in 1998. Before that I ran regularly and did serious kicking practice to a heavy bag. After the accident/surgery I stopped running and serious bag work, trying to save what was left to my knee for old age. Well....Here I am!
Next I did a round of Taiji Double Broadsword with my Dragon Canes, tuned into deeper Crossed Leg (Crane) Stances for my hips and the around the head sequences for my shoulders. I continue to reap the benefits of the 'around the head' movements that I've been doing with 10-15 lbs dumbbells. I did the around the head sequence as a loop for a dozen or so iterations tuned in to keeping the canes as close to my head as possible and working my shoulders through a wide range of movement... Lot's of JOM. It's wonderful to have both shoulders moving through a full range without pain or discomfort but instead JOM!! Yay!
I finished with a Healing Qigong before packing up and heading back to the house.