It’s been a year since I had my back surgery. It went well but healing has taken all this time. When your back isn’t aligned other joints are affected. Because of that, my knees weren’t behaving. My dancing career helped with those joint issues too. Everything is back to the way it should be for a senior. But, it’s only been 2 weeks. My mind was remembering the peaceful tai chi class I used to take. I went into my e-mails so I could contact my teacher. There in my inbox was her smiling face. I was elated. My first class will be tomorrow. I thought this type of exercise might be of interest to you. I reposted the Tai Chi nurturing I had written in 2014.
Hope you enjoy …. Isadora 🙏
The mind is everything … what you think you become … Buddah
Ni Hao – Hello ( Chinese )
Tai Chi is an ancient type of exercise similar to martial arts that has been practiced in China for centuries. The fluid slow movements make it safe and effective. If you simply incorporate this practice into your lifestyle it will be of great benefit to both mental and physical health.
Tai Chi is popular among senior citizens and those suffering from limitations that prevent them from doing other types of exercises. Some people find it to be easier than meditation for quieting their mind.
How does this ancient type of exercise prevent putting any strain on your body?
Tai Chi is a combination of elegant movements that are performed in a slow and flexible manner. They flow into each other. It looks like a well-choreographed slow motion dance. The movements are soft and fluid without jerking the body from one position to another.
A professional can give you lessons and advise on the movements and their pattern. The techniques are free flowing but there are a few guidelines that are important to keep in mind. Always keep your posture straight but your arms loose. It’s important to never apply force in any movement and to stay totally relaxed in order to refrain from putting any strain on the joints.
Many people are acquainted with the hand movements seen when Tai Chi is being performed in parks, at the beach or in gyms. The flowing movements help strengthen muscles. The quiet thoughtful concentration creates a calming effect that helps the body decrease tension, anxiety and stress. It can be performed alone or in a group. Apart from these benefits, Tai Chi works on your psychological level by improving concentration and focus to strengthen your mind.
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My Tai Chi Dance teacher – Sui
Each movement or posture carries defensive or offensive applications. In order to understand these applications it’s vital to grasp the awareness of the concept of Yin and Yang. Yin is the soft female principle and Yang is the masculine principle.
Tai Chi movements:
• releases tension and relaxes body
• it tones and strengthens muscles
• it improve respiration
• it helps increase emotional balance
• it improves balance
• it improves circulation
• Harmonize body and mind
What precautions ought I take before practicing?
Tai chi is mild enough for pretty much everybody. However, it is a sensible plan to talk with your doctor before making an attempt tai chi.
This is a professional video for those who wish to see the technique.
Tai Chi for Beginners, 8 Lessons with Dr Paul Lam – first lesson
I hope you’ll take time to find an exercise that helps you to become healthier both mentally and physically while creating a calming lifestyle in the process. Our bodies are our temples gifted to us from a greater creator who has gifted us with its care.
Zai Jiau – Good-Bye (Chinese ) Namaste … Isadora 🙏
Namaste
I honor the place in you
in which the entire universe dwells.
I honor the place in you
which is of Love, and of Truth,
of Light and of Peace.
When you are in that place in you
and I am in that place in me.
We are One.
Dancing is very freeing. Many people believe that
you must follow certain guidelines to be a dancer.
Isadora Duncan believed in an unrestrained style of dance.
She’s been credited with moving dance away from strict formal structures
towards more free-flowing forms of personal expression.
Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan – Solo (Tamara Rojo, The Royal Ballet)
The free spirit that was Isadora Duncan was tragically silenced
when she was killed in a terrible car accident in Nice on the Riviera, France.
The eccentric, world famous, dancer and pioneer of a new style of progressive dance was killed.
During a test drive for a car she was interested in purchasing,
her Spanish shawl was caught in the mechanism of the front wheel of her car.
A devastating ending to a forward thinking dance artist.
Namaste I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of Love, and of Truth, of Light and of Peace. When you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me. We are One.
The wordpress photo challenge this week was about the word ‘Dance’.
It stirred memories of the various dance styles I’ve experienced.
The Sunday Song video shows a great deal of those dance styles along with a bit of funk from Bruno Mars.
If you’d like to see my challenge photo click here.
Enjoy ….
The person, who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. ~Leo F. Buscaglia
Namaste I honor the place in you in which the entire universe dwells. I honor the place in you which is of Love, and of Truth, of Light and of Peace. When you are in that place in you and I am in that place in me. We are One.
Inside each of us is a dancer. There’s a part of us that responds freely to music. The music of life.
But, somewhere along the way we become guarded. Our fears restrict us and, eventually, we dismiss the gift we have of enjoying this freeing feeling.
Sometimes, it is too late to reach that child-like feeling that’s inside. We hold ourselves back because we feel awkward about our style of dancing or how we’ll look to others.
As a child, I remember that when people visited our home music would be playing and dancing would soon follow. My grandmother would grab whomever was closest to her and off they’ed go to spin and twirl. The first time she pulled me up to dance I felt silly. I had danced all the time by myself but never with a partner.
She told me, “Don’t be shy dancing makes you feel free.”
I did feel free.
Whenever I felt stress or needed to release nervous energy I’d dance.
I took classes with a friend who had a dance studio. There were days we danced for 8 or 9 hours straight. Later, I would teach dance. We went to DEA (Dance Educators of America) conventions and danced with Alvin Alley and some of the great dancers in different fields during the convention (ie: tap, jazz, ballet modern dance; etc.). It was the most exhilarating feeling. The sound of hundreds of tap shoes pounding on a wooden floor is intoxicating. You want to do it again and again and again.
Make today the day you let you dance.
Whether it’s in the privacy of your home or at a park, stop and twirl, skip or hop, do the twist or click your heels. Don’t worry about what people will think.
Let yourself hear the music and be free.
Dance in your barefoot and feel the vibrations of the beat.
In that dance, breathe out your fears and breathe in the celebration, freedom, joy and love of you.
Maná – “Mi Verdad” a dueto con Shakira (Video Oficial)
The person, who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live. ~~~~ Leo F. Buscaglia ~~~~
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Becca from ‘On Dragonfly Wings with Buttercup Tea’
Inside the Mind of Isadora 