Meditation, Health, and Self-Defense

After an exhausting week of meetings, workshops, and high-maintenance children, I am ready for bed! But, here I am, updating my blog while waiting for the dryer to finish.

I did have a break in my week of rushing around, trying to get things done. I signed up for a Tai Chi course and yesterday was my first class of six. I chose Tai Chi (and another course which I will blog about next week when it starts) because I haven't been exercising regularly since I started my current job nearly four months ago. Even though yesterday was the first class, I've already learned a lot, not all about Tai Chi, however.

At first, it took me a while to get used to the instructor. Firstly, he answered my questions with indirect questions. Why do people do that? Unfortunately, I know I do it, too. I asked my instructor if he was the instructor of the class (because when I first entered the room, there were already a few people milling about) and he replied, "Does my jacket say coach?" Yes, it does, but that didn't answer my question. Then I asked him if it was ok to drop in even though the class was full. He replied, "You're here, aren't you?" Yes, I am, but that didn't answer my question either. By this point, I started to reconsider my decision to join this class, but I'm a stubborn person and if I was going to learn Tai Chi, well, darn it, I'm going to learn Tai Chi. Secondly, when he asked if anyone in the room knew martial arts, he looked directly at me. I'm thinking, O boy, here comes the lone Asian in Mission stereotype again. Lastly, he talked a lot about himself throughout the class, which is ok considering that I like to hear stories about other people, but after the first and second impression I got from him, I felt like he was just being pompous, going on and on about how he's a hippie, but he runs all these marathons and outranks younger athletes and how much Tai Chi training he has and how he's so fast despite being "old," which he doesn't think he is. With all that said, eventually I warmed up to the instructor and his humour and by the end of the class, I even got used to his indirect way of speaking.

By the way, my drop-in question was for D, whom I convinced that some exercise might help his sore back muscles. I'm not sure if D will go again next week.

There were about fifteen people in the class, mainly seniors or people in their fifties. Another couple and a woman looked to be about in their thirties or early forties. I wouldn't be surprised if I was the youngest one there. Some of the people had already taken Tai Chi before, but I think there were more people like me who have never taken it before and was just curious. I hope to make friends with a couple of the senior ladies who seemed to be there by themselves. I don't know why, but sometimes, I prefer the company of older folks. I used to volunteer in the Geriatric Unit at Mount Saint Joseph when I was in high school and I loved to hear stories of when they were young or fighting in the war or just plain "old and wise" advice. When I traveled and my travel agent "warned" me that my travel group tended to be of an older crowd, I realize how much I like their stories and our conversations. The younger travel group just partied a lot and when they got to the touristy places, they were too tired to enjoy them. I also admire the older male actors, like George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, and Sean Connery. I'm totally not into Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, or Zac Efron.

And I digress.

How embarrassingly un-Tai Chi-like. So much for meditation and zen.

Anyway, I can't wait until my Tai Chi flows more smoothly. I want to practice the positions, but we learned so much already that I could remember only some of the moves and even then, only in isolation and not in sequential order. My instructor did warn us that we wouldn't remember much besides our feet position during our deep breathing warm-up.

So, when do I start balancing on bamboo sticks, flying through the air, and creating fireballs out of my hands?