This is a true story. Back when the tribe was somewhat younger, we frequented homeschool meetings. Most of the parents showing up were
women though not all. There seemed to be no women of medium build in
the group. All were either slim, nubile women or rather obese. I
observed.
This is my opinion, although I have good reason for holding it: A
regularly scheduled time and routine of stretching and exercise is
doomed to failure, especially for the homesteader. Look about you
and find examples and paradigms of the success of it. They are rare
if they exist at all.
Rather though mindfulness be aware that in your every day life there
is a movement way and a non-movement way to do everything, there is
a flexibility way and a non-flexibiltiy way. Said examination of
one's bias will reveal that we are conditioned to the unconsciously
choose the non-movement and no-flexibility way. The trick, says I,
is to change that and when given a choice (and there is almost always
a choice) choose the movement way to do something and the stretch
way.
dishes, she stood at the sink and did a sort of hula dance the whole
time. Within a short peroid of time both the pain and the pounds were
gone.
You mentioned Tai Chi of which I am a great fan. But working toward
doing the full form in a formal way will get you nowhere. Tai Chi is
based on five prinicples (in Chinese culture, everything comes in
fives) slowness, lightness, clarity, balance, and calmness. To get
the benefits of the principles of Tai Chi, they must be incorporated
into your everyday life. The time to practice "Grabbing the Bird's
Tail" is not during a formal, set aside Tai Chi time, but rather then
you are folding clothes, 'White Stork Flaps its Wings" when you are
picking up things from the floor, "Needle at the Bottom of the Sea"
when you are picking beans, "Carry Tiger, Push Mountain" when you are
sweeping.
So we can choose to get up every day and sigh within at the tasks we
have to do on the homestead and bemoan our advancing age and every
shadow and prospect of infrimity. We can look for the way of doing
things that assuages and flatters that point of view. Or else we can
look at the opportunity for strength, flexibility, balance, and 'wa'.
We can experience TaiChi-like balance and rounded movent of splitting
wood with an ax or else deteriorate while the hydrolic wood splitter
does it in an inelegant way.
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