Gather Celestial Energy... by emmteeyess

With the coming of the (slightly) warmer weather me and Mrs.MTS have started to get in some outdoor T'ai Chi sessions again!

We've had a trip to Finchale Abbey and did a really nice contemplative session over looking the river, in a flagstoned area that was probably once the kitchen or washroom or something!

It wasn't very busy at the time, and the other visitors kept their distance - either from respect or because 'we looked a bit weird', who knows!  They did stare from across the river, but that was 'miles' away.

We also had a nice walk along the pier and the beach the other Monday and did a session at the water's edge.

This had a completely different feel to the Finchale Abbey one as it was more open views, sea breezes and ozone. Invigorating! For some reason Mrs.MTS felt the need to don her Dark Glasses of Invisibility so she wouldn't be seen. This was even tho there was no one near and she's perfecly used to standing in front of classes in full view! Me? I don't care!

Indoors - Mrs.MTS has closed and consolidated 2 classes and as I said last time, the transferred students have settled straight into their new groups. We've still got to contact some of those that don't seem to have continued and try to convince them to transfer. Here's hoping.

In class this week I've been working with the students that have got to the full 140 moves of the form so I've been getting in full sets of the form too - which is obviously the ideal, but I really don't mind working with any of the groups when I have to.

There's good weather forecast for the weekend so more chance to be outside hopefully - Bring It On!

Cheers. MTS

... a post for b0 and the people of Madeira.

I've read this week that my friend (as I like to think of him) b0alvarez has included some T'ai Chi Chuan in his battle with his cancer - see his blog here -

http://waddlingtales.wordpress.com/2010/03/19/tai-chi-anyone/#comments

Me and Mrs.MTS firmly believe this will help by cultivating and moving his chi to the cancerous areas, or even by just giving a calming of the spirit. Sure as hell can't do any harm! I've already replied to him about the sequence in our form called 'Drive the Tiger Away' and I'll think of him regularly, driving away his tigers. Best wishes b0.

The other thing that has hit us recently was the severity of the floods in Madeira - you must have seen them on the news. Me and Mrs.MTS hold a special affection for Madeira - check out my last post and the one for Oct 24th -  and we're due back there in the summer for another holiday. We hope they've managed to clean up and restore their houses and small holdings and that the devestation was not too widespread (for their sakes obviously - not ours!). It's such a beautiful island, with a wonderful spirit.

 I hope their 'guardian angels' are looking on.

On the home front - our own T'ai Chi is going well. I'm making the most of my sessions in the breaks at work - the lads even remind me it's 'T'ai Chi time' rather than 'tea time'. Hopefully with the warmer (?) weather starting I'll be able to do it outside soon, and me and Mrs.MTS are looking forward to that again on our trips out.

As expected, Mrs.MTS has closed 2 of her classes due to falling numbers, but we've kept a few of those students who've changed classes and settled straight in - all the classes are very friendly and welcoming, and it was good for those that did move to realise that they could fit straight into another group of students without feeling left behind or 'strangers'.

Mrs.MTS has been trying (with some success) to teach the students to refine and soften their movements, and to 'feel' the chi more, rather than just mechanicaly follow the sequences. This is easier for them now as they've become more experienced and confident in their form. It's great to see.

Take care all

Cheers, MTS

...Roll on Summer!

I've had enough of Winter - the novelty has worn off with all the snow we've had.

The nymph in our garden looked like this -

And the buddha was enveloped in a snow robe -

I'm looking forward to seeing the Buddha in Madeira again -

We've booked our summer holiday there and can't wait. (of course, everyone says that, and of course we CAN wait because there's no choice, but you get the strength of feeling!)

I have to say - when I do my T'ai Chi in my breaks at work I think about the times we did it in Madeira, even tho me and Mrs.MTS did our T'ai Chi in any number of places last year it's always Madeira that springs to mind. (Must have made a lasting impression - all that sun and sea air and energy. More please.)

In the classes we've basically been doing revision with the students. Because of the Christmas holidays and the enforced closure of classes due to the snow some didn't have a class for 4 weeks and a lot don't practice between classes on their own (their loss!) so we went back to basics and built up the form from the beginning in sets of 10 moves, or so. This actually went down very well, as it built up everyone's confidence and ability with some concentrated effort.

It's a bit of a shame that some of the class numbers have dropped further, but Mrs.MTS has decided not to re-advertise the classes - mainly (as I think I've said) because we feel we've saturated the local areas with a number of leaflet drops and have netted all the interested parties! It does mean that the remaining students in each class are becoming a tighter and closer group and the classes are as much a social meeting each week as they are a T'ai Chi class. We may have to merge some classes tho and although that will change the dynamic of them, we know they'll all get on!

I took this picture of a local sculpture down the marina, and although it represents a cormorant (it's 1 of a set of 4 or 5 that morph from a girder to a delicate bird) it does have a crane feel about it with the outstretched wings. Just look at that grey sky...

...roll on Summer!

Cheers, MTS

...New Year, new word.

I think that's a new word to me - Niveous - resembling snow, esp in colour.

We were away in Northumberland over the New Year, at my cousin's. Check out the details on my running blog, thru the link in the overview.

Me and Mrs.MTS had a wonderful walk on New Year's Day thru the snow. Sometimes there was bright blue sky and a crisp feel to the air, then it was a snow storm and a complete white out, then back again.

We did just have to do a set of the form tho - just to say we had - on the 1st, by the river, in the snow. Thing was, a) we were so well wrapped up that we couldn't do all the arm movements properly, b) the ground was so uneven under the snow, and we couldn't tell, so we kept loosing our poise (if not our balance) and c) the snow was coming down at the time so we were turning into snow men (or snow people).

At one point a couple walked past and Mrs.MTS felt obliged to explain 'T'ai Chi in the snow'. They replied that it 'looks very nice', but the tone of their voices suggested that they thought we'd escaped from some institution, or that the cold had penetrated our brains, or both.

So, even if we didn't get much benefit from the T'ai Chi itself, we did benefit from being able to say we'd done it.

Since getting back we've had a week where Mrs.MTS has had to cancel all the classes because of the snowy conditions. The Durham College venue was closed, one had an inaccessible road and car park, and it wasn't worth risking people's safety (and ours) to open the others. Hopefully things will improve by next week, tho the prospect still looks bleak at the moment.

At least we're practicing. Mrs.MTS is doing hers at home and I'm doing mine in my break, on late shift, at work.

Let's hope my next posting is soon, and in warmer weather.

Cheers, MTS

Came across this T shirt slogan - 'Know Your Cranes' - always good advice...