I took up Tai Chi a couple of years back .It was the idea of a friend of mine.She suggested doing it because it would help us become, 'zen'.
For anyone who knows me, that statement definitely brought a smile to your lips, right? Me, zen? Fat chance. I'm the most jumpy person I know!! I am not restless, I'm not hyperactive...I'm just...not zen!
That is my state at rest- restless. I talk fast, I walk fast, I think fast, I cook fast, I even pushed my first kid out the birth canal fast..you get the idea. People(one actually) have used the term staccato about my speech delivery..people(the same one) who ultimately decided to marry me and put up with that staccato.
Anyway, my friend's theory was that a bunch of us (four to be accurate) would go and register for this class on Wednesdays because that was the day that worked for us. There was a class on Fridays but it didn't work as well for all of us.
So on September 14th 2016, we started off. We walked in and the teacher gave us a quizzical look.This was an intermediate class and she felt that we had probably stumbled into something that was way above our heads and would mess the whole thing up. Imagine people fluidly moving hands and arms to simulate martial arts and the four of us valiantly trying to keep along and blundering so much that we resemble the Marx brothers trying to be ballerinas?
Well that didn't happen. Since we weren't challenged when we tried to register, the teacher reluctantly let us in and with the caveat that there was a beginners class on Fridays if we couldn't keep up in this one.
Well its been almost one and a half years now and we do go to the Friday class, but mostly because it helps us slow down from our pace at the Wednesday class and she points to a bunch of us who usually congregate away from her to make space for the newbies and tells the newbies that we were the more experienced ones.This inspite of there being quite a few veterans who far exceed us in the sheer number of years doing Tai Chi. I have to concede, age is on our side.The four of us are on the right side of fifty and have stronger bones and balance to tough it out.Most of our classmates are pushing seventy at the least and have a host of health issues and are in the class to regain balance and for the general sense of well being it provides.
Of the four of us, one friend is already the teacher's pet.She is really good at Tai Chi and most of us refer to her as the TA of the classroom.She is someone who does her homework.She uses Youtube videos to fine tune her moves and is pretty good at it.
Me? I like the pace of Tai Chi and the fact that twice a week I can immerse myself in the almost meditative quality of our practice.The imagery accompanying some sequences is fascinating. Lion Plays with Ball, Fair Maiden at the Loom, Catch a Sparrow, Grab a Peacock by its Tail, Parry and Thrust,Wipe the Blood on your Sleeve....the visual description is beautiful.
We always have newbies walking in.Some stay, some turn tail.And the ones who stay are invariably looking lost and looking around. Tai Chi involves pivoting and making 180 degree turns. So even with a mirror in the room,you can lose sight of the teacher and start floundering. So our teacher calls out names of people whom the others can follow.
It's never me.I'm not very good ,but I'm not bad either.But even at 45, there's a bit of that need for recognition in me. People can follow me. I don't do major mistakes. Of course I don't practice at home and am not perfect.But I'm not bad. I know,I know..I protest too much.
Anyway, after a while I've stopped caring. It stings a bit, but hey, whatever. But the last few weeks, whenever the teacher calls out names of people whom the others can follow,there is at least one voice that says,"I'm following Josephine!" Huh?! Really? I've had people come up to me and whisper,"I'm gonna watch you and follow along!" Last week we had a lady rejoining the group after a long break tell me that she was going to look at me and imitate me. Wow!
That caught me thinking, is success in something defined by the recognition accorded a person by someone authorized to recognize one's expertise? Has a child mastered something only because he has the marks to prove it? If so, my entire four years at Engineering school was a success.But I acquired nothing. I just performed well.
Success can also be measured by an altogether different parameter. How much people want to emulate you. How much they think you are worth walking up to and asking for help.Because they trust you to know enough. This is not only in an academic sense, but in life in general. A general reflection of one's success at this thing called life would not be just the accolades offered to you in public, but the plea for help from a friend in need who is absolutely sure you will help them. The faith that you will keep a confidence.The trust that you will be there for them. None of these things need be visible to the outside world,but you know...and that is satisfying enough.
Yesterday we had a couple of ladies who happened to be swimmers in a previous life end up in Tai chi for the day .They were asked to stop practicing after a while and watch the more difficult sequences performed by the rest of the class. I'd already been warned by a lady that she was watching and following my performance and so I took care not to goof up too much. But then during a turn when I could look at the seated participants, I noticed one of the swimmer ladies watching me. Damn!! More pressure!
We finished off and when I went to pick up my things, she followed and me and told me that I was very graceful and the movements were very enthralling to watch because of the way I moved and swayed my hands and used my feet with slow deliberation. Icing on the cake!!
For anyone who knows me, that statement definitely brought a smile to your lips, right? Me, zen? Fat chance. I'm the most jumpy person I know!! I am not restless, I'm not hyperactive...I'm just...not zen!
That is my state at rest- restless. I talk fast, I walk fast, I think fast, I cook fast, I even pushed my first kid out the birth canal fast..you get the idea. People(one actually) have used the term staccato about my speech delivery..people(the same one) who ultimately decided to marry me and put up with that staccato.
Anyway, my friend's theory was that a bunch of us (four to be accurate) would go and register for this class on Wednesdays because that was the day that worked for us. There was a class on Fridays but it didn't work as well for all of us.
So on September 14th 2016, we started off. We walked in and the teacher gave us a quizzical look.This was an intermediate class and she felt that we had probably stumbled into something that was way above our heads and would mess the whole thing up. Imagine people fluidly moving hands and arms to simulate martial arts and the four of us valiantly trying to keep along and blundering so much that we resemble the Marx brothers trying to be ballerinas?
Well that didn't happen. Since we weren't challenged when we tried to register, the teacher reluctantly let us in and with the caveat that there was a beginners class on Fridays if we couldn't keep up in this one.
Well its been almost one and a half years now and we do go to the Friday class, but mostly because it helps us slow down from our pace at the Wednesday class and she points to a bunch of us who usually congregate away from her to make space for the newbies and tells the newbies that we were the more experienced ones.This inspite of there being quite a few veterans who far exceed us in the sheer number of years doing Tai Chi. I have to concede, age is on our side.The four of us are on the right side of fifty and have stronger bones and balance to tough it out.Most of our classmates are pushing seventy at the least and have a host of health issues and are in the class to regain balance and for the general sense of well being it provides.
Of the four of us, one friend is already the teacher's pet.She is really good at Tai Chi and most of us refer to her as the TA of the classroom.She is someone who does her homework.She uses Youtube videos to fine tune her moves and is pretty good at it.
Me? I like the pace of Tai Chi and the fact that twice a week I can immerse myself in the almost meditative quality of our practice.The imagery accompanying some sequences is fascinating. Lion Plays with Ball, Fair Maiden at the Loom, Catch a Sparrow, Grab a Peacock by its Tail, Parry and Thrust,Wipe the Blood on your Sleeve....the visual description is beautiful.
We always have newbies walking in.Some stay, some turn tail.And the ones who stay are invariably looking lost and looking around. Tai Chi involves pivoting and making 180 degree turns. So even with a mirror in the room,you can lose sight of the teacher and start floundering. So our teacher calls out names of people whom the others can follow.
It's never me.I'm not very good ,but I'm not bad either.But even at 45, there's a bit of that need for recognition in me. People can follow me. I don't do major mistakes. Of course I don't practice at home and am not perfect.But I'm not bad. I know,I know..I protest too much.
Anyway, after a while I've stopped caring. It stings a bit, but hey, whatever. But the last few weeks, whenever the teacher calls out names of people whom the others can follow,there is at least one voice that says,"I'm following Josephine!" Huh?! Really? I've had people come up to me and whisper,"I'm gonna watch you and follow along!" Last week we had a lady rejoining the group after a long break tell me that she was going to look at me and imitate me. Wow!
That caught me thinking, is success in something defined by the recognition accorded a person by someone authorized to recognize one's expertise? Has a child mastered something only because he has the marks to prove it? If so, my entire four years at Engineering school was a success.But I acquired nothing. I just performed well.
Success can also be measured by an altogether different parameter. How much people want to emulate you. How much they think you are worth walking up to and asking for help.Because they trust you to know enough. This is not only in an academic sense, but in life in general. A general reflection of one's success at this thing called life would not be just the accolades offered to you in public, but the plea for help from a friend in need who is absolutely sure you will help them. The faith that you will keep a confidence.The trust that you will be there for them. None of these things need be visible to the outside world,but you know...and that is satisfying enough.
Yesterday we had a couple of ladies who happened to be swimmers in a previous life end up in Tai chi for the day .They were asked to stop practicing after a while and watch the more difficult sequences performed by the rest of the class. I'd already been warned by a lady that she was watching and following my performance and so I took care not to goof up too much. But then during a turn when I could look at the seated participants, I noticed one of the swimmer ladies watching me. Damn!! More pressure!
We finished off and when I went to pick up my things, she followed and me and told me that I was very graceful and the movements were very enthralling to watch because of the way I moved and swayed my hands and used my feet with slow deliberation. Icing on the cake!!
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