The source...

Most people's arms are extremely tense and they don't even realise it. Why? Why are people's arms tense?

Your hand is the primary tool employed by the mind for the exploration of reality. You touch, you hold, you press, you pull, you manipulate most things using your hands.

Jacob Bronowski wrote "The hand is the cutting edge of the mind." There's your answer. A tense arm is the by-product of a mind that is not in any way relaxed and at ease.

Psychological barriers

The biggest real impediment to losing fat is psychological. People want to keep on eating the things they like eating and yet shed the fat. This is a fantasy. A delusion.

Shedding the fat also means shedding the food that made you fat in the first place.

I really enjoyed my first workshop; it was informative and fun. Sifu Waller is captivating and held my attention throughout. It was truly enlightening to be in his presence. I left with a thirst for more tea and a hunger for more workshops!

With appreciation,

(Steven)

Reality check

Let's say that you're 5 feet 10 inches tall and 13 stone 8 pounds in weight... This is a weight you've grown accustomed to and it may not seem so heavy relative to many people around you.

Try putting your height and weight into the NHS BMI calculator. You're overweight.

Now try inputting different weights until you reach exactly halfway in the healthy range... It will be around 10 stone 8 pounds. The conclusion - you're 3 stone overweight.

 We get used to being a certain weight and even though BMI isn't perfect, it is a useful guide. Unless you're a body builder (or very short) it's worth using.

Zen in the Martial Arts by Joe Hyams...

The chapter called Lengthen Your Line is very important. The author is failing to make headway when fighting against more skilled opponents in class. His solution is to be an 'arse'.
The instructor (Ed Parker) asks to speak with him after the lesson.

Ed draws a short line on a piece of paper and asks Joe how to make the line shorter. The author provides a few suggestions.
Ed draws a longer line alongside the first line. Now, the first line looks shorter.

The instructor explains "It is always better to improve and strengthen your own line or knowledge than to try and cut your opponent's line".
 
Joe realised that in many different areas of his life he was investing a lot of effort attacking other people and trying to make life difficult for them rather than seeking to improve his own skill.

If we take the principle from this story and expand it... 

Consider that your current skill level can be represented by a 2 inch long line. During a lesson Sifu gives you the opportunity to extend that line another inch or two. But do you?
The student who goes home and thinks about the lesson, practices the skills and then applies them will come to the next lesson with a 3 inch line. 
By contrast, others will still have a 2 inch line. 

Which type of student are you?

Rachel Waller , aged 40

A rut

Most people have fairly routine lives. They stay safely within their defined 'comfort zone'. Nothing really challenges the status quo and there is no real reason to change and grow.

Often, gratifying illusions provide the impression of higher level mental activity:

1. The news

2. Politics

3. The internet

4. Technological toys

But these don't actually require any change. When somebody watches TV or regurgitates political opinions/commentaries, they are not using any higher brain functions at all.

Opinions are the result of memories, thoughts, ideas, the past.

By contrast, challenge lies with the unknown, the unfamiliar, the uncertain...

Body control

An authentic tai chi form re-trains the body to move naturally and freely. As a student moves through the syllabus, they are challenged with increasingly sophisticated stepping patterns.

  The cat-like grace of tai chi encourages agile, strong movement, excellent poise, high energy levels and a feeling of vigour. Learn how to move with the easy, relaxed balance of a dancer or a large cat.