Life is like...Tai Chi!

LIFE IS LIKE…TAI CHI!

I've had to juggle many things--simultaneously--of late: film festival screening stops for BUTTERFLY RISING (including an upcoming national roll-out); writing/directing projects; travel/shooting schedule for TRUE BLOOD; book events; auditions and, well, my personal, day-to day life. It's like a stove with pots on each burner, but each pot is in various modes of "boil": some have to simmer, some are already a boiling rage and the others, well, I just added the water to the pot! But all the pots require my attention at different times and in different ways.

I've also been doing a lot of yoga--I find that, ironically, it's when I slow down that I get the most done. Some pots on the stove require me to be bullish-- persistent, unwavering, determined; and still others require a more fluid approach. It's a lot like knowing when to be bull or bear-ish in economic fluctuations.

When do you know when to push, back off or just stand still?

My instinct has never steered me wrong in this regard. NEVER. It's a lot like Tai Chi, the Chinese martial art, where a succession of slow, fluid movements are used in response to the direction of energy coming at you (life!). By working WITH the energy (life) instead of against it, you are able to achieve your goal.

There are many other benefits to Tai Chi training--medical studies support its effectiveness as a form of exercise and that focusing the mind solely on movements helps to bring about a state of mental calm and clarity. Here's some info I found on Tai-Chi you might find helpful. Enjoy!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tai-chi/SA00087

Keep Rising,

Tanya

www.butterflyrisingthemovie.com

LIFE . AND TECHNOLOGY...

SO…I've been thinking.

Well, lemme back up. I've been TRAVELLING a whole lot lately, mostly for stuff (film festivals, etc.) related to my film, BUTTERFLY RISING, or Los Angeles to shoot TRUE BLOOD. While travelling, I noticed tons of folks who had iPods (or the equivalent) wired to their ears-- this, too, is especially noticeable on the NYC subway train (second only to my favorite mode of transportation--walking!).

This technology thing seems to be a two -edged sword: on the one hand, technology was created so that we can complete tasks quicker and more efficiently so that we can spend our time doing the things we love (spending time with our family/friends, being outdoors, playing with our animals--huh? What? No Fido in your life? Well, you get the idea…). And, if we use tech gadgets with that in mind, work would go quicker and we could have more free time, no? Instead, I see a lot of folks--myself included-- who are using technology to numb out and divorce themselves from the rest of the world. How much time do we spend on Facebook? Twitter? These are meant to engage, sure, but what's better than using them to set a time, date and location to simply sit down and share a good ole meal (or whatever else you like to do. Eating happens to be my favorite pastime and, I think, one of the great joys of life). But, then again, I also dig getting back in touch with my best friend from elementary school who I haven't seen in a gazillion years. And I've met a lot of VERY cool people on twitter:)

I guess, as with all things, the name of the game is BALANCE. And you'll know when you're out of it (balance, that is), cause you'll start to see/hear signs: ringing ears from an IPOD on blast; neck and back problems from crouching over your computer, or heaps o'time water scrolling down your homepage and looking at the barrage of FB statuses.

Steve Jobs left modern society many gifts, but his most profound one was the speech he gave some Stanford University students (and, later, the world). I listen to it often to…remember. Here it is again--I share it with you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

Cheers!

Keep Rising,

Tanya

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc