Progress

Jake and Sandy are impressed with my progress. I'm Tai Chi Wu Style Long Form. There are two ways of performing the movements - square and round. The square, what I'm currently focusing on, includes all the movements performed in a separated or staccato manner. This means that I learn an intricate series of small movements comprising the whole. You can imagine a hip hopper or the dances by Genki Sudo. When performing the round, you begin to link together the movements to create the smooth, flowing aesthetic that we associate with Tai Chi. The main principles I am focusing on are keeping the bOdy within its natural alignments and moving the whole body together, as though it were connected like a string of pearls.

I find that Tai Chi is exposing the weaknesses I've learned to work around in dance. For years I've been working on hip action in dance, but I find so many weaknesses in my hips as I approach these unfamiliar movements. My arms and shoulders are another weak point. I like to try to move through the progression very very slowly. I find that there are stuck points in my body. Much as meditation brings up the areas that I haven't dealt with in my mind, moving slowly highlights all my stuck points. I find myself shaking and laboring in the middle of a seemingly simple maneuver. When I perform it quickly (read: poorly, blindly, naively) it seems like I can move fairly smoothly. Only when going slowly and trying to stay relaxed do all these little tensions arise.

So I'm working.

Time here has been really good. Yesterday we all went for a long walk in a big valley of BLM land. There were cows grazing and cacti. The other day I saw a mountain lion, minutes before a rancher shot him. I've been taking care of, and grooming horses. I live in a small cabin owned by Karl, Jake and Sandy's neighbor. It's got a tiny wood stove that came from the back of a caboose. It mostly keeps me warm. We eat together and I practice Tai Chi or just stare at the beauty of this place. Most days we head to town to soak in the hot springs. I've been keeping up with my meditation, and I feel very relaxed here.