Author: annebower

Former academic, tai chi instructor since 2005, tai chi trainer since 2014, writer

How low can you go?

annebower

Those of us with a few years under our belts remember the Limbo, with everyone bending backwards trying to get under the pole and the person capable of bending furthest–without falling over– winning the game. Hawaiin music, tropical drinks of one kind or another. Lots of laughter.

These days, with all the political chaos, it sure feels like we’re in limbo and I ask myself how low will some of these politicians sink. They go down, down, down, and when they do, perhaps they feel like they’ve won, but oh man, the rest of us will be losers.

As a tai chi practitioner and teacher, it seems inappropriate for me to write about the political scene, but it simply can’t be ignored. What it can be is at least balanced by other kinds of activities: tai chi, dancing, writing, drawing, qigong, swimming, long walks in a bright snow-filled landscape or on a beach somewhere. Deep breaths. Lots of them.

Hold onto your balance and then dive back in. Decide where you can make meaningful donations of time or money. Breathe again. Read the news. Breathe. Return to tai chi….

Hold your values close and your friends closer!

How to quit worrying

annebower

In an episode of “Now Hear This,” a PBS series, the host, Scott Yoo, is with music students and asks them if they are worried about their future. Hesitantly, as if worried the question harbors a trick, a few students raise their hands, then more, and more join. Yoo nods, clearly sympathetic, but then tells them what they can do to stop that worry. “Practice!” He goes on to say that when you are practicing and doing your best to practice well you are not worried. You’re not thinking about the future and what it may hold, you’re not looking back to the past and mistakes you’ve made then, you’re simply concentrating on your instrument, the music score, your technique, listening, working hard.

Is it any different with tai chi or writing? These are my main occupations. With tai chi, the instrument is your body and your practice concerns moving that instrument as well as you can, following the “score” of a particular tai chi form. But your mind is part of that body, isn’t it? Visualizing the movements, talking yourself through the sequence, remembering what you’ve been taught. The mind and body make neurological connections and when you’re in that practice, really in it, there’s no room for worry.

With writing your instrument is thought/imagination/visualization/words/research sometimes, but also the whole nervous system that allows the mental activity to generate through the hands as they type or write. Whether it’s a letter, a poem, an essay, a grant, an article, a story, a journal entry–you’re IN it, and you are not worrying about the bills, an illness, an upcoming obligation.

Okay, folks. Practice your art, whatever it is and banish those worries!!

It’s too darn cold

annebower

There was a pop song ages ago about it being “too darn hot,” and of course, the double entendre was clear. I guess we could apply different meanings to cold, but mostly, at least as I intend it, my reference is to the outdoor temperature exclusively. We laugh and say, it’s Vermont, what do you expect? And for those of you sporty types, skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, the cold is welcome, preserving the snow.

When I’ve been outside–shoveling paths, bringing in wood from our double stack, I come inside, get something hot to drink, kick back and dream of warm places, imagining myself transported to southern California, Puerto Rico, Key West. That imaginary respite works wonders. Do I want to live in any of those places? Noooooo. Even traveling to one of them for a vacation holds but slight appeal–airports, airplanes, the nonluxury hotel that would “make sense.”

Isn’t the imagination a wonderful thing? It allows travel, it allows fantasies of writing the Great American Novel, of magically becoming a ballerina or an accomplished watercolorist. And once an imaginative excursion has been enjoyed, we return to our normal pursuits, indoors or out, and can feel a bit renewed.

Happy Solstice

annebower

I seldom bake but decided to undertake a lemon meringue pie–everything from scratch–today. Much staring at recipes, lots of measuring, mixing, two bakes (one to pre-bake crust, then to bake the whole thing). If it tastes as good as it looks I’ll be contented. What’s more solstice-appropriate than the lemon filling for the sun and longer days returning, the meringue for clouds we’d like to see less of, and the crust, well–I honor the crust of the earth, foundation of us all.

Ending 2024

annebower

It’s been a year of ups and downs at our house. A family death, a fun trip to Quebec; a family member with a new illness; a great family reunion right here in Vermont; a good enough garden season, but something attacked the broccoli; a year full of wonderful tai chi students eagerly learning but technological issues interrupting my capacity to offer classes and provide a decent website. But that’s the way it goes. We plow ahead and do the best we can.

Here’s to 2025 and may it hold less disruption than I anticipate. We shall see. No matter what happens we trundle on with as much kindness and honesty as possible. Enjoy your holidays!!

Seasonal changes

annebower

On the “Classes” page of this website I’ve just posted the schedule for January, February, and March. All these sessions will be via Zoom, which isn’t ideal but does allow folks from just about anywhere to join. And it means that as the Instructor, I will not be toodling up and down snowy/icy dirt roads to get to paved roads to get to physical teaching locations. It also means I’ll teach fewer classes and hibernate a bit more!

Since winter is rather tough up here in Vermont (though not for those of you who love skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, etc.), hibernation holds appeal. But we still need exercise. At our place that means tai chi, stretches and weight lifting, stacking wood, shoveling snow, and with appropriate secure footgear, some walks as well. More books to read, more writing, more movies, more deep cleaning, more soups to simmer, but yes, occasional visits and special events.

Happy Solstice in just a couple of weeks!!

Weighty matters

annebower

It’s so easy to get wound up in your worries and responsibilities. Bills to pay, groceries to purchase, calls and emails needing attention, your job or volunteer work duties, fears about health, politics, relationships. You know what I mean. All that buzzes around in your head and weighs you down. It takes a toll on your body too–tension builds up in unexpected ways.

Now I’m not a big fan of going to the gym or doing weight-lifting at home, but recently have discovered that a short program of stretches and hefting the dumbbells has unexpected results. Yeah, yeah, the exercise is good for my physical muscles and flexibility. But here’s the thing–making the body stronger makes the mind stronger too. More resilient. More able to push the worries and ruminations aside.

Let me know if you have found this to be true for you, whether through a program of weight-lifting or some other vigorous physical activity (brisker walking, running, swimming, pickle ball, for example).

Tai Chi in Chilly Weather

annebower

Today at the Thompson Center in Woodstock VT a big event occupied every space in the building. It was gray and just 54 degrees outdoors but we put on our jackets, some donned gloves and/or hats as well, and for an hour enjoyed the grass and leaves below our feet, the rustling oakleaf hydrangeas, the passing cars and people, the sounds of hammering in the background (remodeling going on at the Thompson). A complete run through of Sun 73 Forms taught us the slant of the ground. When we moved on to Yang 24 forms with its four steps backwards for “repulse monkeys,” our feet were secure even as we step back on a gentle downward slope. We made improvements in the movements we know and added two new ones (with multiple demonstrations and practicing). Tai chi really is the anywhere, anytime exercise.

Please tai chi–keep me calm

annebower

Tai chi’s capacity to focus our attention, bring serenity and mindfulness is truly outstanding. Yet there are times when its temporary help isn’t nearly enough. I know its deemed inappropriate in a place like this to get political, but people, I tremble when contemplating what a Trump presidency would mean. Please, please, please do whatever you can to make sure this doesn’t happen.

If I have offended you with this post, sorry. But this is just too important a matter for silence. My values push me to teach tai chi and bring its healthy benefits to as many people as I can. My values let me honor my family, the natural world around me, all those who strive for peace. And my values will not allow silence about an election that is so important.

Do what you can. Thanks.

Taking time “off”

annebower

Of course time is always on, but how we manage it, how we let the minutes drive us–that lies within our power. During a recent vacation with family members up in Canada’s Eastern Township area and then Quebec City, release from usual duties gave my hours a different flavor. Perhaps it was the luxury of eating good food cooked by others, soaking up the brilliance of artists’ work in the National Art Museum, the pleasure of walking through sunny or rainy streets full of buildings hundreds of years old yet alive with today’s activities. Perhaps it was sleeping late, not even thinking about what the clock told.

A vacation like that is both stimulating and relaxing. So how do we bring that back home and hold onto the ease and receptiveness experienced while away? Can you give yourself a “staycation” or a mini-vacation? Take time off for good books, a trip to a gallery or museum where you really dwell with the art, a quiet walk somewhere you’ve never walked before? Put on a symphony, sit and simply listen? Put on some jazz or rock n roll and dance around your living room? Take yourself to a restaurant for a style of food you’ve not tried before and truly taste what you’re served.

It’s not enough to sit on the couch and watch another Netflix movie. Taking time “off” requires a little effort. Think about it. Then relax and really let yourself enjoy the gifted hours.