In my Integral Qigong and Tai Chi classes at Kaiser (aka "Mind-Body Recovery Techniques"), after our routine opening walking meditation, then standing meditation (to establish the basic posture), then set of warmup exercises, I often ask, "Any requests?" More often than not, no, there are no requests, so I proceed with exercises of my own choosing.
But last week, two voices asked for the Eight Pieces of Brocade—the whole set! Well, I haven't led it in a year and a half, so I agreed to move us through "Draw the Bow to Shoot the Arrow" (#2) and "Wise Owl Gazes Behind" (#4) right then and there, while also agreeing to incorporate the entire set into the curriculum for the last quarter of the year, which begins tomorrow night. That's given me a week to get it up and running again!
So, I'm heading to the living room for my own personal, daily half-hour Vipassana sit and for a final, preparatory run-through of the Eight Pieces of Brocade. I'm looking forward to having silken Qi about an hour from now!
