The end of the year seems to be the time for resolutions. We look back and assess our year. We contemplate what we planned versus what we have achieved. Some will be smiling and putting little check marks next to their imaginary list, while others groan and promise never to repeat this stupid custom ever again.

I never made extensive lists, but still I like looking back at what has happened to me in a year’s time. Now I am smiling. An enormous sense of achievement reigns over my heart as I have finally started exercising. It has taken me painstaking efforts to drown Ms. Doubt, to shoo away Ms. Procrastination and welcome with all my heart Tai Chi.

Looking back I think the only problem was that I looked at all the wrong places and all the wrong forms of exercise. I should have started with Tai Chi from the start! So what is so special about Tai Chi? Well, how long have you got?

  1. Tai Chi is the exercise that is able to switch off my inner voice. While I exercise I do not hear that (nagging) inner radio announcer which blasts the list of chores and tasks up ahead.
  2. Through Tai Chi I am learning to accept and let go. Some days my body is tired and non cooperative, while on other days I amaze myself. I am slowly accepting that Tai Chi is not about a competition, it is not about being better than others. It is about finding your inner peace, the road to your own better health.
  3. Tai Chi is the exercise that has given me balance. Balance in the physical but also in the emotional sense. I see myself taking things easier and in a more relaxed way than before.
  4. Tai Chi has given a meaning to movement. I pay more attention to how I move, how I stand, how I treat my own body. I started paying attention to the little signs that my body gives. Something I never sensed before.
  5. Tai Chi has given me physical strength and stamina.
  6. Through Tai Chi I have discovered a wonderful community of people dedicated to help others find these very things I am describing. And since I am just at the very beginning of my journey, I am sure they will be able to guide me even further.
  7. However, the biggest and most important thing that I learned from Tai Chi is the joy of exercise.

So list or no list, Tai Chi is here to stay. It is now a part of my life that I want to keep and plan to enjoy and explore even further!

And if I may, do make a resolution. However, don’t wait for the year end, or even until tomorrow! Make it realistic and meaningful, and start today. If there is even one thing on my list that sounds like something you are looking for, give Tai Chi a chance! Shoo away any doubt and look for an opportunity near you to just watch or to join a class. And for those who just cannot wait that long, there is always this video as a little teaser. Enjoy!