The pandemic closed our sessions for an indefinite time. For a while we hoped to start again in summer of 2020 and this encouraged us, but it did not last long.
None of us was ready for such a situation, and each of us adapted to it in our own way. Thanks to new technologies, we can be in touch 24 hours a day, but nothing can replace meetings in person. At first, I very much welcomed chanting as a unique opportunity to improve my pronunciation and ability to follow a text.
Over time, I began to miss the atmosphere of chanting together. I was wondering whether or not I should take part in meetings and chanting sessions on Zoom. Then I realized that I had the opportunity to learn many other things for which there was no space during the meetings we were having before.
In my thoughts, I began to go back to the time of my beginnings of my Taoist Tai Chi® practice, when, like everyone else, I was focused only on practicing the moves. Over time, I have found that practice and people help me to be calmer and more balanced, more able to solve problems.
Leaving the rented building we had in Ostrava was a big challenge for me and I had to cope with it. At first, it was a problem to accept that we are going to close it. Over time, thanks to communication with the leaders in training, I understood the reasons why it was right to do so.
We are always encouraged to practice on our own, which I was already doing before the pandemic, so I had no problem with that. Nevertheless, like all of us, I really miss practicing together, but on the other hand, I have now time to think about the single moves.
