Well, I started Ti-chi at the YMCA. It’s everything and nothing like I expected. It’s like Tae Kwon Do in way slow motion. What I didn’t expect was the feelings that came with it. I understand the philosophy and the science behind the movements and stretches. I wasn’t surprised when various joints sang out in protests and pops as I learned the first three moves. Or the twinge that started pulsing in my knee. What it was that surprised me was that somewhere, about half way through these extremely slow, deliberate movements… I started to sweat and my joints began to feel like someone was finally lubricating the old bones, and they drank deeply of the oil, like rusted old hinges on an abandoned barn door being conditioned and oiled for use again. Dang that sounds poetic.

Anyways, by the end of the class I had a few sore muscles, a faster heart beat and less pain then I had felt all day. And energy. I have practiced my moves almost every day and can’t wait till Thursday to go back and learn the next few steps.

DD enjoys her water aerobics. I’ll try to get her on here and post her opinion of the YMCA. I kind of started this site before enlisting my whole family to write, but I’m pretty persuasive. J