Flowing Zen

“Sifu, what do you do all day?” a student recently asked me. “After all, you only teach a few hours in the evenings. Do you have another job?” I’m sure she meant well. But I actually laughed out loud in response. If I had been sipping a glass of milk, I would have surely snarfed it up.

We all know that Qigong is great for healing. But is there anything else it can do? Like maybe clean the garage? Because that would be outstanding.

What would you say if I told you to have blind faith in me, to do whatever I said without hesitation or question even if it was distasteful to you? Hopefully, you would tell me to get lost. If not, if you would blindly follow a teacher no matter what — well then I’m not the teacher for you. I want to teach free-thinking human beings, not drones.

An ounce of prevention. Yada yada. We’ve all heard the cliché. But do we really believe it? Do we act as if prevention is worth 16 times more than a cure?

Valentine’s day is a day meant for love. But typically, the love is projected outward rather than inward. What if, instead of focusing so much love outward, you focused some of it inward? Would that be wrong?

A few months ago, I was on a business trip with my wife. After a long day at a healing conference, we decided to stop in a cafe for some refreshments. Just for fun, I asked the server for a “Tai Chi latte”. I figured it was worth a shot. I didn’t get a mug full of the Cosmos, but I did get a delicious cup of Chai Tea, which was almost as good.

Stop kidding yourself. You’re not ready to quit. And that’s okay. The sooner you admit that you’re not ready, the sooner you’ll be able to quit once and for all.

Students love thinking that their teacher is the best, and teachers love to encourage this. Sometimes it’s true. But more often, it’s not. How can you tell the difference?

For years, I’ve struggled to attach a price to these arts. I mean, what the heck should I charge for priceless healing arts that literally saved my life? Not an easy question to answer! It’s a question that many Tai Chi, Yoga, and Meditation teachers all over the country are also struggling to answer.

It’s that time of the year again: Time break your New Year’s resolutions! Okay, maybe not yet. Maybe you’ll last a few more days, or even weeks. But chances are, you’re not going to keep those resolutions. And you probably know it.