Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tip # 383
Bowl of Soup Meditation
It has been so glorious – weather wise – here in Port Townsend. The Park is the perfect place to play Tai Chi. This is 42 years we’ve been coming here.
This last Wednesday, we did a moving meditation that everybody enjoyed, so you might give it a try.
*Do stance practices, especially Bow and Sit Stance, Empty Steps, walking around in circles or straight without trying anything special. Just natural. Stop after a couple of minutes and feel how you feel.
*Using your imagination, place a cup of soup, filled to the top, with a crouton floating in the very center, in your lower belly (dantien) area.
*Now do your walking, and stances as before, but be aware of not spilling a drop of soup. After a couple of minutes, stop, relax, and feel how you feel.
*Next, move the cup of soup into your middle dantien (center of the chest), and go through the same process. Feel how you feel.
*Put the cup in the upper dantien (center of the forehead), do your walking, stop after a couple of minutes, then feel how you feel.
*You can stop here or get a bit fancy. Put cups in all three at the same time, walk or move anyway you like, don’t spill a drop. Try different combinations of cups
like bottom and top, or middle and upper, whatever. Always stop after a minute or two and feel how you feel.
*Finally, get really creative. Try Snake Creeps Down, all the different types of foot kicks, retreat steps, replace steps. Just don’t spill any soup.
This is a particularly good exercise to try just before mealtime. Enjoy.