Thursday, June 21, 2012

The Chi Works Its Magic

Happy Summer Solstice One and All! It's an absolutely gorgeous day following two days and nights of "The sky is falling, the sky is falling."

I spent the day at the Gildi Project Mental Health Conference at Legendary Waters Resort and Casino in Red Cliff. The theme of the conference was: "Building resiliency for healthy aging and caregiving" and I was asked to make a 75 minute presentation on T'ai Chi Chih during a morning break out session.

I spent a number of hours preparing for my presentation yesterday and, as the Chi would have it, I included little of that effort in today's session. I simply did what I do best: teach the T'ai Chi Chih movements, talk about the benefits of this form, and share the joy of a practice with my group of 25-30 attendees.

I often get nervous and anxious before these special presentations so I did a personal practice at home on the deck before I left for the conference. I also took a few drops of Rescue Remedy to help lower my anxiety levels. And, after the morning keynote speech by Dr. Henry Emmons, who spoke on many of the themes that I cover in my TCC classes, I felt comfortable sharing my own expertise and knowledge.

Of course, when I do a T'ai Chi Chih practice with others I'm always put at ease by the calming movements. And so, when several people told me after the session that I'm a good teacher and/or that they enjoyed the movements, I knew that the Chi had--once again--worked its magic. I am grateful. And, perhaps someday I'll learn to trust the process without slipping into a fight-or-flight response before my presentation begins....

No comments: