COMMITMENT

 

A series of essays….

I WILL COMMIT TO LEARN THE FLOATING, BIRD-LIKE 
FLUIDITY OF EACH TAI CHI POSTURE

….as seen through my eyes!

By: Jacqueline E Hughes

Tonight we begin a twelve-week Tai Chi program for beginners. I am excited, nervous, and a bit apprehensive all at the same time and for reasons I will elaborate on a bit later.

For now, we’re trying to find soft, loose, cotton clothing and our flattest soled shoes in order to make our debut in class. Since our move up here from Florida, many items of clothing remain boxed, packed into plastic tubs, or hung-up in our makeshift closet upstairs. It’s like playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek when trying to locate a particular item we remember possessing over four years ago but didn’t need again until now.

Some years ago, Dan and I decided to incorporate yoga into our lives and researched local Orlando instructors and found, Krista. Brilliant and young, Krista was a marvel of flexibility and genuine love. We visited her petite studio once a week, mats in hand, stretched and held positions with the best of them, and brought our newfound knowledge home with us to practice each night before the living room couch; our Cocker Spaniel, Brûlée, neatly snuggling into our elongated and outstretched arms and legs.

We were enjoying the commitment we’d made to ourselves in finding a meditative, physical activity that would, hopefully, replenish and strengthen our bodies and minds for the rest of our lives. (I’ve committed to my meditative process for many years and wouldn’t live without it if I tried.)

The pettiness of our decision to leave Krista and yoga instruction leaves me quite embarrassed. I always took pride in admitting that anything physical (exercise, working, walking, and yoga classes) remained possible in the heat of Central Florida only because we had the choice of being saturated by air conditioning throughout its application. Oh, yes! This was our way of coping with the heat and humidity, and it always seemed to work. 

Walking into Krista’s studio one Thursday evening around six weeks into the program, we realized the temperature inside was quizzically similar to the heat we had just escaped from on the outside. Placing our thin mats on the floor, we began our warm-up exercises and then smoothly transitioned into our programmed routine with perspiration encapsulating our bodies and a rosy shade of red spreading across my face. It was hot! Thus was our introduction to Hot Yoga with Krista setting the heat at around 85 degrees. (Doesn’t she love us anymore?)

Having a problem with an easily overheated core temperature which turns me into the shade of red reserved for a live lobster after being plunged into boiling water, it was difficult to continue; eliminating toxins be damned! We survived one more class after this with Krista insisting that the temperature of her little studio match that of a Florida summer day, no exceptions. I wimped out. Held the L-shaped finger logo up to my forehead and went home with my tail between my legs. 

Anyway, short of walking sandy beaches with the breeze bouncing off of our sun-drenched bodies, being too hot has never been my forte. Having a crystal clear, turquoise swimming pool to plunge into in our backyard had been my guilty pleasure for eleven years and I enjoyed doing just that almost everyday; swimming laps and exercising within the coolness of our pebble-tech pond. 

So, as we approach our initial Tai Chi class, clad in soft, loose clothing and flat-soled shoes and before the crispness of the autumn air or the chill of the first snowfall wraps its frosty arms around us, I will be grateful to see a few of our good friends in class with us tonight. Their support and kindness will be as welcome as a cool, spring breeze or a summertime of delicious Michigan landscapes. Together we will embrace our commitment to Beginners Tai Chi. I will learn the floating, bird-like fluidity of each organic Tai Chi posture and accept the love that surrounds me via family and friends. I will commit to the twelve weeks we signed-up for and do it with joy and happiness in my heart…

Has anyone even heard of ‘Hot Tai Chi?’ Please tell me you haven’t!

Words of Wisdom: I will never settle for a cabinet full of pills.

Copyright © 2022 by Jacqueline E Hughes

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