Welcome To T'ai Chi

" Everything is Energy and that is all there is to it.Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy this is Physics. "
- Albert Einstein 



A Big Welcome to the new T'ai Chi Students at ARC House it is great to be sharing this wonderful practice with you all.
First 2 postures of the Mini Form . This video goes on to the second posture so just 'stick' to it as best you can it will be preparing you for our next lesson on April 13'th.


Beginning Posture of the Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.




Warm up exercises from ann on Vimeo.


We will investigate the principles of T'ai Chi over the next 10 classes using the Mini form as a 'tool' to explore how T'ai Chi can enhance our sense of awareness and well being.

Full Mini Form

Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.

WOW Another Cool Way To Grow Your ENERGY And Your Immune System

In the late 1980s psycologist James W Pennebaker was invited to teach the psycophysiology to to technicians who administered polygraph tests ( lie dectector ) They wanted to know what was happening in the body and the mind when a person was being questioned about a crime. Typically during the test a person telling a lie reacts with a measureable stress response. Modern polygraph measurements can include heart rate, muscle tension, voice changes and other links to emotional discomfort. Pennebroke could explain the physiologic mechanism underlying each of these changes - yet he was to learn something that would transform his life's work and our knowledge about our cellular selves.
The revelation came when those experts administering the tests asked Pennebroke to explain this surprising observation: when a person actually confessed to a crime they exhibited relaxation response, not stress. As a result of their admission they faced a future of upheaval and turmoil, possibly even incarceration. How could they possibly respond by relaxing ?
Pennebaker had no response at the time but he would later make a startling discovery which now informs what we know of personal well being and telling the truth. Following up at the University of Texas with his psychology students, he began exploring confession itself. He asked his students to "confess" in writing to a secret or trauma that they had never told anyone. He discovered that following this disclosure, his students' immune health improved and their levels of stress hormones decreased.
When theperson's  story comes out there is a wave of relief and Release. Revealing their well guarded secrets enables them to Let Go of the associated upsetting thoughts and allows them to return to a state of well being Now their cells have the opportunity to initiate the chemistry of Peace and they do.

 Here is an exercise on this way of Releasing for you to explore.

You and Your Cells Telling the Truth.

Take fifteen to twenty minutes today to write your thought and feelings about what is presently bothering you.: your biggest stressor or hidden shame. Commit to writing for four consecutive days no more no less. Don't write the facts about the story; rather express your emotions about them. It is not necessary to reread what you have written or show it to anybody. You can tear it up or burn it if you like. This is an exercise for you and your cells, an invitation to Release and Let Go.

-   From Sondra Barrett's book Secrets of Your Cells

Read more about  James W.Pennebaker

More About Growing Your Energy

Sondra Barrett

Letting Go is one amazing way to grow ENERGY, each time we Let Go we relax and all the cells of our bodies relax.

 I was thrilled to come across an interview with Sondra Barrett this week. She is a research scientist who has studied cancerous cells how the grow, why they grow abnormally and through her research she came to recognise the importance of Letting Go on a cellular level.

 Now that got me excited ! 

I love when I come across more scientific evidence that confirms my experience. 

Cells LOVE and respond to the relaxation that happens when they are given the conditions that allow them to' Let Go ' .

 Each time we decide to open up and relax we are letting go and isn't it good to know that all our cells feel that, from our hair follicles to the cells growing in our toe nails. 

 To me is a very good reason to Let Go. It makes sense too that if every cell of our body benefits our ENERGY is just bound to GROW.

 Happy cells working better will produce lots more energy than sluggish cells that are tense and fearful. 

For more about Sondra's research and insights you can listen to her interview with Tammy Simon of Sounds True     Your Cells Are Listening 

And a beautiful slide show introduction Visual Introduction Cells and Molecules

Finally I couldn't resist sharing this fabulous short 'movie of how a cell works I know it is a lot of science but it is just great to see our cells from the 'inside', so I am indulging my desire to make more people passionate about our amazing bodies and how to help them to thrive.

Cells In Motion

Davis college Mini Form Class

Davis College from ann on Vimeo.

We are almost finished the term and what a great term it has been. Well done to you all for the work you put in.
Plenty practice for the week and we will polish the form even more next week.

Another Simple Way To Grow Your ENERGY

Smiling Helps You Stay Positive

Try this test: Smile. Now try to think of something negative without losing the smile. It's hard. When we smile our body is sending the rest of us a message that "Life is Good!" Stay away from depression, stress and worry by smiling.

Smiling may seem like an involuntary response to something cute or funny but it is much more than that.  

Smiling releases endorphins.
Smiling can help you manage stress and anxiety by releasing endorphins, chemicals that makes you happier. Endorphins are the same chemicals you get from working out or running, resulting in what is known as a runner’s high. Smile more to get that high without running. A real energy boost. 

Smiling strengthens your immune system

Smiling even makes your immune system stronger by making your body produce white blood cells to help fight illnesses. One study found that hospitalized children who were visited by story-tellers and puppeteers who made them smile and laugh had higher white blood cell counts than those children who weren’t visited. So boost your own system by smilling and doing stuff that makes you smile.


Smiling will make you more comfortable
Our natural tendency is to stick to things that are familiar, but smiling decreases this need. Another study found that smiling can make you more comfortable in situations you would otherwise feel awkward in.

There are many more benefits to smiling so get started and SMILE to yourself and everyone else todat it will boost your energy and theirs too.

 

 

Simple Ways To 'Grow' Your Energy

Express Love.

Look at the device you are reading on and say " I LOVE YOU " to that device.
Feel the love as best you can, feel your heart fill wilt LOVE for all the information this device has brought to you.

Next look around the room where you are sitting and one by one say " I LOVE YOU " to all the objects in your space.

As I look around my room I see many books that have enhanced my journey and I say " I LOVE YOU " to those books and that reminds me of the authors who lovingly wrote those books so I say " I LOVE YOU " to them and to all the people along the books journey to me.

If you are joining with me in this exercise you will notice an energy shift, you will be feeling brighter and more enthusiastic.

Now here is a true " I LOVE YOU " story.

A few yeas ago John ( my husband ) was very upset that our lawn mower was not starting for him. It was already about 25 years old  at that time. He had taken it to be repaired and was told that really it was really only fit to be dumped. John had a big attachment to the machine as it held many happy memories for him. However every time it failed to stare he would 'givr out ' to the machine and tell it how useless it was. He would often come and complain to me about the machine.
Then one day when I was tired of listening to his complaints I suggested that he begin to send love to his machine, to say " I LOVE YOU " to it and remember all the great work it had done for him.
So john began to do that as the only alternative was to dump it and he wasn't quite ready to give up on his machine.
Shortly after he began sending LOVE to the machine he heard of someone who repaired old machines ( coincidence ! ) and he took the it to be repaired. This man saw great value in the lawn mower spoke of what a great lawn mower this variety was and generally confirmed John in his desire to keep the machine.
That happened about 5 years ago and the machine is now working better than ever. Only last weekend John came in having cut the lawn to let me know " She started on the first pull.  ' and that was after the whole winter idle. 
John told me that he makes sure to tell the machine how much he loves her and thanks her for cutting the lawn and for startingpromptly. He cleans her lovingly each time she is used and even  'speaks  warmly ' to her every time he sees her in the garden shed especially during the winter when she is not working.
Everything has it's own level of  consciousness and 'feels' our attention. Everything is interconnected in the web of life's energy.
The more positive LOVING ENERGY we express the more LOVING ENERGY we will generate for ourselves and our universe.

More ways to ' GROW ' ENERGY soon, LOVE Ann

Love Honour And Respect Your Energy

Energy is power to grow and evolve, this is a very precious resource, in my opinion it is our greatest wealth.
When we die we cannot take anything physical with us from our time here all we take is our experience, the wisdom we have gained, this wisdom comes from the good use of our energy.

We all know how to guard and grow our energy, our physical body gives us really good feedback.

When we feel good and become enthusiastic and energised by the people around,. we are enhancing our energy.When we come home drained and exhausted after an evening or an hour with someone we are getting information, our exhaustion is letting us know that we are out of balance.

 If we want to stay in balance and grow stronger we need to pay attention to this feedback and arrange our lives to spend more of our time in company that inspires and energises us.

The books and articles we read the programmes and movies we choose to watch are all very important company. If we choose to watch or read about the lower aspects of life, the lives of criminals and people who abuse and degrade others we are choosing to spend time in their company and we begin to resonate consciously or unconsciously with that lower energy and if we pay attention will  notice how  this affects our  energy negatively.

We all have very important choices to make moment to moment each day choosing, good nourishing 'company' will pay enormous energy dividends which will allow us to grow stronger and stronger and liberate us from mood swings and leave us energised and full of enthusiasm for life.

Thia week's T'ai Chi

We completed the Mini Form at ARC House yesterday. Here below is the group, unfortunately the small room does not allow us to make a video where everyone is visible. We had a great term, a big thanks to you all for putting in such a great effort and being there each week. Enjoy your practice, keep up your T'ai Chi  each day and it will enhance your life.

trim.EA143C38-59FD-46FB-900E-4DE0B1290468 from ann on Vimeo.




Here is our partner work in Castletownbere last Sunday, and even though it got off to a shaky start everyone 'got into it ' and enjoyed this ' dance ' .

trim.8100BECE-2D39-401E-81CB-BEAEAB9894F9 from ann on Vimeo.


And here are the lessons for this week.

Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.



Here is the Short Form to Ward Off Right for the Castletownbere class.
Short Form To Ward Off Right from ann on Vimeo.

Wonderful Weekend

A huge thanks to all those who came along to yesterday's Workshop in Blackrock. 

It was a great privilege to share this work and introduce it to so many new people.

Thanks for all the sharing ,digging deep and releasing. It is so inspiring to get positive feedback and hear of people's insights and gains , it encourages us all to keep focused on Letting Go. 

 Looking forward to the next session already.

Then to put the 'icing on My cake'  I had a session in Castletownbere today.

Perfect blue skies as I drove west.

There was a change of 'feel' to the countryside as if everything is awakening , the whole atmosphere felt alert.

And yet the distant hills were dreamy.

And mysterious.

Once again this road enchanted.

The sea called to me,

And filled my heart .      .         .

With the wonder and gratitude for this life.

Home at last tired and very happy.

Deeper Into The 'Dance'

The more we practice this 'Dance' the more interesting it becomes.


trim.9879FC0D-9D01-4D19-8B9B-30F0482DADB4 from ann on Vimeo.

Steven and Sara


trim.595A626B-9516-4E12-A736-FABDF851E8A5 from ann on Vimeo.

Michael and Steven

trim.BE7A0DD3-5C54-443F-89F4-B92BFF33D7A2 from ann on Vimeo.



Joan and Steven.

It is really good to work with different people as it awakens one up to the subtle differences in peoples energy .  It is such a blessing to have dedicated interested people who share the passion.

A Short Trip West

I had some Reconnective Healing to do near Bantry yesterday .

And of course the landscape drew me out  .   . ....

Childhood memories came tumbling through my mind as we drove 

through the tunnels. 

Work called and there was just time for a short stop to soak up the beauty and nourish the spirit for the homeward journey. Happy with a great day's work.

T'ai Chi Lessons For This Week March 17'th

Embrace Tiger And Return To The Mountain

trim.EE93F8ED-421D-46A6-9DF6-72F93CE6BA75 from ann on Vimeo.



Investigating the application for embrace tiger posture.

  href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo
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Waving hands in the clouds lesson.

trim.FAC3E4D1-15DE-4796-B031-8CE56543ADD9 from ann on Vimeo.


 


Da Lu solo practice

trim.8D234E91-F8DA-45A9-BCCE-9910B929415A from ann on Vimeo.


Da Lu with Joan
trim.7156E062-D15B-4914-8977-B56BE77CFB2B from ann on Vimeo.




Mini Form For Breginners

Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.

Love Is The Answer And A Universal Balm

Lately I have been reminding myself ( and anyone who will listen to me ) to love everything.
Send love to the pain in your shoulder , to the person who is anoying you, and most especially to your full self.
Love heals all wounds, I have found this to be true in my life and from the feedback I'm  getting from others it seems to be universally true.

This sending love to ourselves and everything else is the highest work we can do and it takes energy.
The only time it doesn't work is when we forget to do it.

We are mostly thought to motivate ourselves with fear.  Our socities try unsuccessfully to reform ofenders through punishment and fear.

Is this working has this ever worked ?

I can see no evidence of the benefit of instilling fear in anyone at any time.

However whenever I give love to myself or to anyone or anything elseI reap immediate benefits.

I feel better instantly.

 Try it for yourself right now , jusc close your eyes for a moment and dwell in LOVE , it can be LOVE of anything from your neighbours cat to your long deceased uncle or yourself . It makes no difference what the object of your love is, experiment with this and proove it for yourself , whatever you choose to LOVE will increase your LOVE and your wellbeing.

     Listen and believe Julie when she sings you are impossibly beautiful .

Stuff Worth Remembering

                                        You are ALIVE

                        You have amazing senses thac can smell

                               
                                            You Can Taste

    You Can Feel

And one of the most amazing things about you is just like me you can think and imagine. 

Thanks to our amazing brain we have the power to imagine so even if we cant get to the lavender fields of Provence we have the power to travel there in our imagination . 

How amazing is that.

If we are having a 'bad' day we can shift that feeling through our imagination. 

We can take a mini trip to somewhere amazing maybe back to a day we really enjoyed , a day when we were in the 'flow' when everything just worked out perfectly. Just by activating that memory and feeling the feeling of things working out helps us to shift our mood and realise that there is really no such thing as a 'bad' day. It just all depends on here we choose to put our attention .

We always have the choice .

Now I think that that is something worth Remembering. 

                         

Resonating With Your Higher Self

Resonance " the response of a body to vibrations of it's own natural frequency".
Ever since I came across the phenomenon of resonance it has intrigued and inspired me.
There are many books written an all sorts of resonance but here I am only looking at how we can use resonance to 'enlighten ' ourselves. To solve our problems and generally have the life we truly deserve.
When vibrations are in harmony or resonating together they begin to amplify.
We can use this knowledge to help ourselves to 'amplify ' our vibrations.
The cells of our  bodies vibrate in response to the thoughts and emotions we are feeling .   By learning to focus our attention and pick the thoughts and feelings we choose to experience we can directly affect the way our bodies vibrate.
 And , YES YOU can choose your thoughts and your feelings.
 If you have been reading my posts or coming along to my classes you will be well used to relaxing your mind and body or in other words choosing your feelings.
 When you choose to relax you allow your body to vibrate at a higher frequency than when you do not relax and hold on to your tension.
 How do you know that you have raised your vibration,  EASY you feel much better and this good feeling lets you know that you have raised your vibrations.
Cool Isn't It ?
Each tine  you choose to focus on higher vibrations you connect to your 'Higher Self'. You begin to resonate with that higher aspect which is more closely connected to your wisdom , your truth , your love. Being more tuned to your higher nature you naturally recognise better appropriate actions to take , You are drawn to people and places that help you. solutions begin to 'appear' all by themselves.
This is how life is meant to be, it is not meant to be an up hill struggle , it is meant to be a down hill flow.
So begin to tune in to your thoughts and feelings. Choose ones that awaken positive vibrations and watch as your life becomes more harmonious ,your body feels great and your life becomes more and more FUN.
If you want to PRACTICE this ART of learning to LET GO of your limiting beliefs and Tune in to your Positive Emotions join us at the next Workshop which is happening on Saturday 21th of March in Blackrock Community Centre Cork. You can email me at taichmcilraith@yahoo.co.uk for more details or to reserve a place.

 We will have a fabulous day connecting with higher and higher aspects of ourselves and leave the wotkshop inspired and energised to live our best life.

Lessons For This Week's T'ai Chi

Just for a laugh. This video does work (sort of) !



trim.363EEA20-476F-4970-B64D-B586C19BAF5E from ann on Vimeo.

Brush Left Knee and Push ( Last Sunday's lesson for Castletownbere Mini Form beginners).

trim.C3C90267-D276-4968-BE9F-F44A561AEA36 from ann on Vimeo.

Full Mini Form

Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.


First two lessons of the short form.

trim.C87A200F-3D41-460A-BB4E-06029DAE4A9A from ann on Vimeo.



Short Form to Ward Off Right
Short Form To Ward Off Right from ann on Vimeo.

Finding Solutions

                                                  Pupa developing into a Butterfly

“We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them."-Albert Einstein

And I would add not at the same level of emotion. solutions are always at a higher level to the problem. 

In order to become a butterfly the caterpillar must be broken down completely, then there is a period of quiet secluded work until the butterfly has fully developed inside the cocoon and is ready to take off into a completely new life. 

When we find ourselves with a problem this is the time to  remind ourselves to withdraw our attention from the outer world, to become still inside ourselves , to acknowledge our confusion and Let Go of trying to Figure Anything Out.

 We need to STOP AND REST when we have rested begin to Imagine How We Would FEEL If We Had A Solution. 

We need to  Feel the EASE in our body that a Solution would bring , feel the HAPPINESS all the cells of our body would experience and really feel those sensations right now. 

Acknowledge right now that the Solution exists and that by feeling these warm happy emotions we are Resonating with higher level where the Solution awaits. 

Then we just go about our day noticing all the aspects of our life that are working beautifully and relishing those aspects. Finding joy in every way possible and resonating with our higher consciousness. Sending LOVE to ourselves and everyone and every thing we encounter through out our day, knowing that as we Resonate with Love,  Love will direct us to Solutions even  beyond our Imagination.

 

 

 

 

 

Telomeres and Well Being

The stress and strife of daily life have a direct effect on our health. Most dramatically, our very chromosomes are affected by stress. Telomeres are the end tips of our chromosomes, little caps that protect our DNA( the pink tips in the image above ).
Telomeres play an important role in cell division, and get a bit shorter every time a cell divides. In studies, subjects with inherently stressful lives -- notably mothers of special-needs children and spouses of dementia sufferers -- showed extraordinary wear and tear on their telomeres. The stress-induced disruption to their cells' life cycle actually caused them to age faster. But an enzyme called telomerase maintains and repairs the telomeres, prolonging the life of our cells. Increasing telomerase is a way to slow telomeres' unraveling. And guess how we can we do that? Meditation.

The effect appears to be attributable to psychological changes that increase a person's ability to cope with stress and maintain feelings of well-being.
"We have found that meditation promotes positive psychological changes, and that meditators showing the greatest improvement on various psychological measures had the highest levels of telomerase,"
said Clifford Saron, associate research scientist at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain

To me the most interesting information here is that what seems to matter most is one's ability to cope with stress and maintain feelings of well being. 
Whether through Meditation , T'ai Chi,  Releasing,  Open Focus or as in my case a combination of these Arts. What is important is to find what works for you , what keeps your spirits positive and loving so your sense of well being is enhanced and your life can unfold in the most positive way for you. when this happens you contribute in the best possible way to the whole of humanity.

Lessons For This Week March 4'th

Full Mini Form

Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.





Diagonal Flying to Waving Hands

trim.3338B9E7-3445-474A-B73D-6BB7F9547289 from ann on Vimeo.





Short Form to Ward Off Right Short Form To Ward Off Right from ann on Vimeo.





 Lifting Hands And Shoulder Stroke

Lifting hands and shoulder stroke to white crane spreads wings from ann on Vimeo.


Investigating Lifting Hands 

trim.6EE4302B-8C00-4075-AECB-CFACD9F8B8C2 from ann on Vimeo.

Cangratulate Youeself

It is really important ( in my opinion ) to become conscious in this lifetime.What a privileged it is to be born in a time when so much 'hidden' knowledge is now readily available to anyone who wants to develop their consciousness.
I am congratulating myself for being so lucky to be alive right now and you should too.
We have so many opportunities open to us. Teachers are sharing methods for awakening and so many people are working on higher levels of thought and consciousness that it is easy to find like minded people.
Think how amazingly lucky we are to have all this available to us.
Sit back for a minute and reflect on how fabulous it is that we can connect through this medium.
We are obviously connected because otherwise you wouldn't have opened my page. So I feel very lucky that you have chosen to read this, I also feel very glad to connect with you because you too are working on your consciousness. You and I are on the fascinating road of self discovery. We have come to realise that this life time is a gift a prise if you will and we are about to make the best use of it.
Each time we choose to look deeper into our nature, each time we stop to really feel into this moment, each time we open to our heart and really listen to it's guidance we are enriching our own life and because everything in this universe is interconnected we are simultaneously enriching our universe.
So Congratulate yourself, bask for a moment in your wonderful nature soak up how amazing and wonderful you are, let that feeling spread all through out your body and Know that in that basking you are nourishing those emotions for our whole universe.

Now isn't that worth Celebrating .

 With my deepest Love , Ann

Reconnective Healers Meet Up

I could. n't resist these spring flowers as I walked psast Steven's Green yesterday on my way to meet with some reconnective healing friends. 

                                                    We shared Healing sessions.

Then we had the all important sharing of our experiences over a cuppa. these meetings are a great support and inspiration. It is great to meet with others who are spreading this work and we can compare notes and talk about the positive effects of our healing work.
I'm already looking forward to our next get together in April.