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Good Workout
A good Tai Chi/Qigong workout is one that is appropriate. It
attends to the body, the needs of the mind, and the needs of the spirit.
When one has a good practice, one vitalizes the body, one activates the
mind and one raises the spirit.
A good workout circulates energy naturally and vigorously without
over stressing the body, or over stimulating the mind. A good workout
clears out stagnancy and dissipates negative inertia. A good workout
creates openness, vitality and fluidity.
You know you’ve had a good workout when you feel exuberant and
cleansed afterward; when both the mind and body feel alive and free of
blockages. You know you’ve had a good workout when, during your
workout, you have challenged the body and the mind and yet not
discouraged it. You know you’ve had a good workout when the air all
around you seems light and buoyant, and the body has a sense of ease,
while at the same time being rooted to the earth.
You know that you’ve had a good workout when there is no doubt-
no doubt that you have just exercised, that you have done enough, and
that you have just affected the mind and the body
You know that you’ve had a good workout when it takes you away
for a while. When you forget time, place and petty concerns and become
the exercise completely. After a good workout you realize that you have
been away in another world, a world of total concentration and
mindfulness, a world of wholeness and unity.
A good workout is balanced. It realigns the edges of one’s soul
and integrity. It joins one to that split off part of oneself and
reaffirms the whole. A good workout unites oneself with the completion
and beauty yearned for deep inside. It touches the healthy aggregate one
knows is but too often missed.
Lastly, a good Tai Chi/Qigong workout gives the body what it
needs to be vital, alive and healthy. A good workout satisfies one’s
craving for substance. A good workout offers one’s spirit a chance to
soar.
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