Amsterdam Weekend

 We took off to Amsterdam very early on Friday morning so early that the sun was just rising as we descended towards the airport. 

Smiles of anticipation outside Schiphol.

 Into the city to have a wander around and soak up the atmosphere.  We spent the rest of the weekend Releasing with Chris Dillard of the Release Technique. What an amazing few days Letting Goof our  limiting beliefs, our negative pictures that keep us stuck repeating stories and habits that hold us back from enjoying our lives moment to moment. 

Then on Sunday evening we wandered back in to the city.

To enjoy the shops.

And to stroll along the canals feeling very happy and Grateful for a great weekend. 

Mystical Practises

     By coincidence I spotted these monks in Cork today near Dervish where I was giving a Reconnective Healing Session !



I've been thinking lately of my mystical practises, it has been clear to me for a long time that T'ai Chi is really a mystical Art.
I looked up many meanings for the word mystical - here is just two. 

Having a spiritual symbolic or allegorical significance that transcends human understanding:

"A person who seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain unity with or absorption into the Deity or the absolute, or who believes in the spiritual apprehension of truths that are beyond the intellect:"

 The mysterious , mystical aspect of the art has always appealed to me. It is beyond the mind's understanding, somehow with dedication and training one begins to connect with it's essence.
This connection is never with the mind which is too limited to grasp the subtlety and immensity of the Art but the heart begins to 'know'.

Maybe Reconnective Healing appealed to me first day because it too is mysterious. I rarely write about my Reconnective Healing practise, it is just so mysterious to me and almost too sacred. It is beyond my mind to comprehend. I watch as these Reconnective Healing frequencies cause involuntary movements to muscles, watch as the movement of my hands produce changes in colour and tone of the skin and am in awe of this practise.

Bodies and minds heal and I have no idea how this happens so I must just surrender and be a witness to the mysterious. Surrender to not knowing and just trust in the fruit of this fascinating practise.
I trained in Reconnective Healing back in 2012 and it is as mysterious to me now as it was the first time I experienced it with Elsa in Galway.

Sometimes the session is so strong I feel impelled to share, to let others know that this amazing work is happening all over the world and people are feeling the benefits.

Inspiring Stories

Here is link to Annita's interview with Wayne Dyer this is the woman I spoke about at yesterday's class. Her story is fascinating and so inspiring. Her book is widely available in bookshops and libraries .
Annita Moorjani

Here is Eben Alexander's story also fascinating as is his book Proof of Heaven Hope you enjoy .

 Eben Alexander

Sunday's T'ai Chi Journey West

Sunrise as I left Mallow and already I was feeling the joy of winter beauty.

By the time I reached Castletownbere my heart was full,

Even felt welcomed by the birds,

And so happy to be here,



Postures connecting mini form and short form. from ann on Vimeo.

We worked,






Fair Lady lesson for Castletownbere from ann on Vimeo.

And worked, repeating and happily repeating postures.

Then I turned for home,

But something made me turn left near Lauragh,

 And new delights awaited me,

 Was it the light that pulled my heart?

The wonder and mystery of life ,

And these great T'ai Chi Journeys. West.
 Gratitude to be the Witness .

Love and Gratitude for John

Short Form Remembering John from ann on Vimeo.

Sometimes we practise to remember,
Sometimes to forget,
Often we are drawn by a call from inside.




John Kells - Figure 8 pushing hands from ann on Vimeo.

When we are lucky we find a teacher whose work enables us to find our own answers.
This is a blessing beyond price.

THE DIVINE IS NOT something high above us. It is in heaven, it is in earth, it is inside us.
                                                                                                                 Morihei Ueshiba

                         If you want to be free,
                       Get to know your real self.
                       It has no form, no appearance,
                       No root, no basis, no abode,
                       But is lively and buoyant.
                       It responds with versatile facility,
                       But its function cannot be located.
                       Therefore when you look for it,
                       You become further from it;
                       When you seek it,
                       You turn away from it all the more.
                                                   - Linji 

 
Here are the first 2 lessons of our 'New Little Form' for T'ai Chi beginners. from ann on Vimeo.

Welcome to ARC House New T'ai Chi Beginners and Iron Fan to Roll Back for Short Form Revision.

A big welcome to this amazing Art. T'ai Chi practise has many healing benefits. It calms the mind and sooths the body, bringing a sense of balance to one's life. It opens our minds to experience  the world in a whole new way. I love sharing this wonderful Art that has enriched my life in so many ways.
  Here are 2 of the exercises we practised today. I'll make a video of the last exercise tomorrow.


Heart Energy Exercise from ann on Vimeo.




Stepping like a cat exercise. from ann on Vimeo.




 Iron Fan to Roll Back Press and Push
 
trim.839B0056-FB5A-4DE9-9619-C82EE8D1BB58 from ann on Vimeo.

Back In the West

    First stop Kenmare to enjoy a morning coffee watching the ocean.

 Love the sheep who are dotted along the hills.

Magical light over the mountains.

I have to stop here and enjoy the looking back.

No end to the beauty all around.

T'ai Chi over it was time to discover The Tea Rooms

Which just put the Icing on a great day in the West.

Beginner's Exercises

Here are some short videos to help practise T'ai Chi.


 
Stepping like a cat exercise. from ann on Vimeo.

 Repeat this exercise with keeping the left foot anchored and stepping with the right foot.



 
Parting Wild Horse's Mane for beginners. from ann on Vimeo.

T'ai Chi just needs some practise and in no time you will begin to feel the benefits of this ancient Art.

A Big Welcome To Our New T'ai Chi Beginners

I just love sharing this amazing work and it always fills my heart when some new people 'find us'.
We had a fabulous T'ai Chi session in Blackrock last evening so good to be back working again and 'T'ai Ching' with old friends and new.



Warm up exercises from ann on Vimeo.




Parting Wild Horse's Mane in Castletownbere. from ann on Vimeo.


I'll post some more of the exercises later and an more detailed introduction to Parting Wild Horse's Mane.

John's Heartwork

Heartwork

Real connexion stems from what we call the Heart.
There is a circulation to the Heart – between the Heart and other Hearts –
human and otherwise.
This is the main thrust of my work.
But there is a circulation within the body, not as simple as blood or ch’i, but
something a lot deeper and from our ancestry – as deep as the beginnings of
time.
Real connexion is out of time and passes through bones and sinews from our
ancient impressions through something with the same kind of significance as
genes.
The inter-connexions between ourselves and other humans and all living things
are so complex that there is no intellectual sense to be made of it.
If my writings echo in you it is because you echo in them.
The soul of belonging is the interplay with all whom you meet and is quite
outside of ego.
To hear the truth resound within your own destiny is a great responsibility.
It bounces forwards in a natural way and you must devote yourself to keeping
up with it.
To be alive is to become your destiny and to burn everyone you come across with
a stronger and stronger light.
So from your land of mist and my land of mystery we have a meeting and a
blessing.

In Memory of John Kells

                    
                  God guard me from the thoughts that men think
                  In the mind alone.
                  He that sings a lasting song
                  Thinks in the marrow bone.
                                          W.B. Yeats

  When I read these lines many years ago I immediately thought of John. His teaching did not come from the mind it is so much deeper than any thoughts can fathom. It lives in our circulation nourishing our bodies, our spirits and dare I say our souls.

 John was always working, searching deeper and deeper.

  Expanding on the Yielding T'ai Chi of master Chi,

 Inspiring and exciting us, 

 Gathering us T'ai Chi Spirits to share and explore together.

His work is deep and profound it lives in, on and through us.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a ainm.  

                              Children  .   .    . find their freedom in
                           Nature by being able to love it. For love is 
                           freedom it: gives us that fullness of existence
                           which saves us from paying with our soul for  
                        objects that are immensely cheap. Love lights up
                             this world with it's meaning and makes life 
                               feel that it has everywhere that 'enough'
                                        that truly is its 'feast'.
                                                           Tagore

New T'ai Chi Term

Whether you are just beginning or have been training with us for years
                      WELCOME TO 2017 T'AI CHI
We have a great year planned. Classes start back next week see details on my website Ann Mc Ilraith

Looking forward to 2 Retreats in Dzogchen Beara  and we are all set to launch our T'ai Chi Teacher training later this year so lots of great plans for 2017.

Here below are some videos to remind us of some fun T'ai Chi sessions.



T'ai Chi 'Dancing' in Dzogchen Beara from ann on Vimeo.





John Kells Double Pushing Hands from ann on Vimeo.




Cloud Hands energy exercise. from ann on Vimeo.




trim.62C801B5-9EF9-4AD5-BB11-A1F1F9489279 from ann on Vimeo.






trim.818589BC-0731-452E-B291-00BC77D4F38A from ann on Vimeo.




trim.04B09DD1-5499-49BC-8FF6-5FC7F9F781D9 from ann on Vimeo.

A Garden Beyond Paradise

by Rumi

Everything you see has its roots
    in the unseen world.
The forms may change,
    yet the essence remains the same.

Every wondrous sight will vanish,
every sweet word will fade.
    But do not be disheartened,
The Source they come from is eternal--
growing, branching out,
    giving new life and new joy.

Why do you weep?--
That Source is within you,
and this whole world
    is springing up from it.

The Source is full,
its waters are ever-flowing;
    Do not grieve,
    drink your fill!
Don't think it will ever run dry--
This is the endless Ocean!

From the moment you came into this world,
a ladder was placed in front of you
    that you might transcend it.

From earth, you became plant,
from plant you became animal.
Afterwards you became a human being,
endowed with knowledge, intellect and faith.

Behold the body, born of dust--
    how perfect it has become!

Why should you fear its end?
When were you ever made less by dying?

When you pass beyond this human form,
no doubt you will become an angel
and soar through the heavens!

But don't stop there.
Even heavenly bodies grow old.

Pass again from the heavenly realm
    and plunge into the ocean of Consciousness.
Let the drop of water that is you
    become a hundred mighty seas.

But do not think that the drop alone
becomes the Ocean--
    the Ocean, too, becomes the drop!

Ballycotton Cliff Walk 2017

Ballycotton Light House is barely visible on the island, but this is such an iconic landmark to all of us who spent summer evenings in Ballycotton. We decided to begin the New Year with a Cliff Walk and what a great decision that turned out to be. 

The walk winds along the cliff for about 5 miles and today the sun shone all the way !

 The views were stunning and the sound of the sea accompanied us as we wound our way up and down along the path.

There were steps to the shoreline that just begged you to explore.

And the setting sun danced across the water and filled my heart with wonder at the beauty of this world.

May we all find Beauty, Joy and Love in this New Year.