Tai Chi in the Mirror

Tai Chi class meets twice a week,

We do the warm-up and then the form,

30 gray heads in front of a big mirror,

Knowing left from right becomes increasingly difficult,

"Tai Chi for arthritis and fall prevention,"

Take a breath, open and close,

Single whip to the right followed by hands like clouds,

In the cloudy mirror I see my classmates,

Two in chemo, two with canes, and three more stop to sit down awhile,

Most of us persevere, Brush knee to the left,

Duckwalk and parry- ends with right hand punching over left wrist (check your watch, grab a beer)

30 gray heads return to the front,

Most men have large guts, the women are more talkative.

In the mirror I see those diagnosed with diabetes, early Alzheimers, Parkinson's and more...

We end with our cool-down, tense up, release, gently strike the big muscles to break up any lactic acid,

The Tai Chi salute.

Thank you for coming.

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Body Language

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