Cloud Hands

I know the Tai Chi form Cloud Hands describes the movement of the sun and moon throughout the cycle of a day; but, lately it has come to take on a new meaning for me.

I started working on the Cloud Hands portion of the Chen form a few weeks back. I had to concentrate on sinking my Qi and not injuring my knee. My arms noticeably grew stronger from slowing down the form and working it over and over to get the footwork figured out. Then, while untangling the dog's long line from the lilac while having a low blood sugar episode, I was reminded that I need to stay grounded and present all the time.  The dog twisted and lunged and I pulled muscles in my arm. It really hurt!

I immediately did some healing qigong; but, the swelling and bruising started anyway. Since I vowed to not let anything dissuade me from my Summer Solstice hide & form at Gold Cord Lake, I decided to continue working on my form and doing the Ba Duan Jin. IT HURT!

It hurt ALOT! But, I did a little every day. Sometimes I did only my right uninjured arm. Sometimes I just did foot work and thought about the arm movements. Then, it dawned on me to visualize moving clouds with my hands instead of water. I focused on soft movements and slowed down as much as I could. It seemed to help. Perhaps I will still be moving clouds up at Gold Cord Lake in a few weeks (or maybe snowflakes since there is still snow there); but, I am back on track and a wiser player by far.

Chen and Bagpipes?

Mull of Kintyre (Scotland)

I've found music to be very motivating for practicing my form. Spotify is the greatest invention for putting together custom playlists. I think I must have squandered several hours last weekend building a taiji playlist of bagpipe and Scottish tunes.  And, it's a work in progress so there are a few of my favorite Asian flavored tunes lingering on the list in case I decide to play longer. I can't figure out how to share here on blogger; but it is on my tumblr and in Spotify.

Lots of my old favorites from childhood:

• Dark Island
• Skye Boat Song
• Mull of Kintyre
• Muckin' O' Georgie's Bryr
• Road to Dundee
• Northern Lights of Aberdeen
• Star of the County Down
• Piobraicheachd of Donald Doughal

Nice slow airs great for meditation and maintaining balance and slow breathing. 

Mull of Kintyre - the place I desire

Of course there is a beach song playlist for goofing off and really playing with the Qi. 

All this will come together on the solstice - Mull of Kintyre is top of the list for the video right now; but that can change.

The more parts of the Chen form I learn the easier it becomes to learn and remember. I still panic when I see that I'm only 1/4 into the whole form. I just take it one at a time and work until I feel ready to learn a new part. Some days are better than others. I am nearly ready to move on from Green Dragon Flies Up from Water & Push with Both Hands to the next part.  I love the Chen form. It is very different from Yang. I will need to live with both for a while before I can feel the connection.