Adventures in Tai Chi

I had some time before the retreat to memorize my stretches and the order they came in and was feeling fairly confident... and more than a little scared.  I decided that these ladies had probably never heard of the exercises and wouldn't know if I just made it up as I went along.  As the ladies entered the beautifully decorated room and made themselves comfortable, I sat at a back table clutching my Native American CD and my notes and tried to wake up from the dream I must obviously be having.  Finally the retreat director brought everyone to the front of the room and introduced me.  Twenty ladies stared back at me, some with looks of delight and others curious.  The director was looking a little frantic and I hoped I did not have a deer in the headlight look on my face.  I started the flute music and explained a little bit about the benefits of Tai Chi and told them this one had name I just could not pronounce.  They all giggled a little, but one woman lifted her chin, and with a twinkle in her eye said,  "Oh! Qi Gong!"   Well isn't that special.  Someone in the group was familiar with those exercises.  I allowed myself to panic a little, but pasted a huge smile on my face and agreed with her.  As we began the stretches, I continued to talk gently about the importance of crossing the midline and how these exercises not only stretch your body, but allows you spend some quiet time with God.   Their faces lit up and they followed my every move.  One woman gasped in delight when I renamed one of the stretches Calling to the Spirit.  When it was all over and the sounds of the flute drifted away, we began the retreat in prayer.  Several of the women came up to me and actually asked me if I lead classes in Tai Chi and how could they sign up?   I wasn't about to tell them I had only hours to learn the moves and then just trust in the Holy Spirit.  Some day I will...    
I got to lead the routine again in the morning when we gathered for breakfast.  I learned a lot about myself that weekend and the power of friendship.  Tai Chi truly energizes you and forces you to become silent for a moment.  I hope you do learn some of the stretches and try them in the morning.  And I hope you all have the kind of friends who call you  and get you involved in all kinds of crazy activities that force you out of your comfort zones. (This is the same friend, by the way, who got me to play for her daughters wedding on five minutes notice.  The bride was literally standing just below the foyer. But that's a story for another day)
  I felt like I was free falling that weekend of the retreat.  Lucky for me the Holy Spirit was there to lift me up.