Newsletter   •   May 7, 2023

Tai Chi & Qi Gong – Build your powerful armour!

May 2023

Hello Tai Chi students, friends and enthusiasts, a warm welcome to our 2023 May Newsletter!

For Tai Chi students, I hope you enjoyed the two-week school term break.

The gardens of the Adelaide Hills are absolutely magnificent during this time and attract hundreds of thousands of domestic and international visitors. I hope you will find some time to enjoy its stunning view and witness the nature’s change.

From summer to autumn, the seasonal change may have dramatic impact on our body and mind. Have you felt the air is so different in the morning and the evening? While some people with strong immune system ( strong Qi) could go through the change peacefully; others who are immunocompromised, fatigued or under stress may suffer a lot from cold, cough or other illness.

Ancient Chinese have observed how the nature works and learned a lot from it. In the book <<Huang Di Nei Jing>> ( Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon, the foundation book for traditional Chinese medicine- TCM), it demonstrates how to preserve good health and longevity in line with the nature’s change.

As smart farmers understand the nature and know how to work with it for a good harvest,  we need to do the same for our mind and body.

For three-month autumn season, the nature of our body is to preserve Yang after a consuming summer season ( risen from long days, hot weather etc.) Look at the nature around us, they teach us without telling, e.g. trees.

Autumn season affects lung the most due to significant climate/air change. Lung in Chinese Five Elements refers to Metal, which is the most delicate. It is closely connected with colon. It also governs the skin. Bear in mind that lung in TCM doesn’t represent a single organ, it refers to a interrelated body system based on Yin-Yang and Five Elements theory.

How can we do some simple things to best preserve our energy in autumn?

• Get up early and go to bed early each day, make sure quality sleep
• Eat seasonal fresh food based on individual digestive system preference, avoid cold drinks, keep warm
• Preserve mental energy, reduce activities that consume you unnecessarily, eg over-thinking, over-emotional
• Balanced physical activities to nourish both mind and body

Restraining our desires and making time to be mentally quiet each day is another good way to preserve our health through autumn.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong practice enables you to be mentally quiet and focused at the same time. By moving meditatively, the body gets time to rest and reset, the mind gets time to reconnect and rejuvenate. It is not just an exercise, it is far more beyond the physical exercise. It is a journey of self-cultivation, working towards inwards, building strength and harmony of body, mind and spirit.

Our weekly classes start this week and next week ( for Wednesday class).  Thank you for those who have been with me on this journey. We all want to be seen, heard and acknowledged. I am glad we are here for each other.

Wish you all an enriched journey with soft body, strong mind and happy soul.

Fang & the team