| Interview
Maintaining a Balance in Life
–
interviewed by Instructor Lis
Balance
is one of the basic concepts of Tai Chi — not only the ability to stand
on one leg without falling over, but also achieving equilibrium in life,
both physically and emotionally.
David
enjoys his life. “I have a nice balance. I have my family, voluntary
commitments, community activities and my Tai Chi class.”
Reaching this happy state hasn’t been all plain sailing. He suffers
from a muscular disease. Back in the early 1990’s, David was working in
Queensland for the Customs Department. The Staff Psychologist at his
place of employment suggested Chinese herbal medicine as a possible
treatment. Although he pursued that course for some time, his condition
had progressed past the point where Chinese herbs could help. However,
one of his colleagues recommended meditation as a way of reducing the
tension and fatigue which triggered episodes. She gave him a treatise
on Zen meditation as therapy which he read and began practising.
On his
return to Canberra some time later, David carpooled with a colleague who
attended the Customs Department lunchtime Tai Chi class. (The Academy
ran this class for many years.) “He tried to convince me to go, but I
wasn’t having a bar of it.” Then, after stopping full-time paid work in
1994, David spotted an advertisement for the Academy’s Tai Chi classes.
“It
featured a manual. I was interested in the meditation component because
of the Zen article and also in the breathing exercises which I knew
helped relax the body. In my younger days, I had done public speaking
and some theatre work. We were taught breathing and relaxation
techniques to help vocal delivery and cope with nerves. I wanted to
develop this further as an aid to managing my disease. I am a ‘Catholic
by trade’, as I call it, and became interested in Christian meditation
at around the same time.
I rang
the Academy and said I wanted to buy the manual. Fontane was not going
to let me get away with a book and some fancy version of self-tuition.
She firmly suggested I would do better if I came to a class and tried
the whole thing. I went along and haven’t stopped. That would have
been in the middle of 1995.
Tai Chi
suits my physical condition perfectly. I walk a lot, but some other
physical activities can trigger a flare-up of the disease. With 70
being a distant memory, I feel I’m flexible for my age (although not
nearly as flexible as Fontane would like!). I’ve learnt to unlock my
joints more and the Silk Reeling was enormously helpful for that, as has
been the Bang (Stick). My body feels good.”
David
had to deal with the emotional trauma of a death in the family earlier
this year. The bereavement involved overseas travel and organising all
the funeral details. Although unable to practise the form, David
discovered his Qigong training was a valuable tool in maintaining his
well-being throughout that difficult and tiring time.
“I’m
more aware now of tensions in my mind and body and have a strategy for
dealing with them. For example, when I have an episode of pain in bed,
I can relax quite significantly which helps; I relax more driving the
car, using my hands, not my shoulders, to drive; I find that I now use
my legs, not my upper body, in doing many of the simple manual tasks of
everyday life.”
Tai Chi
has become an integral part of David’s life. He particularly enjoys the
friendship and camaraderie of his classmates, despite not knowing most
of their names. “There’s a comfortable, kindly feeling in class which I
like. We encourage each other and both Brett and Fontane offer help to
individual students in a constructive, positive way.”
Would
he be doing Tai Chi if his physical condition did not dictate attendance
at class?
“Oh
yes; it’s part of what I do. It helps maintain the balance. I consider
it a kind of companion ‘quietness’; the class can be a meditation in
itself.”
(This is an actual interview, but the name
has been changed for reasons of privacy.)
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