This week marks Dyspraxia Awareness Week in the UK. To mark the occasion, I will share some of my experience as someone with dyspraxia and the ways in which taijiquan has impacted that experience. Background I was diagnosed with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), which is the official name for dyspraxia in Canada, when I wasContinue reading “Tai Chi And Dyspraxia”
Tag Archives: Mental Health
Reasons to Learn Tai Chi: Why Now Is The Perfect Time to Start Your Tai Chi Journey
Note: This post has been updated from a version previously published elsewhere on November 8, 2024. Sometimes, it seems like a series of crises has been never ending since at least 2020. Many of us are wrestling with complex, large-scale issues and personal stresses that are leaving us feeling burnt-out and far too weary. InContinue reading “Reasons to Learn Tai Chi: Why Now Is The Perfect Time to Start Your Tai Chi Journey”
20 Years of Tai Chi – A Personal Reflection
Note: This post was originally published elsewhere on April 26, 2024 Tomorrow is World Tai Chi and Qigong Day. This month also marks twenty years since I first began practicing taijiquan. To mark both of these occasions, I will be sharing some of the changes taijiquan has made in my life and the lessons I’veContinue reading “20 Years of Tai Chi – A Personal Reflection”
Read, Watch, Listen: Faith & Spirituality
Read Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelism by Molly Worthen Notes: Scholarly, Personal Favourite, Thought-provoking. A Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: 2nd Edition by Walter Bruggerman et al. Notes: Scholarly, Personal Favourite, Thought-provoking. Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church’s Debate on Same-Sex Relationships by James V. Brownson Notes: Personal favourite. Scholarly, butContinue reading “Read, Watch, Listen: Faith & Spirituality”
Poem: Outer and Inner Worlds
OutsideThey say I never looked better.Seems like you’re in a good placeSo glad to see you thriving.InsideA raging tempest.Eye of the stormA void of despairEmpty of hope.Howling painRage and griefFilling my gutsWith agonizing feeling.Only reliefIs temporary.Joy and loveFrom my cat’s anticsAnd her loving snuggles.Blessed relief of pressureFrom my own touch.Resilient determinationCentering my focusFrom taijiquan.Temporary reprieveAlwaysContinue reading “Poem: Outer and Inner Worlds”
Poem: Failure (July 2023)
I spend the morning pleasantlyThe day is hot but I am coolInside the house.I proceed with leisureSlow start to the week.I open my work emailFirst thing I seeA meeting slipped my mind.Just like thatIt all comes rushing backI beat myself upFor failure of memory & failure to back up;Failure at work & failure at dating;FailureContinue reading “Poem: Failure (July 2023)”
Solo Sex/Self Stimulation: February 2023 Reflections
This month, I am once again participating in the Feb-YOU-ary challenge with the wonderful Loyobo community. The activity for Day 10 was to show yourself love through physical intimacy with your own body. Such an activity is especially meaningful to me due my personal background and life experiences. I share them here in the hopesContinue reading “Solo Sex/Self Stimulation: February 2023 Reflections”
Poem: Hope and Pain
I tell myselfTo pull it togetherIgnore the cold void in my gutRefrain from clenching my belly in my graspTo ease the pain of loneliness.No one must knowThe full extent of the painI am bearing.In the pastHope lessened the painCountered the voicesTelling me I was worth nothing.Hope is much diminished of late.I struggle with apathyLong forContinue reading “Poem: Hope and Pain”
Poem: Armour
ArmourBoth protects and numbs.It protects:My heart from pain;My soul from risk;My mind from despair;My body from intimacy.It numbs:My desire for love;My highest hopes;My capacity for faith;My openness to vulnerability.Tai Chi cultivates chiBy allowing it to flow.Blockages and woundsMelt away in the flow of energy;Incompatible with the armour I wear.ArmourBoth protects and numbs.SpiritGrant me the courageContinue reading “Poem: Armour”
Poem: Transitions
These past few weeksMy world has turnedUpside-downInside out.Routines and rhythmsCertainties and guidepostsDissolved into chaos.I am adrift at seaNo starts to guide my way;I am lost in a dark forestOnly my heartbeat to affirmI’m still alive.This is a time of transitionsUnsure how or whenI’ll find my way out.Hoping against hopeThat love, hope, and faithWill see meContinue reading “Poem: Transitions”
The Dreamers' Corner 