The Dragon's Head Blog: Personal Practice in the Netherlands

In the beginning of the Corona lockdown I felt stressed and unsettled. In some ways, I was busier than ever with my family, struggling with limited energy, leaving me less and fragmented time to practice. 

Participating for the first time in the „Chanting for the World“ immediately calmed me down and made me very quiet. What a relief. Afterwards I looked out the window, the view was the same and yet it felt like I could look much further.

The chanting, talks and the zoom calls also helped me come to terms with my personal practice being now somewhat different, than what I thought it should be. When I could let go off this image I really started to appreciate the time and opportunity to practice. The talks also reminded me that there is an oppertunity to practice in everything that we do. 

Practicing made me realize I was relying on workshops or classes to fix a problem or get to the next point and personal practice was ‘homework’ or ‘maintenance’. Now I have the time to feel what my body needs and work more steadily/ diligently on a move or a part of the set. I was amazed that with a relaxed focus a change is suddenly there. 

Personal practice feels really different now, I feel much more benefit and appreciative for this gift ‘we can take with us where ever we go’. 

I am very grateful for this opportunity and everything that I learn from practicing Taoist arts, listening to the talks from the directors and trying to connect them together. I hope this will allow me to help others better.

A heartfelt thank you to Master Moy, the Directors and everybody in the Society for practicing together apart.

Manja, the Netherlands