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I am curious as to how people who are unfamiliar with chi practices are responding/ reacting to seeing such practices in outdoor parks for example. Is It becoming more of a common sight? In the Americas? Europe? Elsewhere?
Personally, living in British columbia Canada, I’ve always looked for outdoor practice spaces that are a bit more secluded where I would be less likely to be seen. This might sound silly but I’ve never seen someone practicing even tai chi for instance, outdoors, here in Canada.
What have others experiences been?
Kevin
I remember being stared at by a cop once when practicing in a park. Before that I preferred practicing alone indoors, and after that I still preferred practicing indoors alone.
Boulder is nearby, which is like this big hippy yuppie town, and there I’ve seen people practice outside and basically no one cared, and I think tai chi is more visually recognizable to others, and a group training together is more acceptable, but IME training by yourself outdoors, its either odd, looked at, or effortfully ignored.
“either odd, looked at, or effortfully ignored.”
Haha! Exactly. When I worked in the city, lunch time at the park was my best bet for practice time, so I definitely had to put blinders on to effortfully ignore people back.
I am practicing Tai Chi and Qi Gong very often outside (in South Germany).
Once there was an older couple looking at me, after a while they asked me: Sorry, do you feel okay, you don´t have any problems?
Somehow nice, but I am not sure If my TC-Form really looks good.
And Kids are talking to each other in a low voice, but you can hear the word Yoga. Not correct, but it shows there is more work to do to bring Tai Chi and Qi Gong out to the public.
Sabina
A friend of mine suggested I practice regularly at lunch time in a public square Downtown as a marketing tool. So he’s betting their response will be interest. It’s something cool to look at, part of an urban experience. I’m in El Paso, Texas.
For my personal practice, I try to do what Dan says, and use the energy of other peoples’ attention, or maybe it’s what I imagine their attention to be and it’s really my own hangups, as part of the practice. Dissolve, let go, be aware of my surroundings yet unaffected in my focus on the practice.
Hope this helps. Thanks for asking the question and getting the conversation going!
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