Relaxation, Stress Release and living in the Moment

I recently rejoined the Pacific Tai Chi Society. I realized after much prompting from my body (and my mind!) that I needed to get more physical exercise as part of my stress release and relaxation program.

When I was an active member several years ago, I had just come out of a messy relationship so my mind was fraught with noisy self accusations and useless innuendos. I had not learned how to manage my mind very well back then, not that I am perfect at it now, so the noise was alost unbearable.

Being a good scorpio, I am quite capable of sabbotaging myself to extreme lengths, so I knew I needed to figure out how to get myself settled down and functional again. This was the beginning of my PHD in life.

It was during this phase of my life that I found myself writing books and doing workshops. As they say, the teacher teaches what they most need to know!

Tai Chi was fun to do in those days but the prattling in my head was a huge distraction!

Last night during our Tai Chi play time, I suddenly realized how much I had grown in these few years. Yes, there was still noise up there. I still chided myself for not being perfect in all the 108 moves, but what this new level of living life was very profound and refreshing for me. I wish this for you as well.

As my mind bellowed out its castigations and rebukes at me in an attempt to undermine my personal confidence, I realized that as I played with my group, I was holding myself separately from the thoughts.

I watched the thoughts, some nice ones and lots not so nice from a detached perspective, much like listening to the radio. I knew I was not the thoughts. I also knew that the thoughts only had any power if I gave it to them.

It takes 10-15 minutes for us to complete a full set of Tai Chi moves. As I settled into the rhythm, I settled into the awareness of my body as it moved through the various steps.

It was so invigorating! I felt my back muscles stretch out just like a cat does. Then I felt my arms reach past their limits while my legs stretched out their full length! Oooh It felt soooo good.

The real pleasure though was the feeling of being in the very moment that time had presented to me.

I was not thinking about work I hadn't completed, or the weather or what my lady was up to. I was fully engaged in playing Tai Chi. What a treat!

The reason I tell you this personal story is because it is a good example of what both Eckhart Tolle and I are presenting to you in our books. The CD in my Stamp Out Stress book has two wonderful visualizations that are super easy to follow that will help you to attain that state of personal peace that I found last night. If you look over to the right hand bar, there are a couple of short samples of the visualizations.

Of course, joining Tai Chi to find stress release and relaxation is good too.

In this busy world we have created, it is absolutely essential that we create times where we shut out the world of our egoic mind and live in the moment. Learning to relax, to insert those spaces of "stop" in our lives, just like the completion of the moves, so the world has a chance to catch up so we get to relax just for a sec.

Please remember, stress is a self manifested occurance. You always have the choice how you deal with any situation. Training yourself to respond to stressful situations in a healthy way is your duty to yourself if you wish to live the best life possible. My goal is to provide tools to help you succeed.

You can check out my books, e-books and visualizations on my website at www.montyritchings.com

Wishing you all the best in peace , relaxation and living in the moment.

NamasteMonty