By Ilene Lerner
BOSTON –I first saw Tai Chi being done one sunny morning in the early eighties as I walked on the outskirts of a city park in San Francisco’s Chinatown. From the first moment, I was attracted and then transfixed as a large crowd of Chinese adults, many of them seniors, performed intricate moves in unison, clearly of Eastern origin. Although the moves were executed slowly, and it looked like a dance, clearly, it was some form of Chinese Martial Art. It was so beautiful to watch, and the silent, calm demeanors of the practitioners as they soundlessly moved, created in me, a peaceful meditative state. I fell in love with it on the spot and knew it was for me! I wanted to do whatever ‘it’ was I had just witnessed!
It took some time before I learned that ‘it’ was the long form of Tai Chi, and it was at least a year or two later, when, in 1985, I began working in downtown Boston, close to Chinatown. A colleague, Eileen, and I began taking classes with Dr. Leung in the afternoon. We were among the few women in the class, probably because Tai Chi is a martial art and at that time, not very many women were involved. The classes were rigorous, the warm up exercises quite different from any I had ever done before. During each class, Dr. Leung required us to hold different positions, standing, sitting, squatting with our arms folded in front of our chests, fingertips meeting or arms outstretched for ten, fifteen and twenty minutes before we began to work on the beginning moves of the long form.
Despite the physical challenge, I welcomed the work, and after I left my job, and could no longer easily attend classes during the afternoon, I began going twice a week in the evening. But despite the great enjoyment I felt doing the unique warm-up exercises and learning the first steps of the long form, going to Chinatown at night was somewhat problematic, since Chinatown shared space with the Red Light District, and men out for a ‘good time’ roamed the streets in the evenings, sometimes calling out to women like myself, who had other business in Chinatown. For awhile I was able to get a ride home with another woman in the class, whose boyfriend would pick her up in his truck, but when she dropped out, I stopped going to Chinatown alone at night.
Some months later I found a class at the Cambridge Y.W.C.A., taught by Arthur Goodridge, an impressive practitioner of Tai Chi and an excellent teacher. When he left the Y to teach privately and work on composing music, I didn’t know where to go, and my practice fell off. Then, in 1992, my daughter-in-law, Claire, told me that she and my son, Karl, intended to study Tai Chi with Heg Robinson in Roxbury. I persuaded Claire to ask Heg if I also could attend the class. The answer came back, “Yes.” And so I went with them to the next class and the three of us began to go regularly.
It was evident from the first class what a treasure we had found. Heg was marvelous in every way, as a Tai Chi player, as a teacher, and as a warm, generous and happy man, who credited Tai Chi with saving his life, and giving him a lifelong mission to teach others the art, especially in his African-American community. Heg train students he hopes will ensure the survival of Tai Chi in Boston. Heg has told us students stories of some Chinese martial artists who wanted to guard the art of Tai Chi in the Chinese community, and of others who encouraged him to learn and teach Tai Chi He related how some Kung Fu martial arts practitioners would challenge him to fight, seeking to devalue Tai Chi by defeating him. I never heard of one who had succeeded. But for Heg the difficulties he encountered along the way were distractions that failed to distract him from his purpose.
Heg teaches every nuance of every step; he wants us have the knowledge of exactly how to do it – where is your head, where are your eyes, how are your hands held, the fingers, where are your legs, how do you kick, on and on with all the details, but, at a certain point, Heg, will say, “Now relax, don’t worry about it. Let it come. Tai Chi will reveal itself. “How true! Each time, I do the form, or watch Heg perform it, I learn something new, which I have never seen or thought about before. I have learned to really see the world from practicing Tai Chi. Practicing teaches the value of awareness, focus, and repetition at the same time, as they are all paths to improvement.
Although initially, I had been drawn to its intricate moves, I soon began to learn the many benefits of doing Tai Chi: for several years, I had been waking up feeling stiff in my joints, a stiffness that would only subside when I took my warm morning shower. This stiffness cleared out, never to be experienced again, after I began doing Tai Chi regularly. A protruded disk, suffered some years before, had been the reason I sought out the weekly skills of a chiropractor, but during one Tai Chi lesson, I became aware of my spine adjusting itself, when I felt and heard the adjustment. Soon after that, I stopped going to the chiropractor, who had helped me so much after the disc started causing me pain. It was no longer necessary.
In addition, the health information Heg gives his students, in the form of exercises, teas, vitamins, and supplements also has healed me of various conditions. The addition of a tablespoon of apple vinegar taken twice a day erases acid reflux. A vicious cat allergy, that seemed to be growing more severe, was cured several months after I began taking Bee Pollen supplements. This profoundly changed my life as I now can visit people who own cats, including two of my children, where previously a five minute visit would cause an immediate allergic reaction that would send me running. Special teas eased a growing lethargy, providing energy that seemed to be disappearing. Specific exercises caused my low blood pressure to moderate. Today my blood pressure wins praises every time it is taken! Information about proper nutrition has promoted a slow but gradual weight loss, and a tightening of muscles. An exercise in which we trace an elliptical path on the diagonal with our arms has removed the clicks I used to hear in my shoulders when I moved my arms. Learning about breathing, meditation, and the beneficial uses of sound has also been part of my Tai Chi experience.
Two years ago a hip replacement required a week’s stay in a Rehab. Every medical professional that asked me questions about my medical history assumed I would have diabetes and high blood pressure, and acted surprised when I said, “No,” and said again, “You don’t have high blood pressure? You don’t have diabetes?” It was as if a person my age was just assumed to suffer from these common contemporary conditions. “No,” I breathed, in relief and gratitude. In the gym, I was given a beach ball to toss while standing on a half-moon, gel-filled pillow. A walker was placed in front of me in case I lost my balance, and a therapist stood in back of me in case I should fall backwards. Across the room, my therapist threw the ball to me and continued walking as I threw it back; I continually had to readjust my position on the pillow as I caught and threw back the ball. I felt like I was doing better at ‘Catch’ than I had ever done. I was ‘in the zone.’ When I stopped, I saw for the first time that the two other therapists in the room had stopped working with their patients and were looking at me. “You have better balance at your age and after your operation than I have now,” one said. “What do you do?” “I do Tai Chi.” I thought it was interesting that she knew I did something, practiced something to achieve that control of my balance.” “Yes, Tai Chi has saved me from falling on the bus, train and ice numerous times.” added. “Teach us then!” she responded.
Over the years I have been a member of the Roxbury Tai Chi Academy, I have seen people come, and people go, and a few stay. Heg says, “Tai Chi is not for everybody”. Certainly people without patience, who think they will learn the form immediately, set themselves up for disappointment. Heg, himself, says he is still learning Tai Chi. I accept that I will never know or be able to perform any Tai Chi form perfectly. This causes me no grief. It is the very opposite: because I am always learning the various poses and forms, I am never bored. Each repetition is an exciting opportunity to improve. I have learned that acceptance of limitations and opportunities are necessary to be fully present. Being fully present is a gift to ourselves, and those who surround us. Tai Chi itself is a teacher.
Heg always says that practicing Tai Chi makes people more peaceful, and I have direct experience of that. These days it is impossible for me to remain angry with anyone for very long. I can no longer hold a grudge! And even when I feel anger, most of the time, it morphs into irritation almost immediately.
Although I practice Tai Chi alone, I prefer doing it in class, with a group, because the uniting of everyone’s energy or ‘Chi’ increases everyone’s focus and concentration. The Aish Rabbi says that the word ‘Chi’ comes from the Hebrew word ‘Chai’ that means life force or energy. The feeling of calmness, of peace is palpable. People who come to observe the class occasionally fall asleep while they are watching us perform the slow form. And so when possible, I attend class three times a week. When friends ask me to go out on a Tai Chi night or afternoon, I usually reply, “Thanks, but I have Dr. Leung Tai Chi class then.” Sometimes the response has been, “Are you still going to that class? Haven’t you learned Tai Chi yet?” I always respond, “I’m a slow learner.”
At seventy, Heg says, I have completed a cycle and life begins anew. I hope so! I know I am still flexible and excited by life, and I am very grateful that for over 25 years, Tai Chi, and my teacher and friend, Heg Robinson, have been an integral part of my life.
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Lerner is a freelance writer based in Boston. She may be contacted via ilene.lerner@sdjewishworld.com