Motivation Monday - The sword of Qi Gong

About this picture:
It was September 2016, Santa Pola, Spain.
I had been training with my Tai Chi teacher for hours, I was exhausted and I was feeling like I wouldn't ever really get that form the way he wanted.
We started when there was light in the sky and it was nightfall when we were done. I don't remember for how long I had been repeating that form or how many corrections I had to fix, I can only recall fatigue, tiredness and exhaustion.
Nevertheless I wanted to complete that form and reach my personal goal.
I used my willpower like never before and in the end I did it.  For the first time I was using my teacher's real sword to practise and the weight of that responsibility was empowering and tiring at the same time.
I can still remember my teacher looking at me, after all those hours and telling me: "It's yours. The sword, my sword, it's now yours."
I wanted to cry, but I was too tired and I didn't. I was grateful and happy that I had been able to use my willpower, my mind and my determination to obtain something precious and difficult.
Most of the time we feel like it's too hard to reach a goal or fulfill a dream, but not trying it could be the biggest error of all.
Determination, dedication and perseverance are the key for success. Qi Gong really helps me everyday to cultivate these virtues and it calms my emotions, mostly when those interfere with my will. Meditation, static or in movement it really helps with every aspect of our life.
Thank you Tai Chi, thank you my teacher.

Tai Chi - the hidden definition

Often I have been asked to explain what Tai Chi is and how does it work.

I have been practicing for almost 10 years now and still, I am not sure there is only one answer for that question. 

"What is Tai Chi?" 

Recently I have debuted on radio where I had to speak about Tai Chi, explaining the benefits and the philosophy behind this ancient practice - or maybe martial art, or maybe prevention tool, or maybe sport, wait! what about meditation? - see? It's very hard to find a single word to define Tai Chi. 

Knowing about that imminent interview, I wrote down all the answers to the journalist questions and I thought deeply about the most meaningful words to explain the unexplainable energy of Tai Chi.

And yet, the hardest question to answer was really the one I should know the most: what is Tai Chi?

I found myself disarmed in front of that simple query, the very one I explain every day to my fellow students. 

I read a lot of books, consulted with my teacher and researched on the internet, but the answer were polychrome and I couldn't really sum them up in a sentence or two.

In the end, I decided I would go with the flow and follow my feelings about it, after all it was really something a Tai Chi practitioner would do.

Tai Chi is a way of life. Tai Chi strips you, taking out all those emotions and feelings you've tried to bury so deeply you forget about them. 

The deeper you go with the movements and the meditation, the hardest it gets to lie to yourself. Lies and deception are impossible to hide with Tai Chi. Everything comes out and sometimes you find yourself feeling worse. 

Tai Chi means live your life with truth. Tai Chi means to face your fears, your emotions and your limits everyday, accepting them and correct them, because if you try to ignore the problem, Tai Chi will throw it up for you, time after time. 

Tai Chi is the way of gentleness and patience: very slow movements which wrap you up in an infinite seesaw of yin and yang, black and white, right and wrong, rationality and intuition until you're ready to accept you're both.

Tai Chi means to finally know your body and soul: you can listen to your body and discover it has a lot of things to tell you. You can link emotions to diseases and admit your participation in the process, good news is you can participate in your healing process as well. 

Every movement is rhythmical and associated with the right breathing, focusing your attention to present moment and teaching you how to live mindfully.

The are really so many things I should say about Tai Chi: the benefits, the beauty, the history and the prevention potentiality. But I don't want to spoil it all. 

You can find all those definitions on the internet and they will be all different and confusing. Mystery awaits those interested in Tai Chi and the quest to a new meaning is long and thrilling. 

Whenever you're ready, open the door and do Tai Chi.

La "mia" felicità - una nuova sfida, una nuova vita

Tutti gli esseri umani vogliono essere felici; peraltro, per poter raggiungere una tale condizione, bisogna cominciare col capire che cosa si intende per felicità.
-Jean-Jacques Rousseau-

Fare un lavoro che si ama non è facile. Sarebbe più facile lavorare in un ufficio, avere un orario fisso e uno stipendio garantito. Sarebbe più facile per il 95% delle persone. Sarebbe più facile soprattutto per i commenti delle persone, perchè certi lavori sono considerati di serie B, perchè con una laurea, tre lingue e innumerevoli corsi sarebbe stupido. Eppure non posso dare un prezzo alla mia felicità, alla mia soddisfazione, alla bellezza di poter andare a lavorare e divertirmi, condividere, capire ed esplorare. Fare ciò che si ama comporta tanti sacrifici, fa paura e spesso si ricevono delle delusioni, ma c'è anche tanta gioia, ci sono i sorrisi delle persone e la prima volta che ti dicono: grazie, mi sento meglio dopo lezione! Oppure: io faccio gli esercizi di chi kung anche a casa. Forse vivere così è più difficile e richiede qualche rinuncia, ma per me è questa la vita vera, poter scegliere. Almeno potrò dire di averci provato <3 ‪