Embrace the tiger, return to the mountain

Meet Tai Chi Master, Sifu Leo Low Ming at the KwazuluSpirit Festival

Leo Low Ming is a dedicated, professional martial artist. He has trained with the world’s top masters and practised his art for over 48 years. Leo teaches the young and the not so young. This is learning through doing. How to experience and evolve through the martial ways unfurls. Join Leo Low Ming for a unique experience. Step by step, let the master lead you… Simple taiji and qi gong movements and meditation techniques open up an energetic connection with the physical world. The western way thinks vigorous exercise that strengthens the muscles and heart brings good health. But the eastern way is different. Gentle, slow, repetitive movements release tension in the soft tissues and nerves, stimulate the organs, circulate the blood and quietly relax you. Here there is no separation of mind, body and emotions. Unsurprisingly, scientific evidence suggests that taiji can prevent illness and prolong life. Slowly, very slowly, you can feel, release, open and heal all that is bound and restricted within you.

“When the Tao is present in the universe, the birds sing.” Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching: Verse 9.

If there is harmony and balance in nature, your true nature unfolds. There is no such thing as early or late. Too much or too little. Too fast or too slow. Taiji is an art of inner peace. An inner peace arising from yin and yang, the two equal and opposite forces within us and the entire universe. Our life energy, or chi, arises through the interplay of yin and yang. Wellbeing depends on a harmony or balance between these two. Africa: The birthplace of humanity, where ancient ways can help us to see how we are part of the world, impacted by it and affecting it. Also as the most dominant species, we see how we burden the planet through our disharmony. As the Tao Te Ching says: “Empty and be filled. Bend and be straight. Yield and overcome.” Through mind, body awareness and the breath, it is time to recalibrate, recharge and reconnect with yourself and the natural world.

“…whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.” – Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species.

To contact Leo Ming visit his website at www.mingsmartialarts.co.za.