Last night began the first of a month-long Tai Chi class that several of us from work are taking through Henrico County Recreation & Parks. I've never taken Tai Chi and wasn't really sure what to expect. To make it simple, if you've ever seen the Celebrex commercials with the older folks in the field doing the martial arts-looking moves, that's Tai Chi.

It was a little strange at first, some of the exercises we started off with were different, but once we got into actually learning the forms and going though the sequence, it got better.

What I've learned so far is that Tai Chi is about connecting with yourself, being in the present, and letting everything else go. It's not making sure you have your hand in the exact right position, but just going with the flow. The course we're taking teaches a 24 'form' sequence. Each form is repeated 2-4 times, switching between the left side and right side of the body. The forms have names, hence the title of this entry, but I haven't quite figured out what they mean yet.

I came out of the class feeling very relaxed and mellow. Considering how tense I was earlier in the day, I was quite impressed. I'm looking forward to the next class, should be fun!