It seems a lifetime ago but there was a period when stress ruled my life. It was so powerful that everyday I would wake up with a huge knot of tension in the pit of my stomach. This enevitably led to me developing a rather unpleasant illness called ulcerative colitis. Although I was given a variety of treatments, the cycle of acute attack and then remission continued relentlessly. My mindset at that time was to survive day to day.
I remember going to study at the Royal Academy of Music and thinking how on earth am I going to get through this! At the time I felt quite alone with the problem not realising as I do now that there are millions of people suffering from very serious stress related conditions every day…just as I did…getting by day to day.
It was quite by chance that I came across tai chi as a way of healing. I was visiting the Guildhall one day and noticed a sign on a door saying “Beginners Tai Chi class”. The teacher was outside and we started chatting. I had read a little about this intriguing art and was fascinated to know more. She invited me to have a go so I eagerly went in and so began my tai chi journey. A journey that continues today.
Tai Chi inspires an inner exploration of who we are at the core level coming face to face with what keeps us bound and stuck on all levels physically, emotionally and energetically. It is such a lovely experience to ‘meet’ one’s body and begin to listen and understand what it is saying. When I say ‘meet’ the body, people often look a little lost or raise an eyebrow, looking a little perplexed! All too often we go through life with absolutely no feeling or experience of our body. We ignore it. Our minds are so full and busy that we become completely disconnected from our physical body. It is often only when something goes wrong and we have pain that suddenly we are aware of the body.
By bringing the mind back home, staying in touch with the body and developing a thorough body awareness we can observe the negative effects that stress has on ourselves, as and when it arises. We can observe the tensions, feel the stiffness, notice the awkward posture or movement and immediately release or adjust and not allow the stress to remain. Gradually we learn how to unravel the hidden stress lurking in the body and allow the body to begin healing itself. The same process can be used with our emotions and on an energetic level too.
Through Tai Chi we can bring new understanding, increased self-awareness and a tangible felt experience of the mind and body, discovering a hidden untapped potential to heal ourselves that we never could have previously believed possible.
Many years ago I experienced how painful and debilitating stress can be. Back then I couldn’t imagine a day feeling well…but I slowly learned how to heal my body and so can you. Start by having a look at the videos on this site, try out the movements yourself. Maybe set aside a regular time every day for yourself so that the exercises become a little more familiar. Go easy on yourself and above all…have fun.
Remember you have the potential to heal your body, live without stress and feel full of energy!
What are you waiting for?
To your success and happiness
Rob
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