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Finding Stillness in a time of chaos

Posted on by USA Blog Editor

My personal practice has become about letting go: letting go of counting how many donyus I do; letting go of the habit of doing jongs only while waiting for the toast to pop or the kettle to boil; letting go of unrealistic goals. I now have an understanding of the stillness that comes from just doing Taoist Tai Chi® arts. The result is my donyu feels natural. Is it technically correct? I don’t know, I’ve let go of worrying about that. The result is I feel pain subside. I feel the dropping and the rising. I feel the quietness in my body and in my mind. All these things have found their way into my daily life. My practice is helping me to let go of loss, to accept the frustration of an aging body and to let go of old ways of doing things. Keeping the stillness throughout the set is a challenge, but I have felt it and I know it will happen again.

~Sandra

Letting go of resistance

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Before the pandemic, my personal practice consisted of integrating the instructions and the corrections I had received from previous classes and observing the new feeling. Now, with the wise advice of our directors to let go, to trust and to be consistent, I first investigate my sensations without precise instructions. I am more an observer than an actress. Sometimes the feeling leads me to see for the first time the effect of a past instruction.

Concerning chanting, I resisted, no doubt due to my Judeo-Christian upbringing. At the start of the pandemic, I went to our zoom meetings mainly for the teachings and testimonies before and after chanting. In the end, however, I got caught up in chanting. I let go of my resistance. From week to week, I feel I am getting stronger. I manage to practice by sitting on my knees. Peacefulness, calmness and compassion settle in. Seeing people from all over, from Australia, Madrid, Florida, etc., chanting for the world, there is really something strong there.  The Taoist Tai Chi® arts and the chanting fill me with joy.

I experience intense things on a personal level during my practice. It’s a journey that I would not have made without the pandemic. It nourishes my spirituality. I feel myself becoming more and more Taoist.

~Ruth 

A path of balance

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Eighteen years ago I began Taoist Tai Chi® practice with the goal of improving my physical well being. Tai chi was recommended to me as an exercise I could attempt even though I was extremely ill with a progressive liver disease and the many associated symptoms caused by a failing liver. I had no idea that Taoist Tai Chi® arts were so much more than a workout and would result in a more balanced quality of life. The first session was very difficult, and it felt overwhelming trying to move along with others. I was exhausted! 

During the first two years many of my health conditions began to improve, and I was becoming aware of how mental and spiritual health is part of the Fung Loy Kok® path. Following Mr. Moy’s teachings I became more calm and less anxious. Eventually, although still very fatigued, I felt a tiny spark of energy deep inside. This was the turning point when I realized my this practice would continue to bring balance and benefits to all aspects of my life. After that I experienced profound health improvements which continue to this day.

~Wendy 

A New Body

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I am so thankful to Fung Loy Kok Institute of Taoism® every day. I had both of my hips replaced 10+ years ago and last summer I was up on the cottage roof laying down new shingles. What I have discovered over the years is that the surgeries removed the damaged and painful surfaces, but the muscles’ contractures, scar tissues, distorted pelvis, spine and skeletal misalignments persisted. The gift of my daily Taoist Tai Chi® practice is now a body defined by a supple musculature, full joint mobility, elasticity of tissues, an easy gait and a freedom and confidence to move in any way. I’m 61 yrs old and feel very grateful to have this powerful practice that will support me and my prosthetic hips as I move into the future.

~Barb

Keeping Balance at 93

Posted on by USA Blog Editor

I am 93 years old.  Twelve years ago, I was having a difficult time dealing with the passing of my wife.  My daughter suggested I try tai chi.  She thought the exercise, and getting out and meeting new people, would help me deal with the grief.

I found the Fung Loy Institute of Taoism Regional Centre in Halifax. I still remember my first day. There were about twenty people in the class and I felt like I had two left feet! I felt very stiff, but people encouraged me to keep going. I started going once a week but couldn’t remember everything so I started going twice a week. After a few months I was going three times a week. 

Three or four years later, there were so many things I was able to do that I couldn’t do before, like standing up from a low chair without using my hands. The jongs, which I do every day, really help me a lot. I can still get up from a low chair without a problem.  I am pretty good at balancing; I can pull up my pants while standing on one leg.  My doctor who is 70 says he can’t do that.  I can get down on the floor and sit cross legged but most importantly, I can get back up!  My legs are the least wobbly part of me. I never feel like I am going to fall. I go for a walk daily.  I am still in my own home; my daughter lives with me. I eat well and do a lot of the cooking. I try to stay independent and keep up with the housework. I have a small garden that I look after and 180 feet of hedge that I have trimmed three times this year. I’m still driving, and this summer picked 50 lbs of blueberries with my daughter.  I did the driving there and back which was 145 miles.  Without Taoist Tai Chi® practice, I would not be in the shape I am today!

~Art 

Trust Letting Go

Posted on by USA Blog Editor

During my individual practice, I have been learning to let go – let go of what? At first it was to let go of weight, to let myself settle, to let myself drop until it was finished. I realized, as the weeks and months went by, that letting go is so much more. It is also letting go of preconceived ideas and thoughts… Am I doing this right, is this what I learned? By letting go, I am allowing myself to become more attuned to what my body is feeling. To feel and to trust. 

When I let go I become my own teacher. This process gives me the responsibility to look after myself, to practice and to trust myself in what I do. Trust is taking that first step. Only I can make it happen.

~Jennifer 

Reverence

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Practicing Taoist Tai Chi® arts helps me treat everyone and everything in my life with respect, thoughtfulness and gratitude. Whenever I’m having a difficult time, I turn to my Taoist Tai Chi® practice. Almost immediately I start to feel reverence again towards the people around me, my home, my garden, my cooking.

~Galina

Osteoporosis Awareness Month

Posted on by USA Blog Editor

At 56, when I had been practicing the Taoist Tai Chi arts® for 6 months, I had a baseline bone density test. I’m now 66 and my doctor ordered a new test. As we age, we can expect to see a decrease in bone density. I was very pleased with my results: my bone density increased 8.1% in the lumbar spine and 5.3% in the left femoral neck. I now have empirical evidence that my practice has made me stronger and is transformative in so many ways.

~Mona