Food for Thoughts with Taichi Practice — San Francisco SoMa Taichi (San Francisco, CA)

Dear Practitioners,

Here are some thoughts to share with you as the the date is coming up for group renewal at meetup.

I am happy to see regular events through consistent participations. The best turn-out was when we had 6 practitioners! A couple of members are getting very close to become independent for practice. In the weeks that I was unavailable, the practice continued a couple of times.

At the same time, I see challenges in keeping this group going.

I learned recently from my Taichi Shifu that he is now considering teaching a simpler form to attract more people, because many cannot finish learning Taichi 24.

This is revealing to me because Taichi 24 takes only 3–4 minutes for a regular person to finish. It seems that we have become so trapped in this busy society, such that we cannot even slow down enough to learn something as simple as this. It has become so epidemic such that my Shifu, a monk from Shaolin Temple who used to practice hours every day, is now accepting this fact and trying to cope with it.

As part of the effort to keep this group going, I have started saying “No” to certain things. I wanted to use this opportunity to see if I have a hope to have the right focus in my life. It was certainly difficult at times, especially when the strategic account executives were asking me to get on a customer call. But it was proven to be possible. The world didn’t explode around me and I still got my job. In fact, the regular Taichi practice provided the needed focus, relaxation and health. I have not had the need to take a sick day. I feel more capable at my work than before.

As I am sharing the above story, I am curious to hear if you have similar story to tell and any thoughts you would like to share. I wonder if you also see this meetup group as a form of social experiment.

If you are more action oriented, here is the ask:

Please look into your schedule and seriously plan to join at least once a month for practice. It wouldn’t be easy, but it will work if you are serious enough about just once a month and schedule that on your calendar. If you really cannot join, I am hoping I have motivated you to introduce this meetup to two or three others around you who share the same motivation, and make the same ask.

In another six months, one of the two things will happen with this group:

• We achieve our goal of creating a community-based group that happens regularly on a weekly basis or promotes wellness through Taichi practices.
• we disband this group and try something else.

Thanks for reading. Have a nice weekend!

Shane