Morning Body Prayer

As I moved this day a lovely, white glow crept over the line of the horizon lighting the underside of a heavy bank of clouds. Gradually a fleshy pink settled upon the far edge of Earth and cradled the weight of huge, moist clouds on its belly.

Belly ... that's what I noticed during today's practice. To the Chinese it's known as dantienne. The center is what guides us through every movement in the form. I mention it often in my t'ai chi chih classes reminding us all that we begin from our center, follow our center forward and back (or side to side) and return our attention to center as we sink into Resting.

I'm most aware of the twist and turn of my center during Carry the Ball to the Side; the Taffies, specifically Perpetual Motion; Working the Pulley; and Passing Clouds. Today I marveled--again--at how easily my center propels me through the Pulley, its natural sway from side-to-side allowing my upper body, arms, and hands to float softly through the brightening air.

The gathering light also centered my awareness on the sanctuary in which I live. An evergreen reaches its topmost point toward Heaven, akin to a church steeple. The dark, silent trees remind me of sentinels standing guard. But they, too, are members of my congregation just as the squirrels, deer, and birds are as they begin their morning movements among the trees and over the earth. The gathering dawn brings a memory of candles on an altar. And ... my moving body becomes a prayer.