Looking Back, Inward, Foward

Sas Stark

Looking back

What an interesting and evolutionary 12 months this last year has been, not just for me, but for the school and everyone who has been able to attend. Personally 2012 has been all about adding focus and intent to my tai chi practice. You would never guess at the scope of change focusing on one tiny “intent” could bring. By honing in (on the point at the tip of my sword, the desire to grow, and the desire to define my art and practice) and delving deeper into my familiar and comfortably safe practice, I find myself in a delicious new place.

Intent came into play again when I put my tai chi purpose into words, crafting another layer of focus. These guiding ideas infused my practice while I shared the beauty and power of nature with anyone looking to explore. Saturday mornings came alive.

Tai chi practice in Welles Park was ever changing. From weather, to attendance, to little league, or a carnival, and the energy just kept flowing. We deeply rooted to place, and were able to joyfully express our gratitude by volunteering at the Montrose Beach Dunes one hot August day. After clearing Cottonwood seedlings we found the perfect grove of trees for an tai chi practice nestled among sand and grass next to the Lake Michigan shore. This energetically juicy spot holds promise for outdoor gatherings in our future.

The wrap to my very full summer came at the Dragon painting event at Ravenswood Art Walk. The “Paint Off” between tai chi brother Chris Zalek and I was won with Chris’s entry of, “Trogdor, the burninator!” Who knew there was a Dragon buried deep inside that gentile sheep.

Looking inward

With all this attention to focus and intent, I discovered an inner discernment and voice for my practice. You will notice that the best observer of your intent is your Self. Typically (not at this school) learning and competency are gauged through comparison with others in class, yet understanding your challenge with intent needs no comparison, only your own judgement and evaluation. Building this inner awareness and evaluation process really opened the channel for a deeper inner dialogue for me and I have been able to slowly change my inner critic into the voice of an inner champion.

I encourage you to invite the supreme judge to weigh in on your practice by scheduling a private with Elizabeth to receive her sage advice and her laser like scrutiny. In the mean time, try building this self sustaining/perpetuating awareness and evaluation ability into your internal practice. You will like who you meet there.

Looking forward

I have two ideas for our coming year.

First, I’d like to invite you to a new class I will be teaching in the new year. Look for announcements about a Wednesday morning class featuring the Chen Man-ch’ing 37 posture form. This short form practice is grounded foundationally in the postures we practice here at the school, with slight variations. Begin your Wednesday with a simplified and invigorating practice. I look forward to sharing this with all you morning people (you know who you are), so please stay tuned for details.

Secondly, I’d like to invite you to join in an outdoor practice with me throughout the Winter months. I plan to find at least one Saturday or Sunday each month to take our tai chi to the lakefront, or to a park or perhaps a location you suggest. Check for postings on the school facebook page and at the school where I will announce the events. You will look at Winter in Chicago in a whole new way.

Thanks,
SAS

Get Outside

Sas Stark

My big idea?
Get outside.
Repeat.

I started my year, bellying up to Elizabeth’s kitchen table with some great friends the morning of January 1st. While bandying about our stories and laughs, an idea took form for my Tai Chi practice and exploration. Take it outside. “We live in Chicago” you say. Not such an intriguing idea in the depths of winter. However, I believe (as does the latest issue of Outside magazine) “that getting outside makes you smarter, happier and want to fix the planet”. All good things in my book. I knew that with the exuberance that Chicagoans embrace the outdoors in summer months, sharing an outdoor Tai Chi practice was what I wanted to do.

I got to enjoy practicing outside at Welles Park with many of you this last summer, and I thank you for enriching my life. I have gone a bit dormant with my outside practice here in Chicago now that it’s getting colder, but plan to kick it up again in my travels to warmer climbs, and I encourage you to as well. And yes, there is always next summer.
Most of all, in a form that asks you to turn inward and develop your internal Tai Chi art, I would propose that this practice among the trees, the cool grass, the crazy squirrels inevitably asks you to look outward and connect with nature, invest in nurturing the environment that teaches us so much. Yes, it opens your eyes and heat to heal the planet.
Here are 5 smart reasons I’d like you to keep in mind as you consider your own outside practice that I found in the afore mentioned Outside magazine. Cognitive scientists are only just beginning to understand what being in nature does for our mental health. But the evidence is promising.

1. INCREASED ATTENTION SPAN. A 2008 study by University of Michigan psychologists found that walking outside or even just looking at pictures of natural settings improves directed attention, the ability to concentrate on a task. Put another way, nature restores our ability to focus.

2. BETTER MEMORY. The same study supported previous experiments showing that being in nature improves memory - by 20 percent when it came to recalling a series of numbers.

3. REDUCED STRESS. Office workers with views of trees and flowers reported lower stress levels, higher job satisfaction, and fewer physical ailments than colleagues with views of buildings, according to a 1989 study by the University of Michigan.

4. IMPROVED MOOD. In a 1991 study by Texas A&M psychologists, subjects who viewed scenes of water or trees reported a much quicker return to a positive mood after a stressful event than those who viewed urban scenes.

5. GREATER CREATIVITY. In a pilot study this March, psychologists found that students in an Outward Bound course showed a 40 percent boost in frontal-lobe activity - which is linked to creativity - after four days in the backcountry.
This is just my way to explore the Tai Chi form. I encourage you to find something that truly matters and make it yours.

SAS

Sas Stark - Newsletter 2010

Reflections of my last year begin personally. The passing of a loved one and the turn in health of others close to me have filled my life with change, challenge and a lot of “unexpected”. Changes that contain my deepest lessons yet in balance, true alignment and the flow of life and energy – in other words how to keep my head above water and do it with grace, ha ha!

For the past twelve months I made a choice to be present for the loved ones around me who were in need, and to offer unconditional love and support where I could. To do that, do it well, travel and keep a modicum of sanity, I needed to find a fuel to allow myself to flourish without becoming drained. Of course you would think food the obvious choice for fuel, but I was looking for something to replenish the light, laughter, love and the spirit that rises to meet the tumbles life throws your way. Already I knew Tai Chi and the family of friends who practice at school were my foundation. I decided my next step was to reenergize my core (air out my soul, fluff up my positive energy) by boosting my connection with heaven and earth and grounding in nature and the outdoors.

I love being outside (tough for a redhead) and the occasional outdoor event through TCCC led me to my biweekly Saturday mornings at Welles Park this Summer practicing Tai Chi with all who could join. It showed me that a mere hour spent among the blossoms, tree roots and squirrels can fill you with wonder, contentment and a little joy. The opportunity to observe the environment, the changing seasons and elements, the rhythms of life while you’re in the slow moving exploration of the Tai Chi form provides a peek at a deeply rooted and connected source. A source with the power to fill me up with the fuel I needed. The contrast of an hour practice indoors to an exploration outside on spongy resilient earth and brilliant sky, provided a wonderful alignment to my perspective and a renewed connection to the earth.

So, with this small taste of the unlimited me and the promise of a new year, I share with you an idea that you are more than you appear to be. Dig deep while practicing at home, at school and outside wherever your heart connects and fill up with what fuels the true you. And while you are at it, think of where you would like to practice Tai Chi outside in the Chicago area. Where would you like to spend an hour sinking deeply into the earth, extending high up into the atmosphere and expanding outward to the warmth of the horizon? I’ll meet you there.

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Tai Chi at Wells Park

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Sas Stark - Newsletter 2009

SAS STARK
Time Out

Over the last year I have learned to love the words, “Time Out”. To me these words define the time I allow my mind and body to step back from the maddening fast forward progress of life and pause to observe and reflect. My time outs happen daily, weekly, monthly, really any time I get the chance to become more present and to align with my world.

I have seen the Tai Chi Center of Chicago grow and stretch this last year, deepening its roots in the vibrant Ravenswood neighborhood, as well as stretching out with a sense of community to students both new and old. Offering this bond of Tai Chi family to all, the school’s serine and peaceful atmosphere has given many the opportunity to experience their own “Time Out”. The benefits those moments of clarity and understanding provide us are what I cherish most about our school.

Last years growth in our internal and external community has lead me to believe more will be in store for the coming twelve months. I look forward to something like to a community feedback loop taking shape, a space that builds by giving and receiving. And yes, I also look forward to more of the intermediate and advanced students gaining the knowledge and passion for Tai Chi weapons - Yeah, rock on!

And beyond that - I would welcome everyone embracing my new Tai Chi Center Chicago motto, developed by CZ and I while training with Sifu Elizabeth Wenscott, “TCCC - all practice all the time!”

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