Greetings!
This past Friday we had our special 90 minute post Thanksgiving Luohan Qigong class. My intention was to play some rock & jazz music and vigorously coach people through three repetitions of the form and then some. Instead, it was virtually a silent class. Every time I thought about saying an encouraging word or cheering people on, nothing felt right. And so, with the exception of a few cues and a few words to encourage depth, 90 minutes of time & 1200 square feet of practice floor heard nothing but 25 people breathing in sync. It was extraordinary! During our last repetition of our dynamic Qigong, instead of feeling tired and wobbly we had more strength, not less, more pliancy, not less, more balance, not less. For me it was an exquisite example of the power of silence.
This time of the year challenges most of us. With all the externalized demands and internal expectations, it is hard to be quiet, to go deeply inward, to spend personal time reflecting. And yet this time of the year Nature encourages just this. Longer nights beckon us to sleep more, the cold lures us to cook thick warm soups, the slanted sun rays, never reaching an apex, organically draw us into ourselves. So much that is necessary towards a healthy, balanced life occurs right now, the least of which is excess activity. It is a time of storing our energy, not spending it, so we have oodles of it for spring, which is just around the corner.
Of course we need to stay active. We need to keep our blood, lymph and qi from stagnating. We need to keep our muscles, tendons, and mind juicy. Especially in the Pacific Northwest we need to drink in what sun we can. Yet, we need to be smart about what type of activities we call upon our body mind to engage in. Is the way we are spending our energy at any given time sustainable? Nourishing? A good investment for the future? These are good questions to ask and listening to the answer is a good way to hone and follow our intuition.
I feel grateful Embrace the Moon classes offers superb opportunities for me to practice in harmony with Nature this month. Being quiet, breathing in sync with others and moving mindfully is rich and delightful. The dojo is beautiful, people are joyful and we all revel in the opportunity to slow down, if even for an hour, together. This may not be our life on the outside, but it certainly can be on the inside.
I wish you all a joyous season full of happy social times balanced with quiet inward times.
Kim
