| Interview
Turning Back the Aging Clock with Tai Chi
– interviewed by Instructor Lis
Back in the early
1980’s, Henry built a yacht in the backyard. He and Heather have sailed
it up and down the east coast of Australia and across to Tasmania
several times since then. Their first attempt at attending Tai Chi
classes was interrupted after one term by a lengthy sailing trip to the
Whitsundays. A year later, in 2003, they started classes again. This
time they stayed home in
Canberra long enough to complete the Hun Yuan Tai Chi 24 form, the
Tai Chi Bang (Stick) and several terms of Refinement.
Heather suffers from
a chronic back problem and her osteopath suggested she try Tai Chi to
strengthen the weak area. She went along to the Wednesday Woden class.
She enjoyed it so much she persuaded Henry to go with her the following
Saturday to Aranda. Both of them liked the challenge of the gentle
movement and particularly the Qigong which tied in with other meditation
they practise.
Heather thought Tai
Chi might be a form of exercise she could do onboard, but discovered the
yacht is too small. Now when they travel, they have to go ashore to do
their practice.
When Henry and
Heather made their second start in 2003, a friend joined at the same
time. After the Saturday morning class, they would drop the friend home
and stay to practise. They would try to remember and discuss the new
movements. The friend’s partner always commented on their joyful,
relaxed attitudes when they returned from Tai Chi. Heather attributes
the ease with which they learned the form partly to this early group
support which made learning fun, and partly to their diligence in
practice.
“We worked hard at
it,” she says. “Henry and I went three times per week to class and we
always practise every day, early in the morning during our walk.”
Henry has retired
now but Heather teaches science part time at college. Both are fit and
well and stay very active. Henry said he had begun to have some
arthritic stiffness in the shoulder a few years ago. He knew it would
eventually be a problem on the yacht, especially in an emergency. Since
he began his Tai Chi training, the shoulder gives him no trouble at
all. Heather also mentioned an improvement in her back. Her visits to
the osteopath are less frequent. Her knees no longer give out pistol
like reports when she bends and her wrists don’t click when she rotates
them. Both say their bodies feel looser and much more flexible than
previously, the reverse of what they expected as they aged.
Heather meditates
regularly. Henry has attended a ten day meditation retreat at a
Vipassana centre. They find many similarities between the two
disciplines — releasing tension in the body both mental and physical,
awareness of pain associated with tightness and muscle tension while
holding postures and focussing to allow it to dissolve. Henry mentioned
letting go of the ego as an aspect of the Tai Chi practice he
particularly enjoys although it’s very difficult to achieve.
“It’s hard not to
think ‘I should be able to do this better’ or when Brett has us hold a
martial arts training pose to think ‘Don’t give in, hold on a bit
longer.’ That’s the ego talking.”
Concentration and
focus are essential to be truly in the moment. Heather and Henry
practise at the local school on the basketball court. Early in the
morning the air is fresh, the surroundings peaceful with few people to
stand and stare.
“The scent of the
eucalypts seems much stronger when we finish,” Heather says. “It’s as
though the senses are heightened. Could that be?”
The answer —
“Definitely.”
“Lots of things can
be distracting,” she continues. “A dog walking by, a jogger, a bird,
anything. As soon as you stop concentrating, you can go off into the
wrong sequence. At least where we practise, there are trees around so
it’s a bit screened from view.”
Heather and Henry are joining the China trip in September. I commented
that plenty of people will be around in the parks when we practise and
everyone likes to watch westerners doing Tai Chi. Nothing will distract
her after that experience!
(This is an actual
interview, but the names
have
been changed for reasons of
privacy.)
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