24 March 2009

Therapy

Psychotherapy – talking it through – is something I advise most of my students into at some point. There always comes a time when the work you do stops being effective – stops opening the wounds – and instead smooths and soothes you in a cocoon of expertese and habit – albeit good habit, but still mindless repetition. You are stuck – nothing is moving in your life – and even though your Tai Chi may feel fresh and interesting it is only because it circles round and round – judiciously skirting and avoiding precisely those issues that you need to face to break through. This is the time to take a new tack – a completely new tack – start anew and afresh. Entering a course of therapy – letting a skilled therapist cast light into those dark places that you dare not face alone – is often just the change required. Having seen things we hadn't previously noticed, we can then redirect our efforts in the Tai Chi – adapt and invent – so as to attack our problems more accurately, more effectively and more compassionately.

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