I had a lovely time in Bedford Park last Sunday as part of the Yoga and Wellbeing in the Park event – lots of people joined me to try out Tai Chi exercises and explore Tai Chi movement. There were loads of people there for the free sessions which were running all day and ensured a relaxed feeling around the cafe which was offering drinks and snacks.
The 45 min class explored the history of Tai Chi covering some of the concepts with simple exercises and demonstrations.
There will be no class on Sunday 23 June
The Community Hall will not be available during July so the following classes will be held on Digswell field adjacent to the STMA – weather permitting. There is on-site car parking and the postcode is SG175JA
Monday 8 July
Sunday 14 July
Monday 15 July
A paradox of Tai Chi is that in describing the feeling we use certain words. Then we hear those same words from others and do not realise that their usage and meaning is very different to ours. Of course this is especially problematic when we do not share a common language – which is often the case in learning Tai Chi. When we use language the meaning is tied to our body, as it is for others. The problem is that a Tai Chi master has different feelings to us because their bodies are different. It is a common feature of human embodiedness that the words sound familiar and reassuring to us and we think we understand when we do not.
It is like travelling to a city you have only heard of from others only to find that it is different to what you imagined from what you had heard, and to realise that your experience is different to theirs. You cannot understand what they are describing until you get there.
On our journey we pick up new skills – sometimes we have a block which needs to be cleared so that we can bring all those skills together – that is when we make changes – often we know all we need to and just have to let ourselves put it all together so we can better understand what our predecessors described.
Issues arise, they are addressed, the body accepts the new situation, adapts and moves on.
An eagle-eyed student of mine found this report in the Telegraph of research from Hong Kong – worth a read here.
Re Tai Chi at the Swiss Garden – I have just heard that the Shuttleworth management do not wish to continue the monthly Tai Chi classes for 2024 – for those of you who have enjoyed these classes ( as I have ) then you would get a warm welcome at the Monday classes in Shefford – 2.30pm to 4.00 pm – including tea and biscuits!
We have had a great time at the Swiss Garden this year – so I am looking forward to this Thursday 16th which will be our last class for the year – so do wrap up warm and join us for the morning – why not grab a takeaway tea or coffee at the cafe and bring it on to the class.
