Tai Chi for Busy Moms – Part Two

20. November 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Mommy Care, Tai Chi · Tags: , ,
Tai Chi for Busy Moms – Part Two
The benefits that Tai Chi practice will bring to you are not just for yourself. The people around you will benefit too.
Tai Chi, practiced with an open heart, with patience, understanding and compassion will allow you to better interact with 
your children, spouse, and other people close or not so close.
By definition, being an internal martial art – that is not relying on muscles and bones solely – Tai Chi will reveal to you 
many aspects of life and will let you make discoveries on your self.
The fact that stress will be greatly reduced, if not completly elliminated will become just a side effect; the much better ballance 
that you will have, the stronger and limber body, the increased lung capacity, and “joint health”, the better mind focus, 
all just make a nice picture that Tai Chi can paint for you.
And don’t just take my word for it, check it out for yourself, see how Tai Chi people in their senectute years are doing.
You might be tempted to observe that you are young or very young and that Tai Chi is apparently for older more health 
challanged people.
Then I will tell you that you are in luck to have been able to discover it at such an early age. Hurry up and start practicing, 
you will reap even more benefits, you will have more time to practice, you will avoid mistakes others have done.
Hey that makes you smarter, doesn’t it?
Ultimately, Tai Chi is a martial art, and although at the begining women were not allowed to study for the fear of transmitting 
the secret art to outsiders, by marriage, there were and are formidable women martial artists out there.
You can become a real good martial artist through Tai Chi.
While it depends on you how you approach Tai Chi, you will benefit from it regardless of the path.
So, go ahead and give it a try.

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Today’s post is by dkM’s Tai Chi enthusiast, Sorin.  Check out Part One of Tai Chi for Busy Moms if you haven’t read it yet! And make sure to try Tai Chi by watching the videos below. You may be on the verge of a new and beneficial hobby!

759478_tai_chiThe benefits that Tai Chi practice will bring to you are not just for yourself. The people around you will benefit too. Tai Chi, practiced with an open heart, with patience, understanding and compassion will allow you to better interact with your children, spouse, and other people close or not so close. By definition, being an internal martial art – that is, not relying on muscles and bones solely – Tai Chi will reveal to you many aspects of life and will let you make discoveries about yourself. 

The fact that stress will be greatly reduced, if not completely eliminated will become just a side effect; the much better balance that you will have, the stronger and more limber body, the increased lung capacity and joint health, the better mind focus, all makes for a nice picture that Tai Chi can paint for you. And don’t just take my word for it, check it out for yourself. See how Tai Chi people in their senectute years are doing. You might be tempted to say that you are young or very young and that Tai Chi is apparently for older more health-challenged people. Then I will tell you that you are in luck to have been able to discover it at such an early age. Hurry up and start practicing, you will reap even more benefits, you will have more time to practice, and you will avoid mistakes others have done. Hey, that makes you smarter, doesn’t it? 

Ultimately, Tai Chi is a martial art, and although at the begining women were not even allowed to study for the fear of transmitting the secret art to outsiders, there were and are formidable women martial artists out there. You can become a good martial artist through Tai Chi. While it depends on you how you approach Tai Chi, you will benefit from it regardless of the path. So, go ahead and give it a try!

Tai Chi for Busy Moms

29. October 2009 · 2 comments · Categories: Tai Chi · Tags: ,

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Today’s article is written by dkM’s very own Tai Chi enthusiast and instructor, Sorin. To read more of his reviews and to keep up on future articles, check in on our Tai Chi Category in the right-hand column.

Recently, the commission of writing on Tai Chi and busy moms has been 
entrusted to me by the very busy mom that Diane Kidman is.
I found it challenging so I accepted it.
I say challenging because I’m not a mom, I’m a father, and then for me, Tai Chi was
a definite attraction and then a continuous adventure and self discovery.
What could that have to do with a busy mom?
Maybe you’ve heard it or not, Tai Chi is good for stress. Among other very important benefits,
it can really help you deal with a variety of stresses caused by the job, daily chores, life in general.
It depends on you however, to make it work. The more you invest in it, time and exercise, the more you get out of it.
Time you say? Yes I’m afraid so. Just like any other good thing out there, it’s definitely not a quick fix.
I’m saying this because I don’t want you to just jump into it hoping that in a month you’ll get it done.
This is a commitment.
So, if you give it regular practice, the results will be astonishing, and I can see you giving yourself an imaginary slap
to the had.
Now, what exactly is Tai Chi?
T’ai Chi (Ch’uan) means The Grand Ultimate (Fist). It is a martial art and then a healing and longevity art. Or viceversa, 
depending on which you prefer.
Several styles are practiced, Yang, Chen, Wu, Sun; The Yang style seems to be the most wide spread at this time, in America.
Now, there are a lot of materials in various media formats to help you in practicing Tai Chi.
Do not assume you can learn it from those materials. You should start by finding a school or a teacher – with some practice 
history and observe a session or two and then decide if this is for you. Then you can buy related materials to help you with your
practice.
From there on the road is yours to take. The 1000 miles journey begins with the first step.

taichi-1Recently, the commission of writing on Tai Chi and busy moms has been entrusted to me by the very busy mom that Diane Kidman is. I found it challenging so I accepted it. I say challenging because I’m not a mom, I’m a father; and then for me, Tai Chi was a definite attraction from the beginning, later becoming a continuous adventure in self discovery. What could that have to do with a busy mom?

Maybe you’ve heard Tai Chi is good for stress. Among other very important benefits, it can really help you deal with a variety of stresses caused by the job, raising children, daily chores, life in general. It depends on you, however, to make it work. The more you invest in it, time and exercise, the more you get out of it. Time you say? Yes I’m afraid so. Just like any other good thing out there, it’s definitely not a quick fix. I’m saying this because I don’t want you to just jump into it hoping that in a month you’ll get it done. This is a commitment. So, if you give it regular practice, the results will be astonishing, and I can see you giving yourself an imaginary pat on the back.

Now, what exactly is Tai Chi? T’ai Chi (Ch’uan) means The Grand Ultimate (Fist). It is a martial art and then a healing and longevity art. Or vice versa, depending on which you prefer. Several styles are practiced: Yang, Chen, Wu, Sun. The Yang style seems to be the most wide spread in America at this time. Now, there are a lot of materials in various media formats to help you in practicing Tai Chi, but don’t assume you can learn it from those materials alone. You should start by finding a reputable school or a teacher with some practice history, and ask to observe a session or two before deciding if this is for you. Then you can buy related materials to help you with your practice. From there on the road is yours to take. The 1000 mile journey begins with the first step.

The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan – Book Giveaway

15. September 2009 · 104 comments · Categories: Books, Contest, Tai Chi · Tags: , , ,

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Win a Copy of The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan

Win a Copy of The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan

 

 

Today’s post is written by dkMommy Spot’s very own T’ai Chi practitioner, Sorin C.  

The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan of Freya and Martin Boedicker is the guide that takes one behind the gracious movement of Tai Chi Chuan. To practice the martial art of Tai Chi Chuan can make one a very good athlete. However, by adding the knowledge of the Classics, the practice is imbued with millenia of wisdom. This book gives a brief introductory history lesson to place in time the most important of the Chinese Classics, and then presents each, and his works, relating everything to Tai Chi. It is an important work for the practitioner that wants to understand the inner works of Tai Chi, to “raise the essence and attune the spirit”.

The reader will be introduced to fragments from the Classics and will discover the notions of the Chinese philosophy, Chi, Yin and Yang, Taiji, Wei, Wuwei, Jing, Shen.  Their experience with the art of Tai Chi can be even more explored on line, on their forum at www.wu-taichi.com. The Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan is also a good quality rendition by Blue Snake Books and should find a welcome spot in the Philosophy section of your library.

Want to win your own copy?  Blue Snake Books is giving one away to a dkMommy Spot reader!

Multiple Options for Multiple Entries:

1.) Just visit Blue Snake Books and tell me what other book(s) you like there.  (***You may enter once a day, but please list a new item you like each time.) Remember, leave an interesting comment. If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Blog about, Twitter, Subscribe and/or Become a Fan on Facebook! Get an extra entry for each of these activities.  This time just leave a separate comment for each (only one time for each extra activity completed), giving me a link to your blog post, your Twitter name, and/or a note saying you’re an FB Fan and/or subscriber.  SUBSCRIBE HERE!  

(Psst!  My Twitter name is dkMommy.)

Feel free to do all five to gather multiple entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Tuesday, September 22, 2009, to enter.

Cheng Tzu’s Thirteen Treatises on T’ai Chi Ch’uan – Book Giveaway

14. August 2009 · 108 comments · Categories: Books, Contest, Tai Chi · Tags: , , , ,

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Today’s post is written by dkMommy Spot’s very own T’ai Chi practitioner, Sorin C.  

Sorin's Latest T'ai Chi Find from Blue Snake Books

Sorin's Latest Find, Published by Blue Snake Books.

I want to let you in on a little secret: I’m passionate about T’ai Chi.  It all started some twenty years ago in Communist Romania.  We were practicing in an “underground” fashion, in a secluded little park in Bucharest.  An engineer was our mentor.  Who knows how he got close to the art in those times; no martial art was the friend of the establishment, let alone T’ai Chi.  Along came the so-called revolution in Romania,  more of a political recession if you wish.  It made a lot of victims but turned the country away from communism.  A few years later I emigrated to the States and tied the knot again with T’ai Chi.  Been practicing ever since, and will practice until the end of time.  It’s that good.

So I’ve got my hands on a treasure now, called Cheng Tzu’s Thirteen Treatises on T’ai Chi Ch’uanby Cheng Man Ch’ing.  T’ai Chi is an ancient Chinese martial art that has been transmitted over generations among members of a few religious congregations, or simply through families. It’s been a closely guarded secret for generations and, truth be told, it will still be a secret, but only to the one that does not open himself to searching for it.

Chen Man Ch’ing left his Thirteen Treatises as a legacy to his life dedicated to T’ai Chi and also as a document to be studied by anyone who wants to know the essence, the core of T’ai Chi.  The book is a guide to the art.  It is for a curious mind as well as for the practitioner.  It is for the beginner as well as for the advanced.  Page after page, the author is revealing the meaning of the art; it is his transmission to the world.

Explained in plain words and illustrated with pictures of the form, the book will satisfy the needs of anyone interested in T’ai Chi.  It will take your understanding of the art to a new level, and it will guide you to correct practice.  It will also introduce you to the Classics and challenge you to achieve “The mind mobilizes the ch’i and the ch’i mobilizes the body.”  I am really happy to have gotten a chance to read this book, and I know it will serve me continuously as a reference for my practice of the art.

Want to win your own copy of Cheng Tzu’s Thirteen Treatises on T’ai Chi Ch’uan($18.95 retail)?  Publisher Blue Snake Books is giving away a copy here!

Multiple Options for Multiple Entries:

1.) Just visit Blue Snake Books and tell me what other book(s) you like there. (***You may enter once a day, but please list a new item you like each time.) Remember, leave an interesting comment. If I cannot contact the winner, you might be chosen instead based on your comment.

2.) Blog about, Twitter, and/or Subscribe! Get an extra entry for each of these activities.  This time just leave a separate comment for each (only one time for each extra activity completed), giving me a link to your blog post, your Twitter name, and/or a note saying you’re a subscriber.  SUBSCRIBE HERE!  

(Psst!  My Twitter name is dkMommy.)

Feel free to do all four to gather multiple entries to win! You have until midnight EST on Friday, August 21, 2009, to enter.