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Making Tai Chi Your Own

Steve Rowe

Making Tai Chi Your Own At 68 years of age, after nearly 5 decades in the Martial Arts and 15 surgeries and 2 life threatening infections in my legs leaving me with one leg 2 inches shorter than the other, one with no knee and fused straight, the other with a metal knee and 3 quads missing on both legs, the powerful antibiotics have ruined all my joints and left me with severe and painful arthritis, I have to use a crutch to walk and have terrible trouble balancing on my legs with no ability to control a forwards pull … Continue reading Making Tai Chi Your Own

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Dieting Is Mind and Emotions

Steve Rowe

Dieting Is Mind and Emotions Dieting is about manipulation and business. They know how to appeal to your basic instincts and emotions. If you’re fat no-one will love you, that instills fear and you can’t even love yourself. How deep and sad is that? That leaves you vulnerable to those that know how to manipulate you at that level.  Self loathing is a powerful demon that can drive you into all sorts of unnatural thoughts and actions and everyone from the dieting, plastic surgeons, make up and clothing businesses and even narcissistic friends and partners love it. So take control … Continue reading Dieting Is Mind and Emotions

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The Fork In The Martial Road

Steve Rowe

The Fork In The Martial Road We start training in the martial arts to improve ourselves. We get fitter, healthier, better at technique and go up in our own and other’s estimation, often taking responsibility to teach and having others look up to us. This brings us to an important fork in the road of our martial arts training. We may have been weak, greedy for money, lust driven to manipulate others, bullied or a bully and/or a narcissist. Martial arts training SHOULD then reduce those weaknesses and make us a more disciplined, empathic, compassionate, tolerant and helpful person, but … Continue reading The Fork In The Martial Road

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Dealing With Obesity

Steve Rowe

No-one will understand the agony of obesity unless you’ve suffered from it. I posted a while back wondering how everyone had become ‘obese’ according the government. In my day you were ‘obese’ if your stomach was bigger than your chest; You were ‘fat’ if your belly hung over your trousers; Otherwise you were ‘normal’; Unless you were cadaverous and then you were ‘skinny’. People that have never had weight problems don’t understand the pain their comments cause. Overweight people know they have a problem every time they look in the mirror or try to buy clothes. They don’t need constant … Continue reading Dealing With Obesity

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Nature’s Way

Steve Rowe

  This morning’s neigong: Don’t look for it…. It cannot be seen; Don’t try to find that deep state: Don’t think, instead just be present. Feelings don’t require words; Let them come and go; Just watch whatever comes; Thoughts, feelings – nothing stays. Let go, let go, let go… Just ‘be’; Be yin, be yang, be neutral; Be totally in the present. Nature’s wordless speech; Can be experienced in this state; On this late summer overcast day; Natures freshness has begun turning in on itself. Soon enough it will hibernate to heal; The earth, wind, rain and sun nourish us … Continue reading Nature’s Way

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Fasting Diet & Buddhism

Steve Rowe

Fasting Diet & Buddhism Meditation in the bath in the mornings, rather than listening to a ‘lifestyle guru’ I like to play a ‘Dhamma Talk’ by one of the Buddhist Ajahn’s from the informative website of Amaravati Monastery. This morning it was Ajahn Metta and just labelled ‘Dhamma Talk’. Her voice was very quiet and was difficult to hear above my abolutery splashing sounds, but I laid still to listen to see whether to change it – and am I glad that I didn’t! She was discussing fasting and diet and how the ‘switch off’ for religous fasting was easier … Continue reading Fasting Diet & Buddhism

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Obesity – What Happened?

Steve Rowe

I had been really struggling with diet over the last few years, 68 years old with dodgy legs I couldn’t move around enough and years of infection and strong antibiotics, painkillers, stomach and blood pressure meds had really taken their toll. I have been vegetarian for over 40 years don’t smoke or drink and still practiced Tai Chi and meditation every day so I was in a reasonable place to clean my act up a bit more. I gave up all soft drinks and sugary food and that helped a bit and started to research. Intermittent fasting was fairly easy … Continue reading Obesity – What Happened?

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How To Change The World

Steve Rowe

  We live in a reductionist society.  We are reliant on the few for everything we do and have. Our jobs, our income, our media, our entertainment, our religion and spirituality, everything is very carefully controlled. We are encouraged to look outside, to aspire to external beauty, good jobs, good houses, money and these are all held like carrots for a stupid donkey. Even our religion is politically controlled and run. Our elections are like turkeys voting for Christmas. We are never encouraged to look inside and explore the bigger inner universe, to challenge every bit of information that is … Continue reading How To Change The World

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Doorstep Zen

Steve Rowe

Doorstep Zen This is my Dojo (place of learning the ‘way’) doorstep, as you enter you bow, as you bow you look down and this is what you see. ‘Shi’ means ‘warrior’ but more in the sense of ‘cultivated person’. ‘Kon’ means ‘spirit/heart’. ‘Budo’ means ‘to stop the spear’ or peacemaker. ‘Kan’ means ‘place/clubhouse’. So, ‘the place of the peacemaker with a warrior spirit’…. As you enter the Dojo the doorstep reminds you to leave the past and and future behind and become fully immersed and engaged in the present. The bow is an act of  mental cleansing, reminding you … Continue reading Doorstep Zen

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3 Ways To Practice Tai Chi

Steve Rowe

3 Ways To Practice Tai Chi Monk Style Always begin with Monk style… Neigong, Qigong, the Yang Chen Fu form and basic push hands drills. Practice like a monk in the temple gardens, with no ‘martial’ applications in mind, get rid of violence, aggression, fear and anger by clearing your mind, making it aware, focused, sensitive, intense and bringing it to a state of peace and stillness. Do this by working on your posture and breathing, this will bring forth these qualities of mind. Be gentle, soft, circular, continuous and let the mind be at ease. Until you can practice … Continue reading 3 Ways To Practice Tai Chi