Yin Turns to Yang – Last Tip of the Year – 12/28/2020

Congratulations to you and me. Me, for starting my sixth year of Monday Morning Tai Chi Training Tips, and you for reading them and encouraging me to keep going.

I always say that it is the student that teaches the instructor by asking questions and pushing the sharing of information along. Fifty two years ago I started on this Tai Chi Journey and there have been very few group sessions that I don’t, even to this day, continue to learn and grow.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you, one and all, for making my life feel like I am contributing something of value for all our lives. What more could one ask?

My goal when I started on the Tips, and even now, is not to teach the specific form moves, but to motivate you to research and practice on your own or in a group of like minded people. If you want to learn the specifics, go to my web site, www.gilmanstudio.com, and look at the online class section or go to YouTube where I have posted around two hundred videos. I encourage you to keep in mind the ultimate goal of playing Tai Chi is to discover your true self, and to bring out the best in others.

This past year has been a difficult one for most people, yet I have a strong feeling that we are starting to move through this into a Tai Chi life where the negative (yin) must always turn into the positive (yang). We will get through this and come out stronger.

We can think about these times and compare this to bow (yang) and sit (yin) stance. When we sit on our back leg, we are yin or negative, yet there is no place to go other than towards positive – the negative shrinks as the positive grows. And vice versa. When we are fully positive, we can then expect to move towards the negative.

The winter solstice was the fully negative making the turn towards positive, while the summer solstice marks the positive moving towards the negative. Life is like that. So we need to stay open to these natural changes and not get stuck in thinking one way or the other is the way it is going to be.

And keep in mind to do your best, don’t compare yourself to others, and make a little progress everyday. Be there to help others if they want your help. And a smile elevates the internal energy, so smile. It helps you and others.