Tai Chi in SPACE!!!!

DAN MENZEL - Tai Chi in SPACE!!!!

With the advent of the twentieth century, we as a thoughtful, coherent species have spent a great deal of time pondering space travel. From solid fuel model rockets to tin can capsules on the moon, up to the solar panels that charge the Mars rovers of today, and as of yet, beyond. Perhaps even seeing a martian landscape through the eyes of one of our own astronauts in this lifetime!

We have put a lot of our brain-trust into the well being of the past and present life support issues facing astronauts. Things like keeping their lungs filled with oxygen, food systems that offer incredibly nutritious and efficient diet, and of course regimens of exercise. I think it is quite safe to say that “all of these are cornerstones in the healthy condition of the ship and crew“. Fascinating stuff, thus the proven relevancy that it has reached into our mainstream psyche, and permeates our everyday media. To the point where somebody exclaiming the likes of “ they don’t need that much oxygen!”, or “ just feed them junk food, or fast food”, or how about, “they don’t need to exercise, they’ll be fit enough once they reach their destination, hell, why not let them smoke as well!”. Statements like this in any crowd would start a maelstrom of comments to the contrary. Even saying this out loud as I write seems, er…just silly…Which brings me to my point.

We, each of us, the individual, is on our own spaceship. It is called “the body”. And we are each traveling at the speed of a lifetime, toward our own goals, upon our own paths, both inconsequential to each other, yet of extreme importance to ourselves.

And yes, the very life support systems our space travelers need are THE exact life support systems that each one of us must have for our individual quests in life.

So, I ask you: Why would you not take the steps necessary to ensure you, the very best possible chances for the freedom of a healthy journey leading you to your goals and desires? Isn’t it time to rise to your own occasion?

Our healthy lifestyle opportunities are endless, though, when it comes to deciding your first steps…

Honestly, I am a bit biased myself. Regular practice of Tai Chi Chuan over the years, for me, has shown me so many positive aspects of mind(intent), body(vigor), spirit(vitality) and breath. I have seen first hand how it relieves stress while gently strengthening my body inside and out. I am 54 and feel great. Besides the occasional cold, I rarely get sick. My focus and balance are sharp as my feet are grounded. And when I’m in the same room with other calm, happy, healthy minded people, no matter what age, my spirit rises that much higher. As we are all striving for a better future, together.

All the best,
Dan

Yoga With Tracy Von Kaenel - 2012

Yoga With Tracy Von Kaenel

2012 was a year of growth, both spiritually and in the amount of bodies with a desire to add yoga to their lives. The class sizes grew to a healthy number, a pure indication that something good is going on at the Tai Chi Center of Chicago. There were more requests for private yoga lessons and Yogassages as people once again acknowledged the importance of taking care of one’s self. And the Aerial yoga program has been steadily expanding, introducing dozens of new and experienced yogis to this unique form of the practice.

A group of yoga instructors from Iowa made the trip to Chicago to experience Aerial Yoga from Tracy Von Kaenel and are now offering it to their students in the Quad Cities. In fact folks from all around have come to study Aerial Yoga, including The Suburban Yoga Network Connection (SYNC) who brought their group to the city for a workshop. The 7 teachers enjoyed the workshop and then shared their enthusiasm with Yoga Chicago magazine. I was also blessed with enthusiastic instructors traveling to Chicago to learn the Aerial techniques from as far away as California and even Brazil. I even got Elizabeth (yes THAT Elizabeth!) to tip upside down on the sling a few times….wee!

The yoga classes enjoyed some specialty classes again this summer including a Chakra balancing class, Zen Practice, Cardio Yoga, and a lovely outdoor class in a beautiful hidden garden in the neighborhood. I continue to be impressed by the level of dedication from this enlightened group. Their spirits and energy continue to bring joy to the practice, in the studio or in the garden.

One of my personal favorite highlights of the year was in September. Yoga with Tracy Von Kaenel hosted a Yoga Retreat inviting those who’ve consistently studied with me the longest to a beautiful lakefront home in Kenosha for a full weekend of yoga philosophy, asana class, healing circles, delicious vegetarian food, like-minded community and lots of fun. It was a great experience and everyone returned with a new sense of centeredness and peacefulness, which they continue to share with everyone back home.

Our participation in the Ravenswood Art Walk this year included 13 yogis and yoginis participating in a choreographed piece that weaved together a flowing yoga practice, aerial yoga, aerial dance, and a community chant of Om Mani Padme Hum. It was very well attended and very well received. Thanks to all the dedicated yogis and yoginis for their hard work, and to our guest dancer Danielle…. all of them are amazing.

The only thing missing this year was even more yogis. Many of the regulars have had to stop coming due to circumstances in their lives. There’s not a class I teach that I don’t think of them and miss them. Every student who’s ever come through the doors of TCC is incredibly special to me, and such an important part of my life. My continued Samkalpa is for those students to find a way to get back into a yoga practice (whether it’s with me or not). I know how important the practice is to a harmonious life and I would love everyone to experience that.

I look forward to 2013 with open arms. There are some great new things on the horizon. The Aerial classes will be moving to a new time, Mondays 6-7p.m and we’ll be starting a new Zen Yoga class on Mondays from 7:30-8:30 pm. I’m excited about the Aerial move, as it will allow this energetic practice to be practiced at an earlier time of the day and also excited to close the day with a soothing and rejuvenating Zen practice. I bid a fond farewell to a very good year, and a hearty welcome to the next, which will be even better. Namaste.

Namaste,
Tracy

Three Teachers

Don Tomei - Three Teachers

We all have three teachers. 1 – Our masters Our masters are the ones who come before us, or who are inherently superior to us in some way. They see clearly in our dark corners. They easily fathom what confounds us. Of all the lessons we learn from our masters, the most profound is that there is a path to follow that can take us from where we are to where we want to be. From our masters we gain wisdom, certainty, direction, assurance and encouragement. 2 – Ourselves The self lives in the only room we can never leave. It’s the perspective we can never change, the critic we can never please. But it’s also the only room we can decorate any way we like. From ourselves we learn discipline, accountability, pride and arrogance, but also shame, disappointment, confusion and regret. No teacher is closer to our inner thoughts than the self, yet none is more difficult to comprehend. 3 – Our students Our students are the most demanding teachers of all. They judge us not with their opinions, but with their lives. Their trust is our ultimate master. We may claim some part of their success, but their failure is indelibly ours without question. From our students we learn humility, patience, courage, nurturing and selflessness. All three of these teachers give us a priceless gift. There is no more trusted guide than a sage master. There is no truer friend than a centered self. There is no greater honor than a devoted student. Separately they allow us to explore a deep and profound art. Together they enable us to achieve mastery of our art and ourselves.

Experience is “my path” and every Person a Teacher

Sharon Fierro - Wellness Qigong

Meditating during World Tai Chi & Qigong Day

My experience this year has been predominantly as a student. With the awareness that each experience is “my path” and every person a teacher, I was blessed with many valuable teachings in 2012. So, I would like to share some of the many sources of my learning. My hope for the coming year, is to expand my teaching and work in the community to reflect these lessons.

My time caring for my aging parents in their final stages of life has been my greatest source of joy, sadness, reflective learning and healing. My mom has shown me the love, courage, wisdom and grace of a caring, compassionate woman of character. My dad has shown me the sweet vulnerability and strength of a man who has devoted his life to “taking care” of his wife and family. My brother has shown me another way of healing with his equanimity, sense of humor and devotion to our family as a whole. The practice of being present, accepting life “as it is” (and people as they are), reconnecting with my family and compassionately facing our loss has opened my heart.

During this time, a good friend contributed this valuable insight: “Sharon, this part of our lives requires a lot of resourcefulness, fortitude, compassion and patience and you seem to have deep reserves. Unconditional love just isn’t good enough…”

The generous teachings, support and kindness of Elizabeth Wenscott, Lisa Hish, my tai chi family and many friends helped create and restore these reserves, as well as inspire an awakening of the divine wisdom and teacher within. The writings of Zen teacher, Ezra Bayda in his book “Zen Heart” and Taoist , Michael Saso in “The Gold Pavillion-Taoist Ways of Peace, Healing and Long Life” served as inspiration as well. Thank you, divine teachers…. “Kindness of the Heart…Breath of Life…I bow to you, again and again. Lotus sitting on the water, beyond time and space, this is your way this is your grace…” by Snatum Kaur.

The Effort is a Part of the Beauty; The Simplicity and the Repetition

Christine Wallers - 2012

The effort is part of the beauty; the simplicity and the repetition.

Snowstorm, Nightwood, Tree Fort, The Angelus, Defibrillator, Francesca Woodman, Jellies,
The Finite Passing of Infinite Passion, Orlando, Vermillion, Cary Grant, Tequila, Nova, Castenada,
Tattoo Heart Ink, Father Beaven, BLB, StreamLines, Carmel, Spaulding, Agnes Martin, Cercius,
Light Sleeve, Lake Superior, H2 Recorder, Sophie Calle, Vaishali, Skype, Bram, Mavis Galant, Perfect Mix.

I am a Cliché

Kipling Swehla - Meditation 

Version 1 
I am a cliché. It's been eleven weeks, 19 hours, and 37 minutes since I was a normal, self-absorbed human being. I do not mean this in a derogatory way. I don't have anything against how I was. It's perfectly normal. But now, normal is inconceivable. I wouldn't describe myself as a workaholic but I would say if I was awake I was focused on all the things that I needed to get done. Then my daughter was born and that pretty much changed everything. She has a way of making the present moment the only thing that exists. It’s very calming and amazing watching the uncarved block take shape...

 
Version 2
 I’m unbelievably angry. 20 children were just gunned down by means of a semiautomatic assault rifle. People ask how can something like this happen. It’s obvious. The US Congress has become a brothel and laws can be bought and sold by the highest bidder. The NRA has given millions of dollars to politicians to make sure there are no laws or even discussions on limiting access to weapons intended to unleash rapid mass casualties. These politicians had no objections to spending a Trillion dollars on an unprovoked war in Iraq while simultaneously trying to eliminate every penny spent on health care and mental well being because “there isn’t money in the budget.” You may ask what does this have to do with Tai Chi and meditation and my answer is Everything!

Final Version 
It is Sunday afternoon and I just got back from doing Tai Chi twice then meditation. When asked this morning “how are you?”, instead of giving my normal flippant answer, “I am”, I couldn't help but to answer “I’m angry.” It wasn’t until standing meditation, focusing on slow deep breathing, that the anger dissipated and I became grounded.

 Tai chi and meditation are a spiritual practice. Spirituality isn't something you can sit in a pew and have a collared man unleash onto you or something that somebody reading from a book can logicate into your brain. (I realize logicate isn't a word but it should be.) The spirituality of Tai Chi and meditation are experienced by observing and by doing.

 Watch a baby breathe, her abdomen rising and emptying versus an angry old man breathing into his upper chest rapidly inhaling and exhaling like a semiautomatic weapon expelling spent shells.

 See a baby fold and easily put her feet in her mouth compared to a dry brittle stick breaking with the slightest bend.

 Observe children during horseplay, tumbling and laughing, as opposed to a bar fight with clenched fists, tightened muscles, and angry words spewed.

 Admire the way liquid hits liquid and grows while becoming one in contrast to a metal axe being dulled while chopping and splintering wood.

 There are many quotes in the Tao Te Ching reiterating this such as “If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, If you can dream - and not make dreams your master, If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue or walk with Kings nor lose the common touch, Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it.”

 Okay, maybe that was Rudyard Kipling’s poem If but seeing as I was named after the guy I feel okay slipping that in.

 My point in all of this is that it is time for us who do Tai Chi, meditation, and other such arts to lead by example. In cities, the anger of honking drivers is contagious but now is the time to show that inner peace and calm are equally contagious. Tai chi isn't something you should do just a couple hours a week, it is the way you should live your life 24/7. It is the way you sleep, the way you wake up, the way you eat, the way you interact, the way you talk, walk, and stand. It’s time for Tai Chi to drown out the insanity which seems to be taking over the world.

Year of the Snake Inspires Spiritual Rebirth - CHI - January 2013 - Chicago, IL

Year of the Snake Inspires Spiritual Rebirth - CHI - January 2013 - Chicago, IL

World Tai Chi & Qigong Day 2012

Have you wondered what Tai Chi or Qigong could do for you?
Do you want to know why so many health and aging experts recommend these practices to promote long, healthy life?

Find out for FREE!

Join us on World Tai Chi & Qigong Day (the last Saturday of April) for a celebration of the health and longevity that Tai Chi and Qigong practitioners have enjoyed for thousands of years. On this special day, our teaching staff and students will travel the Northcenter community lead ing FREE guided practice sessions in both Tai Chi and Qigong.

All levels of experience are welcome in this once a year event.
The Tai Chi Center of Chicago invites you to
The World Tai Chi & Qigong Day
Northcenter Wellness Tour
Saturday April 28, 2012
9:30 am - 2:00 pm

In case of rain showers, all outdoor venues will be cancelled and instead take place at the Tai Chi Center of Chicago.
Call 773.396.2653 if the weather is questionable and you want to know where we are.

Choose one or more of these FREE sessions to discover what balance, breath and focused movement will bring to you:

LIST OF EVENTS
9:30 - 10:30 am Qigong @ the Tai Chi Center of Chicago
11:00 - 12:00 pm Tai Chi @ the Tai Chi Center of Chicago
(4043 N. Ravenswood Ave. Suite 228)
12:30 - 1:00 Tai Chi & Qigong @ Northcenter Town Square
(corner of Damen Ave. and Bell Plaine Ave.)
1:30 - 2:00 Tai Chi & Qigong @ Wells Park
(between Montrose Ave. and Sunnyside Ave. on Lincoln Ave.)

JOIN US and learn how to improve YOUR well-being!

World Tai Chi and Qigong Day (WTCQD) is an annual event held the last Saturday of April each year to promote the related disciplines of T'ai Chi Ch'uan and qigong around the world since 1999. For more information on World Tai Chi and Qigong Day, additional events, and the Tai Chi and Qigong Medical Research Library please visit http://worldtaichiday.org

Fire Dragon Pearl #1: Forgiveness

I am a Fire Dragon. Just ask my husband. It’s rarely boring at home, but sometimes my fiery nature gets me into trouble! I would say “into the doghouse” but if you’re a Dragon, you generally don’t like Dogs. Sorry. It’s nothing personal. I actually do know a lot of nice Dogs but I can’t think of any right now. (Just kidding!)

I’ve been gathering yin since the Chinese New Year and have been inspired to share a few thoughts from a Dragon’s perspective about how to cultivate abundance. Every so often I’d like to share a “pearl” that has been brewing in caldrons deep. As with anything that you encounter in life, you are welcome to keep it, throw it away, or just hold it for a little while.

In the beginning, the recipe for abundance calls for an open and clear space. We all need space to create, both inside and out. My first pearl is forgiveness, quite a sticky subject, but whenever you are ready to forgive yourself or someone else, quite a bit of personal energy can be liberated and reclaimed.

Because of all the baggage attached to this word, let me emphasize that the power of forgiveness is a gift that you give to yourself. It is releasing the debt or expectation of repayment from someone who has wronged you. It means returning energy and power back to you to create what you desire in your life.

Forgiveness is a process that you consciously choose to enter. Timing is important. It must happen when you are ready to do it. It can be done without the participation or apology of another and may need to be done multiple times. This is not to be confused with being a doormat or emotional pincushion, however.

Forgiveness does not invalidate impact. It does not condone an action but pardons it. The essential spirit of forgiveness does not intend to enable or support bad behavior. Depending on the situation, it does not necessarily mean maintaining the same relationship status with the person you are forgiving. It is even entirely possible (albeit difficult) to forgive someone that you never want to see again.

So I invite you to glance inside yourself, roll up your sleeves, and do a little internal space clearing if you feel that the season is right. Is there anything that you could clear out now to make more room for what you’d like to create?

Joanna Rossi

A Year in Retrospect 2011

Elizabeth Wenscott

50/30/20

For me this fall begins a three-part celebration. In October I turned 50. Now some of you are probably saying, "Whoop-de-doo! It's not like you turned 100 with 20/20 vision and all of your teeth for goodness sakes!" And normally I would agree. But this year is a little different... a little extra special, possibly worthy of the front page of a magazine. Or maybe even my own cable TV show.

Because this year not only did I turn 50, but I will also have been studying Tai Chi for 30 frickin’ years and teaching and making the world a better place for 20 years. Pretty cool right? YOU BET!

At this point you are probably thinking I should say something really tai chi'ish, something wise and inspiring, right? Well when I reflect on what is possibly THE most momentous, gargantuan event of the half century, a little sound happens in the back of my head. POP! Just like the sound of one of my 50th birthday balloons that had too much air. Because at that moment, I am reminded that this year also begins my teacher’s 60th year of practice!

So no. I don't have anything wise and tai chi'ish to say, other than repeating what the masters have said for hundreds of years.

How wonderful is Taiji quan,
Whose movements follow nature!
Continuous like a jade bracelet,
Every movement expresses the Great Ultimate...
Li I-yu

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Brief Notes of the Schools Activities

The Tai Chi Program
The year began with another incredible Chinese New Year celebration that included the very funny Year of the Rabbit Puppet Show.

Several student sent in awesome essays for the 2011, Tai Chi & Nature Essay Question. Portions of these essays will be shared in the next newsletter!

Another successful turn out for World Tai Chi Day & Qigong Day!

Seminars included Da Lu, and Xing Yi.

Intensive Tai Chi continues to grow on Sunday mornings at 9am. If you know the whole form and are in the Ongoing program, then consider coming to the session. No instruction is given. It is just an opportunity to practice the form twice through.

Dan Menzel made another "When is the Best Time For Tai Chi?" Videos.
Bouquet

Ravenswood Artwalk 2011 was incredible. Dan Menzel and Laura Brownstone demonstrated 2 Person Tai Chi Staff and Sas Stark and Chris Zalek killed just about everything else Tai Chi related. Laurel Ross sang with the Bullfrogs Community Choir and Sara Zalek and Aurora Tabar encouraged us to HUG. Check out the Group HUG performance, a one hour video condensed to 15min. This video also features the naturesounds that were recorded by Paul Dickinson.

Meditation Program
Several of us neigong meditators went on a field trip to the Smart Museum for a group meditation with AD Zen Gate as part of the Echoes of the Past: The Buddhist Cave Temples of Xiangtangshan exhibition.

Qigong Program
Don Tomei and Sharon Fierro lead two very popular Qigong classes at the Chicago Green Festival.

6 Healing Sounds Qigong will be the next class offering 2012!

Yoga Program
Tracy Von Kaenel launched the Aerial Yoga Program class.

Out of the new Aerial Yoga program came two outstanding performances at this years RAW Flow and Aerial Yoga Demo and Arial Yoga Dance with Tracy Von Kaenel

The Health and Philosophy Program
Lisa Hish ended this year with the beginning of what will be an in-depth look at WATER both in our bodies and in the natural world around us.

Elizabeth Wenscott has been privately teaching Sharon Fierro the I Ching. Hopefully more will follow!

The Environmental Arm - Sustainable Return
Once again this year the environmental arm has been extremely active!

Lisa Hish and 5 school members set up and maintained the schools first community garden plot!

Elizabeth launched a native plant corner parkway initiative through Northcenter Neighborhood Association and the North Branch Restoration Project where students will get to volunteer and help plant corner parkways while learning about why native plants are so important and why they help our tai chi.

Several members of the Tai Chi Center of Chicago learned about the origin and fundamental principles of biodynamic agriculture in both theory and practice. Special emphasis was placed on practical applications for a smaller scale yard, garden or vegetable plot.

Year of the Rabbit came in with the new moon, and TC3 and friends of TC3 raised $1,200 dollars for the Oregon Natural Desert Association's, Save the Pygmy Rabbit program! Looking ahead put this date on your calendar, February 11, 2012 Year of the Dragon Celebration and Fundraiser. Believe me this will be a fun celebration! If you were born the year of the Dragon or have a friend or family member born the year of the Dragon please bring them to this celebration.

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Double Happiness

Double Happiness is when happiness collides with happiness making it even bigger! This year the school celebrated the civil union between Patricia Benjamin and Martha Fourt. Congratulations to you both!

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Overheard

Don't breathe unless you mean it!

Our crops are under attack!
When I was watering the community garden one of the lettucy-shrubbery-ish looking plants, a medium-sized, up-to-no-good rabbit jumped out and ran away across the yard. It was definitely eating something. By the way, I know this is weird, but the rabbit kind of looked like Kip.

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

Wellness Tai Chi Fan

Qi Zhou

The Wellness Tai Chi Fan class started on January 11, 2011. The very same day the opening ceremony for a 30 foot plus Confucius bronze statue at Tiananmen Square area, in front of the National Museum. When Elizabeth and I discussed the starting date in Nov. 2010, we went through various factors but the Confucius factor. When we chose the date I did not know that such an important event was also scheduled on the other side of the world. Elizabeth might have known but she did not tell me.

So there we go. As the fan class went through some most tranquil class time at the Tai Chi Center of Chicago, some prominent personages were sitting on hot seats at the other side of the world. There was a heated debate going on as whether it was appropriate for a statue of this magnitude be erected on Tiananmen Square area, in the visible distance the is another famous figure (Mao Zedong), and his comparatively miniature scaled painting. By late April, the statue was moved and placed inside the garden of National Museum. At the same time, members of the fan class were experiencing some difficulties with weekday morning schedule, plus I wanted to include more students in class who otherwise would not be able to attending. We eventually moved our schedule to Saturday afternoons.

Tai Chi Fan is a relatively newer exercise, those who attended fan class were the ones who are constantly watching for newer Tai Chi movement. I knew all students were working very hard to try to master this little Martial Arts Fan during many months of our class, but the evidence did not show until late September when I made a class video. After I uploaded the video into my computer, I watched with pride the performance of fan class students - the evidence of their hard working and dedication were beyond my imagination. All students in fan class at that time have had more then 10 years of various Tai Chi, other martial arts and physical training experiences. They brought into my class the Principle, the Energy and the Dedication that reflected the Tai Chi training they have received from Master Elizabeth Wenscott and others. I am thankful to all of those who contributed. You may view the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCpFxRVGb4w

The fan class will learn Fitness Tai Chi Double Fan in 2012 starting on January 7. In addition to continue working on improving overall body coordination, the double fan exercise will also focus working on increasing lower body strength and improving balance. The slowness of Fitness Tai Chi Double Fan movement resembles an effortless dance, but every movement is performed with great deal of internal strength and control. This joyous exercise is to help students to gain physical, mental and spiritual strength, and overall feeling of vitality. I anticipate we will have a fun filled and busy learning year.