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Monday, October 25, 2010
Finding your Chi
Need a prescription for stress relief and a happier life?
Try one part Scripture, one part prayer, and one part of the ancient Chinese art of tai chi techniques of visualization, meditation and breathing.
For Hubert Pickett, director of personnel for Abilene Independent School District, that prescription and 35 years of studying tai chi have turned into a recently released book, “Seven Day Journey to Freedom.”
Pickett wrote the book to convey techniques to get people to “slow down and be in more control of their lives.”
“I decided to write the book, not about tai chi, but about stress, breathing techniques, and visualization,” said Pickett, a 1976 ACU graduate. “Using the biblical background I have, I wanted people to have an easy-to-follow guide teaching them how to meditate, visualize and live life the way they’re really supposed to live it.”
Pickett said tai chi is sometimes described as “meditation in motion” because it promotes serenity through gentle movements, connecting the mind and body. Originally developed in ancient China for self-defense, tai chi evolved into a form of exercise that’s now used for stress reduction and to help with a variety of other health conditions.
To do tai chi, the person performs a series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner. Each posture flows into the next without pause, ensuring the body is in constant motion.
“Once you begin to master the four elements — physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional — you can actually make your body relax and be almost stress-free,” Pickett said.
In the book, Pickett bases each of the seven days on the biblical story of creation. Each day, God created an aspect of the world, and on the seventh day, he rested.
“Each day has a scripture to read, a prayer list, a visualization list, and a meditation to get the reader in tune with what God wants them to be,” said Pickett, who has taught tai chi at ACU during the spring semester for the past three years. “Even though the book is geared toward seven days, it encompasses about 35 years of knowledge, and it would be unrealistic for someone to take one seven days to grasp it all. If people will just take time to read the book, do the exercises, read their Bible, and slow down a bit, it will have a noticeable impact on their lives.”
Roy Sharp has been a friend of Pickett’s for several years. He was one of the first to read the book.
“I wasn’t surprised by the tone of the book,” said Sharp after reading it. “I was fortunate enough to be in some informal martial arts classes where Hubert used some of the same concepts: breathing exercises, meditation, and spiritual awareness. I told Hubert that it [the book] would affect anyone who reads it. It has a calming effect just reading, even if you don’t employ some of the suggestions. If people take the book seriously and implement the techniques Hubert teaches, they will just take more time in making decisions and not rush life, and I think they will feel the release of stress by closing their eyes and imagining some of the tranquil scenarios that Hubert mentions.”
“God teaches us to love him, love everybody, and know there’s enough here for all of us if we’ll just take time to use it without greed, without lust, and without abuse,” Pickett said. “We are so caught up in trying to get ahead, so caught up in trying to keep up with someone else. We just keep piling things upon ourselves, upon our families and on our friends, that we cause a lot of illness, pain, and strife on ourselves. We weren’t meant to go that fast.”
Trey Rogge of Abilene recalled when he first heard about the book.
“I was searching for something that tied the spiritual realm together with the techniques taught by tai chi,” he said. “The Scripture is the foundation to all of life. Tai chi is somewhat unfamiliar to Western culture, so the use of both makes for a wonderful structure to achieve great results.
“The book will give a different experience to each reader. Everyone is at a different point in their life, and what Mr. Pickett teaches in the book will allow anyone to make a positive change.”
“People can achieve what tai chi teaches,” Pickett said, “but prayer, Scripture and tai chi together are much more powerful. I encourage readers to take everything I detail in the book to heart read the Scriptures, do the visualization and meditations breathe it in, and see if it doesn’t make a difference for them. Take time to love yourself and love others, and watch your stress released.”
“Seven Day Journey to Freedom” is available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and direct from the publisher, PublishAmerica.com.
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