Happy Poetry Month. Friends of the Slowdown are invited to celebrate with a special offer from Poetry Magazine.

This April, an annual subscription to poetry includes a limited edition notebook. The notebook features a devious quote from Dorothy Alaska on its cover. I'm almost always lying in a poem.

And the full poem is inside. Use the notebook for your own poems, lies, and secrets.

Subscribe today at poetry magazine.org slash lying.

Each episode of The Slowdown offers you a moment of attention, a poem and reflection that shift your perspective during busy days.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, you can now receive an added benefit when you support the Slowdown, a sponsorship-free version of the podcast.

Keep your listening centered on poetry because the best moments of your day are uninterrupted.

Learn more when you make your gift at Slowdownshow.org and thank you.

I'm Maggie Smith, and this is The Slowdown.

Music Tai Chi is a mind-body practice that has roots as a martial art in China.

Often described as meditation in motion, Tai Chi involves movement, breath, and mindfulness.

Maybe you've noticed someone standing in a park, shifting their stance, moving their arms in a fluid motion.

That was likely Tai Chi.

It's beautiful, even mesmerizing to watch,

like a choreographed dance.

As you do Tai Chi,

you breathe deeply and naturally,

focusing your attention on the way your body feels as you move.

The series of motions, which are designed to energize and balance chi,

the energy which flows through the environment and the body,

have Mandarin names that translate to phrases like Wild Horse Parts Main, White Crane spreads its wings,

and Snake creeps down.

...