Gratitude from Shih Fu Catherine

Ni hao dear Body Balance students and colleagues,

There's just no way to adequately express my gratitude for all your well wishes, meditations, visits, phone calls, and help in the wake of my recent accident. I understand that Shih Fu has kept you updated on the whole story and my progress in healing.

Despite some worry and fear about undergoing such a big operation, on the day of my surgery, I awoke feeling buoyed up in a huge safety net of well wishes and love, confident that everything was going to be perfect. And it truly was!  I was laughing and joking with my doctors and nurses all the way into the operating room. I remember nothing from the 2 hour procedure and went home that day feeling amazingly OK.

Of course there have been tough days.  I have a new respect for western pain medications, although I'm also using homeopathic remedies, supplements, ice and deep breathing to deal with the pain. Let me say that all through this experience, from the moment I slipped off the roof right up to now, I'm doing fine. My broken ankle is healing well. I maintain my spirits with plenty of rest, fresh food, and daily contact with the practice. 

Notice I didn't say practice, because, let me tell you, it is not possible to perform a weight shift when your healing depends on keeping weight off one of your legs! But I can imagine that weight shift. And so far, I've been able to practice mentally while laying down. (Try it yourself sometime!)

Did you know that Qi Gong works pretty well at any angle? Lying down flat; lying down with leg and head propped on pillows; sitting in a recliner chair; even balancing on one leg while using crutches.

Let me exclaim here about the power of Section Three! That's where I first learned to really balance on one leg.  And that skill has come in very handy in the last month of using crutches full time.  Every time I wobble or slip, I find new ways to root through my right foot. More about this in another blog...

I'm about ready to try some kind of seated practice, of Qi Gong, if not Tai Chi.  I'll have plenty of time to refine that practice before I bring it to the studio, because I've just been given another 5 weeks in a cast with no weight-bearing on my left leg.

Xie xie to my students for continue to practice diligently in my absence from our weekly classes.  And to Shih Fu Eileen for stepping in to seamlessly keep the flow going.  I'm sure Chris Hooley has stepped up to an even higher level of transmission in this time of opportunity. And to all the teachers at Body Balance who are filling in and taking on the extra load while I take the necessary time to heal.

I am gaining the strength and stamina to return. It won't be too much longer, although I can't make promises or give a date.  One day soon, you'll here me clump-clumping up the back stairs and you'll see my bright purple, knee-high cast and know I have returned.

For now, I yield to my body's need to heal. I use the principles of our practice on a daily, hourly basis to uphold my spirits.  I have faith that all is already well.







 

Your Brain on Bliss

(Shih Fu Catherine here, returning to the blog after a brief time exploring the depths of rest and relaxation that come with physical injury.  I look forward to the day in the near future, when I am strong enough to return to the studio and practice with my community.)

From Yes! magazine comes an article about the benefits of meditation, written by a self-described "novice." 

The article outlines a January 2011 study, published in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, that suggests that meditating for just 30 minutes a day for eight weeks can increase the density of gray matter in brain regions associated with memory, stress, and empathy.

The researchers tracked 16 people who were participating in the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program, the training program developed more than 30 years ago by Jon Kabat-Zinn.

These folks were not Buddhist monks and had little prior experience with any mindfulness practice. They were average Joes and Janes like you and me who reported spending 30 minutes or less per day actually meditating.

Interesting, isn't it, that the Yang Style Long Form, when practiced appropriately takes about 20 minutes or more to perform.  If you include a brief standing meditation at the beginning and then close with another brief moment of conscious connection, that puts your practice right about at 30 minutes.

And don't discount the added, cumulative benefits that come from those moments throughout the day when you stop your busy life to take a deep, conscious breath. That's when you turn your mind intent, yi, inward, and focus on the act of breathing in and out as a way to align your awareness and feel rooted in the midst of the daily chaos.

I don't know how many hours I've spent practicing Tai Chi, Qi Gong or the other meditative practices I've learned throughout my life.  It's not necessary to catalog those statistics.  You don't have to beat yourself up because you haven't found a way to practice every single day.  Practice as often as you can. Practice wherever and whenever you can.  Get to know the little signals from your body and your mind that encourage you toward practice.  Don't resist. Make time to practice for your own health and for everyone around you.

These practices are a deep well of peace and tranquility that you can return to often. Practice has teaches you how to create a nice big empty vessel, one that you can dip down into that well. Drink deeply. Quench your thirst.

Let yourself be motivated and inspired by the accumulating evidence that this practice is good medicine.

Tao Te Ching Online

While it is honorable to ponder words on paper, the Tao Te Ching is also available online.
Tao Te Ching Online
This translation is by Steven Mitchell.