Skip to main content

Maiden Post

Hello everyone,   this is my maiden post for this new blog.  What's it supposed to be or do?   I hope that we engage on some of the applied lessons of t'ai chi -- find examples and stories from our daily lives where t'ai chi can come in handy.  I will try to catch them in my web-mind to save for posting, or keep my ears peeled for others' stories and welcome you to do the same.

I'll also post my weekly class schedule.


Class is on today,  January 29

If you came last Wednesday,   Jan 22nd,   and were not aware of the cancelled class please accept this week's class at no charge,  along with my sincerest apologies.    I tried to reach everyone, but it seems that at least one person didn't get the message


Class is on tomorrow,  January 30



Address for all classes:  Spoke the Hub,  748 Union Street,  Brooklyn, NY, an accessible, ground-floor space and maybe the nicest studio in Park Slope 
By train, the R to Union or the 2,3 to Grand Army Plaza


Schedule for the week of January 22, 2020

Winter schedule,  2020

Wednesdays at 2 p.m.
Thursdays at 11 a.m.

Both classes will be held at Spoke the Hub, and will last 1 hour. Please arrive at least five minutes before the hour so that we may start on time. 

New people, please come 10 minutes before the start of class.  There's a short intake form.  Thanks!  

Once the weather turns spring,  we can discuss holding Thursday's class occasionally in the park!   (where t'aiji is traditionally practiced)  



Other notes:    The first Wednesday and first Thursday of the month,  when we're in the studio, we'll start earlier with a cup of fresh-brewed tea!  



                                                    


                                                              Hope to see you soon!  







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

 In my classes I like to introduce the many Qigong sequences I've learned,  mostly from a fascinating teacher I studied with for a few years,  up in Stone Ridge,  NY -- Hawkes, he calls himself.   A powerful student of the internal arts,  Qigong,  t'aiji as well as Shamanism.  Over the years I learned one after the other,  and we would then alternate,  a few months with one,  then on to the next,  in cycles -- the  Eight Taoist Moves,  the Ten Daoists,  and to one of the most beautiful, and most well known  of these,  Eight Pieces of Brocade I've since found a version that was very moving, demonstrated by Laoshi Faye Yip, now teaching in London I believe.  While I haven't incorporated all of her style and form,  I've adopted, and now teach Laoshi Fay'sopening,  the last move,  as well as a flower-like 6th move, a punch with amazing spiraling of the wrist at the end.   This is a video of Laoshi Faye showing us her beautiful, centered rendition of Eight Pieces...

Shaolin form of Qigong

Shaolin .  It's very graceful, yet from the second you start watching, you'll see it also demands quite a bit of strength,  both inner and outer.  Yin and Yang are perfectly blended.  And having that calibrated just right,  it's beautiful to watch.   I've advised my students,  if you don't want to necessarily learn these moves,   just sit back and enjoy this charming monk's performance. The practitioner, in the video is Thich Man Tue, who is affiliated with Thich Nath Hanh's Tibetan Buddhist tradition, in particular with their Deer Park Monastery in California. About half way through, you'll come across their version of Eight Pieces of Brocade -- maybe the most practiced qigong sequence there is. (There's another version of it shown in its entirety on this blog, as demonstrated by Laoshi Faye Yip.  And I've learned a third way, courtesy of my former teacher, Master Hawkes.)   So if you come to my qigong class (Tuesday mornings) you'll

By not doing nothing is left undone

Taoism, a philosophy as well as a religion Came across an interesting article in the NYT recently about Taoism’s perspective on what it means to be human and what it means to die.   Tai chi as you may know is the movement embodiment of Taoism, and I’ve been curious for most of my time studying this Eastern art to understand what Taoism is all about.  But aside from the amazing writings of LaoTze -- a must! -- I've been somewhat disappointed.  there's precious little on the books.   (Though ask me about the few t'ai chi stories that you come across now and then, including the one about the man at the drive-through Starbucks!)   ALL JOKING ASIDE,    I’ve found only simple one sentence references to what Taoism is — like being in sync with nature, or yin-yang.  ho hum.   Glibly said,  easily forgotten.    So when I came  across this  article the other day, titled  A conversation with the religious scholar Brook Ziporyn on Taoism, life and what might come after.  I was delig