Dan Kleiman's blog

Over the break, we were thrilled to host Taoist Lineage Master Bruce Frantzis, for five days of Moving Meditation.

The January-February 2010 issue of Harvard Magazine features a great survey article of current issues surrounding Tai Chi in the West. I'm excited to share it because the author has really captured the range of concerns we try to address in classes.

Here's a great list of "Hand Warmers" for cold winter days, compiled by our instructor Ruth Schechter.

1. Invisible Finger Circles (with thanks to Kathleen Ahern)
   With hands relaxed and down at your sides, let your mind rest in your thumbs. Then gently make tiny circles with your thumbs, first one way, then the other. It doesn’t matter if your movement is imperceptible—make the circles with your mind. Then move on to index fingers, middle fingers, ring fingers, and pinkies.

Or "Why Florida is not on the way to California"

Last month we talked about why studying with a master is like jumping off a cliff. In that post, I was trying to remind you that all the cool new insights you had while doing the Gods Playing in the Clouds workshop with Lineage Master Bruce Frantzis were previews of what was to come if you put in the work to get there. The problem is, when you are going through the developmental process, it's hard to tell whether you are headed in the right direction.

If you attended the Gods Playing in the Clouds training with Bruce Frantzis last week, you will probably go through a funny, and at times frustrating, process in your practice in the coming weeks and months.

Save the date for the following fall workshops:

• NOVEMBER 14–15: Gods Playing in the Clouds Review
  Review of Bruce’s October workshop, taught by Energy Arts Senior Instructor Eric Peters. REGISTER NOW
• DECEMBER 5–6: Wu Style Tai Chi Sword
  NEW Wu Style tai chi double-edged sword, taught by Energy Arts instructor Edward Ware. REGISTER NOW

The Early Fall Session starts Tuesday, September 8. You can view the entire schedule, course by course, here.

During the first two weeks of the session (until Monday, September 21) please feel free to try any introductory class to see which course is right for you. You can go here to read more about the subjects we teach.

Course highlights for the Summer Session (which starts June 15):

• Gods Playing in the Clouds: We're offering the Intro level course again this summer in preparation for Bruce Frantzis' October Gods workshop. If you take this course, you'll also be able to start the Level 2 Gods rotation in September.

Brookline Tai Chi has a new look on the web! Please take a look through the new site. There are several new features for you to check out and more on the way. You'll notice that we are now BrooklineTaiChi.org to more accurately reflect our status as a 501c3 charitable non-profit organization. Class schedules for everyone are now easier to find. Our new blog format also incorporates event listings. You can look forward to hearing from our instructors on a variety of topics and we'll continue to publish the type of articles we feature in the bi-monthly newsletter.