Lessons for Short Form and Mini Forn Classes.

Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.



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

Lessons for Castletownbere Class

Here are the two lessons we worked on yesterday, keep up the practise. Looking forward to my next trip West already !!!


Fair lady weaves the shuttle beginning posture. from ann on Vimeo.





Needles at sea bottom to iron fan penetrates back. from ann on Vimeo.

The First Snow

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Snow on the distant Kerry mountains as I drove west heralded a wonderful day ahead.

By the time i got to Kenmare the sky was bright blue and the water still.

As I looked across the bay to Killarney I knew I'd be taking the 'long' way home.

What a view from the Gallery, it really enhances our t'ai chi practise.

Over Molls Gap I had to stop and take in the view,

Clouds melting in to the snow capped mountains,

Rust, brown and blue to delight the eye,

Stillness and beauty to nourish the soul. A day of perfection from the very beginning through the sharing of T'ai Chi to the journey home. My heart sang with gratitude for this life and the wonderful people I get to meet along my path. Blessings to you all. 

Amazing Dzogchen Beara

Sunrise on Saturday morning what a perfect sight to begin our day.

Stunning views on all the walks,

 Light changing with the cloud formations,

Still and silent,

 As the evening drew in,

 And a beautiful moon shone on the vast ocean of calm.

T'ai Chi Short Form to Shoulder Stroke and The Full Mini Form

Here are the lessons for this week, keep up the good work.


Short Form to shoulder stroke for Blackrock class from ann on Vimeo.





Full Mini Form from ann on Vimeo.

Dzogchen Beara - A Beautiful Journey

The flags were waving adeiu as Tricia and I drove away from Dzogchen Bears on Sunday afternoon.

Rainbows as I passed along the road near  Eyeries,

Then the magical ocean views,

 And pyramidal mountains to feed my dreams,

 Opening  my imagination in ways beyond words,

These magical journeys nourish my heart and spirit so much and now I am delighted to be drawing more people to this magical place of peace.  Tricia and I are delighted with the response to our second Retreat in Dzogchen Beara. We are all set for a wonderful weekend of Mindfulness and T'ai Chi Quiet and Connection.
Much Love and Gratitude Ann and Tricia 

The Power Of Smiling

  Recently I came across some new research showing that we learn faster when we smile. When we have that subtle upward turn in our mouth we also have an inward turn upward, a lift in our spirit.
 Try this yourself make an inward smile just hold it for a few seconds and a feeling of contentment will ensue. Now do the opposite turn your face into an angry frown and hold this expression for a few seconds notice how this produces a quite different and not so pleasant feeling. So knowing that smiling produces a more positive attitude and feeling I wondered why we don't just do it? Any practise including smiling takes a little effort, one must set an intention to be aware of one's expression and choose to smile. We are mostly unconscious of our facial expressions and are so busy with life to pay attention to our expressions. Learning to become more conscious moment to moment is one of the greatest benefits of T'ai Chi, Releasing, Mindfulness Yoga and all other arts that tune us in to awareness. Each time we begin an exercise in T'ai Chi  we remind ourselves to make an inward subtle smile, with the daily practise the smile becomes a habit, a positive habit that helps not just our mood but also helps to keep us healthy and live longer.
Ron Gutman's Ted talk is really interesting and confirms how beneficial smiling is for our lives.

The hidden power of smiling