Day 15 – Zen master

I have wanted to try Tai Chi for a really long time. Back in the UK, I had a colleague with a bad shoulder who swore by it: it not only helped her shoulder but left her feeling relaxed and chilled out. Like with sign language last week, I’d put it on my “something new” list to prompt me to finally try it and it finally worked!

My limited experiences of exercise classes in Frankfurt have run me on average about €17 a class: close to €70 a month! Absolute daylight robbery. Needless to say, YouTube has been a close friend in my yoga practice. However, last year my friend started raving about a community fitness centre in Frankfurt where you could do a whole load of different classes for €12 a month. Twelve bloody euro! Naturally, I signed up, managed one Zumba class, then chemotherapy got in the way, as it does, wiping me out for the rest of the year.

Now I’m stronger and ready to start moving again I wanted to go back and try something gentle: Tai Chi was the perfect candidate. After an initial misfire on Friday where we ended up at the wrong building, my friend and I finally found the right class and joined the ranks of pensioners to get our zen on.

The old ones absolutely schooled us, putting on a lovely, gentle demonstration of a Tai Chi sequence. We slowly learnt some moves, the teacher helped us align ourselves properly, and I felt my body move in ways it never had before. It was really soothing to move so slowly, but with purpose: I felt so relaxed at the end. It felt great to finally try it and actually enjoy it – I’m definitely going back next week.