At last after a couple of months now, Maria and I have settled into our new house. It has been a very busy time, but we are now no longer living out of boxes and we don’t have to spend ages searching for stuff only to find it was in the first box! (If only I hadn’t rushed!) This is entirely due to Maria who is amazingly organised!
I have never felt so at home in a new house so quickly. It really is a gem and we feel so fortunate to have found it. Being near the South Downs National Park it is ideal for walks, running, tai chi and just ‘being’ outdoors!
We have converted a large room into a special training room where I can disappear and dive into my tai chi practice undisturbed. Our two cats do love to join in and they are making good progress when they’re not snoozing on the sofa! It really is a dream come true but one which I’ve had to work for very very hard over the years.
As I was walking across the downs this afternoon I took a moment to look back at a moment in my life when I was not in such a good place. My early years through to my twenties were completely overshadowed by a terribly disabling condition called Ulcerative Colitis. Everyday was a struggle to get through either because of the horrendous painful spasms that are typical for this condition or for the frequent and urgent visits to the loo! It seemed that my whole body was in a fight everyday. A fight to get through the day. It was relentless and extremely exhausting. When I look back I can see that I was in survival mode, getting by from one day to the next. Occasionally I would get a chance to relax when it went into remission.
However even from very young I knew deep down that I could use my mind to heal my body. I remember reading a fascinating book on meditation and excitedly taking the first step & trying the exercises out. With the hope of a 10 year old I imagined that I would be miraculously healed after practising for about 30 minutes! Little did I realise that it would take a little longer! This recognition of the power of our mind and also of a connection between our mind and our body fueled my curiosity to look deeper and so that is what I have been exploring over the last 22 years or so. Exploring our own inate healing power.
I have often found that when I’ve been struggling to get through a difficult patch or struggling to deepen my understanding then often the right person will appear in my life.
And so it was in 1990 that I first met an amazing lady called Gerda Geddes. Gerda was the first lady to introduce Tai Chi into the West. When I met her in London she was well into her seventies and still teaching. She appeared as agile and spritely as someone much younger and was a true inspiration.
She came at just the right moment into my life and opened up a whole new world of tai chi, qi gong, meditation and mindfulness which I embraced wholeheartedly! I studied and studied…practised and practised. Until………………… eventually the pain and discomfort gradually disappeared. The Tai Chi and the help of an amazing acupuncturist provided a much needed miracle.
To this day I have not had a single relapse! Not one! And I have gone from strength to strength, which is amazing considering the state I was in before. It is because I have gone through this challenging healing journey that I now know that we all have the power to transform our health and happiness when we learn how to tap into our Mind / Body connection.
The Body / Mind connection is truly an adventure in exploration into your very core nature. It holds so much healing potential that can completely transform your life.
As you will discover I am a complete bookaholic. In fact I don’t know if we have room in the house for any more books! Who am I kidding! Of course there’s ALWAYS more room for books….isn’t there? There is one particular book which had such an impact on me at such an important time in my life that I wanted to share it with you.
It’s called ‘Zen in the Martial Arts’ by Joe Hyams and in it he explains how when he was going through a tough time and was suffering in hospital, he was able to dive inwardly and visualize his body healing! He literally imagined the good cells as an army overpowering an enemy force and was able to help his body heal much quicker. He was able to tap into the Body / Mind connection and summon up a natural healing force that we ALL have.
I would highly recommend reading this inspirational book as it gives such an inspiring message from a very experienced martial artist. Someone who has put his skills to the test. Once you find that power within yourself it cannot be ignored!
Here’s to finding your power.
have a fabulous day
See you soon
Rob
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