Today’s Tai Chi with Annamarie 3/11/23
Hi all you beautiful people! Today’s class in the metroparks was a lot of fun. We mixed meditation with movement. Voices with sound. Authentically created a space of non-judgment, joy and letting go. For those of you interested, the t-shirt I was wearing today came from Bonfire.com then look under The Healer Within. Here’s the link. There are different styles and colors too:) Here is the I Am meditation song by Roger Griffith. I invite you to try this mantra at least once by yourself. Forgive yourself. Love...
read moreTime for a Cleanse
Feeling Sluggish? Foggy? Maybe your body could use a cleanse. At least once a year we like to cleanse our bodies from all of the excesses of the recent months. We use a 2-week cleanse combining several additional resources and have found this to be gentle and effective. If you decide to follow along, come aboard the cleansing train into 2023! The Easy Cleanse This is a two week gentle cleanse (can be done in 1 week). Nourish and support your body’s organs with citrus, lean protein, vegetables and water. Re-invigorate, re-charge. Fill...
read moreBuilding Your At Home Practice
The foundation of a holistic practice includes 4 easy ways to boost your mood, energy and sense of well-being: Breathing Body Posture and Movement Self-Applied Massage Meditation Keep it Simple: ten times, ten minutes, ten consecutive days Breathing: 2-4 breathing: breathe in for 2 counts, out for 4 counts Movement: bend side to side like a will tree. Shaking. Massage: Tapping arms, legs, hands and feet Meditation: Hug the Tree Mediation for one minute. Then repeat these four steps. Repetition helps us learn and helps us develop...
read moreQigong for the Holidays: Experience profound peace and joy in less than 15 minutes.
Don your hat Get cozy warm Breathe in love Exhale no harm
read moreNo Tai Chi in the Park until 2023
Due to the holidays, we will not be doing Tai Chi Easy in the French Creek Metroparks until after the first of the year, 2023. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my Tai Chi Easy participants who show up Saturday mornings at 10:30 am. You all are the wind beneath my wings and my motivation. Thank you for your dedication, kindness and love. Right back at you! See you all in 2023.
read moreHanging Around On the Hara Line
The Hara Line is right in the center of you. It is the center of our energy source. From above, upper and lower. Energy enters through top of the top of the head and rides down the electrical cord (spine) and exits through soles of feet and and palms of hands. the point between your perineum and tip of spine. This is where the hara line is located. The hara line is a laser-like line that aligns vertically with the physical body. Not visible to the human eye it has been said to be approximately one-third of an inch wide. It begins...
read moreThe Eight Brocades
The Baduanjin qigong(八段錦) is one of the most common forms of Chinese qigong used as exercise.[1] Variously translated as Eight Pieces of Brocade, Eight-Section Brocade, Eight Silken Movements or Eight Silk Weaving, the name of the form generally refers to how the eight individual movements of the form characterize and impart a silken quality (like that of a piece of brocade) to the body and its energy. The Baduanjin is primarily designated as a form of medical qigong, meant to improve health.[2] This is in contrast to religious or...
read moreMy Experience with a Qigong Teacher
After surviving a deadly virus early in 2020, I felt compelled to teach Tai Chi. I became a Tai Chi Easy Practice Leader in 2018 and began teaching in 2021. Today, I teach several times per week in parks, schools, assisted living facilities and one on one. Age ranges from 5 to 95 with a variety of physical abilities and dis-abilities. I love Tai Chi, it has changed my crazy life and brought calm, patience and joy. Recently I took a Qigong class with a specialist in Chinese Medicine. Instantly I loved the class admiring the strong and balanced...
read moreThe 10 Tai Chi Principles
The 10 Tai Chi Principles: 1.Straightening the head. Stand straight, relax your neck and suspend the head naturally erect from the crown point without strain or tension. The image to model is “hanging by a string from the top of one’s head” such that the head and neck align by the force of gravity alone. Correct position of chest and back. The chest is kept slightly depressed inward which helps enables one’s breath to sink to the lower belly. The upper back is slightly bowed outward while the pelvis is tucked under. Remain relaxed with no...
read moreTai Chi Lesson
Tai Chi thought for today by Kenny Lee Burgess. Bodhidharma taught, regardless of how hard we work, we cannot polish a stone to make a mirror. Let me offer a story. Lets imagine a delivery of 1000 cinderblocks needs to be hand carried through a forest up a remote hill top to build a structure. We have ten days to get the job done. If we work everyday, that means we only have to move 100 blocks. Each day we miss, the number increases. If we wait till the last day, they all have to be moved in a single day. Now imagine, once the ten days...
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