The personal requirement that has served me the most so far this years has been my daily Five Animal Chi Gung. There are 356 days in the year of the Monkey, and already the effects of this daily ritual are showing. For those that are unaware, Five Animal Chi Gung is an exercises that lengthens tendons, opens joints, conditions muscles and each pose works a specific organ. The Dragon improves the kidneys, the Tiger works your lungs, the Leopard betters the liver, the Snake helps the spleen and the Crane strengthens the heart.
Before the banquet last weekend I was lucky enough to have my poses critiqued by Sifu M. Beckett, and was surprised that I had retained most of the basics and was shown the beginning of the more advanced techniques in the poses. Each day I'm finding my stances deepen and my flow into the poses becomes smoother. I look forward to having my poses looked at again, and hope that the changes I've made to my technique are improving my form.
Admittedly I missed my second day, but was I just to accept that I failed my requirement and quit? The I Ho Chuan has a no quitting policy, so I will just have to do two extra days going into the year of the Rooster.
No comments:
Post a Comment