East Meets West

The Sheng Zhen participants filtered into the spacious training hall speaking German, French, Israeli, English, Filipino, Norwegian, Italian, Swiss, and Japanese.
People visited, laughed, hugged, and stretched. A man walked onto the red stage without saying a word, but his presence commanded silence which gradually fell over the hall.
Everyone settled in, waiting for the training to begin. A beautiful Chinese woman, Master Li’s daughter Jing, took the stage and adjusted her microphone, trying to fit it smoothly through her yellow silk blouse.
Giving up, she said in English, “Oh, well, it’s inner beauty that counts.” A Tai Chi champion, her posture was erect and her presence imposing.
She was even stricter than her famous father, Master Li, now 87 years old. With her as our guide, we began to practice one of the standing Sheng Zhen forms.
After we completed the initial practice, 130 Chinese participants filed in. They didn’t read or speak English, and only a few among our international group read and spoke Chinese.
For five days, we’d been preparing an exhibition to demonstrate the Sheng Zhen forms for the Chinese students. They didn’t know Sheng Zhen, but they, too, had been preparing, and as the rest of us took our seats, they went first, performing slow, fluid Tai Chi movements.
Then, it was our turn. For this formal performance, we’d been divided into groups based on our home countries or continents: North America, Europe, Israel, Asia, and a mixed group, each one demonstrating a different form.
With Master Li, his daughter Jing, the Chinese students, and the other participants scrutinizing our every move, the North American group stood at the front of the hall and began the standing form, Heaven Nature Heart Contemplation.
Thanks to those leading, our group moved as one and synchronized all ten of the movements. When we finished, I breathed a sigh of relief. Now, I could join those seated in the audience and enjoy the other performances.
At lunch, Bat Shiva from Israel, shared with me how she’d been diagnosed with cancer and the shock of the unexpected finding.
She’d lost all of her hair during the chemo treatments, but now she was cancer free, and her hair had started growing back.
Still fighting fatigue, she often sat on the sidelines during our practices. “I’m grateful to be here,” she told me. “Grateful to be alive.”
That afternoon, we had a welcome break as we listened to six doctors present scientific evidence about the mental, emotional, and physical benefits of both Tai Chi and Sheng Zhen.
That evening, we enjoyed an East meets West talent show with Master Li’s son, Jack, translating everything into Chinese.
Two performances stood out for me. The first was a fashion show with older Chinese ladies displaying long, sequined gowns.
The other was a young woman who performed one of the most exquisite dances I’d ever seen. After her performance, she sat on the sidelines and sobbed from the intensity of her effort.
Earlier, because of the rigor of our training, several other women had shed tears, but during the talent show, the cork of tension released as we relished the diverse talents people shared.
At the end, Bat Shiva got up and danced to “Volare,” beckoning to the audience.
Soon, another woman went out on the dance floor, then a man, then another until half the people in the hall danced to “Let’s fly away up to the clouds/ Away from the maddening crowds... Volare, oh oh/ Cantare, oh oh oh oh.”
We had one more full day of training with our Chinese friends. The organizers divided us into small groups and tasked us with teaching the Chinese students a Sheng Zhen form.
Since we didn’t speak each other’s language, we relied on demonstrations. A woman, whose husband and daughter were also part of our group, had difficulty following one of the movements.
Each of the teachers in our group showed her how to do it correctly, but to no avail. Finally, fearing I would offend her, I rose, touched her shoulder and gently moved her arm.
After we finished, she seemed excited as she showed her husband and daughter what I’d demonstrated and asked to have pictures taken with me and her family.
Finally, she called over an interpreter to tell me she appreciated the help. Again, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Before we ended that night, we had a group photo taken with all 200 plus participants. Master Li and Jing sat in the middle, and I settled next to an older Chinese lady whom I’d never met.
She reached over, took my hand, and held it as the photographers snapped our pictures. That evening, the East and West came together in my heart.
The next day, the Chinese students left for home, and we had a half a day of practice with Master Li correcting our movements and teaching style.
After lunch, with the training officially over, two tour guides took us under their wings to begin our tour of Hangzhou and Shanghai. We were tired, yes, but Bat Shiva’s dance of joy filled our hearts and minds.
During our meals and over our breaks, I’d visited with some of the training participants and learned about their lives, families, and challenges.
I’d shown them cell phone photos of San Juan County. They’d shown me photos of their homes and loved ones. More than just East meets West occurred during our training. We’d grown to love and appreciate people from all over the world.
– To Be Continued