Just a crane in the woods

The white crane - is what it's supposed to be

After a visit to see someone in hospital left me feeling stressed an hour of tai chi in the woods was just what I needed.

As part of his job Younger Son organises events in the woods and today's was mindfulness and a taster Tai Chi session with two experienced teachers. The sun shone, the birds sang and all was well in the world again. Even the fact that I couldn't tell right from left didn't spoil it.

'Imagine you're pushing down the clouds,' the teacher said.

There are lots of different types of tai chi and the one they were teaching us was Sun style, the youngest - although it's over one hundred years old - and it's especially effective for relieving stress, as well as being ideal for arthritis sufferers.

After the teachers and others had gone Younger Son filmed three of us trying to remember the sequence - the form it's called - that we'd been taught. (I have to say I felt as if I looked a lot more professional than I apparently did.)

I've not convinced about the taking energy out of Mother Earth bit but it was relaxing and enjoyable.