The Details:
It's 47 at the house. Brrrr! The sunrise was at 6:41. I'm going into The Studio to teach Taiji & Qigong Class then to Paul's to meet with him.
The Practice:
I drove into The Studio to teach the 8-9:30 am Taiji & Qigong Class
I started with Bagua Yin/Yang Circle Walking before anyone showed up. I've been practicing this set more recently. It's becoming easier and easier to keep track of the stepping and I find it's paying into my musical practice in 4/4; I'm able to 'feel' 4 steps as I would be able to feel the four beats per measure and the four steps (then change) of the figure eight pattern.
Three students showed up this morning: Nancy, Read and Janee
I started by talking about Central Equilibrium (Zhong Ding). I generally refer to this as Relaxed Balance. I also talked about the importance of evoking a Tranquil State of Mind and how the two are interconnected.
Next we did a round of The 10+ I chose a few to go into depth with.
- I did a full neck session
- I explained #4 in some detail as well as #6, 9 and 10
Next we did a Round of Taiji (right side) to Master Liang counting out the beats to the music.
I ended with Healing Qigong
Next I drove down to Hatfield to meet with Paul
We started with the first few of The 10
Next I did Push/Pull adding resistance for Paul. We segued to Single Arm Push-Hands.
Next we did Big circles in both directions, to the sides and also to the front. Paul was once again able to perform both directions equally.
Next we did the first half of Part I several repetitions. The last time trying to be more accurate with which arm and which foot forward.
Next Paul did a focus pad session using Jab and Cross. I continued to encourage him to use full range of motion and to de-emphazise power and speed.
Next we did Palms Up/Palms Down tuned into connecting the mind and body through feeling (proprioception)
Next we did full Close of the fists and full open attempting to stretch the webbing between the fingers.