01

My name is ________.
My preferred pronoun is _____________.
I love the texture of ________.

intro:
body work
guidance and references through imagery
- to bring awareness to our own body
- to build connection with our own body
- to build connection with the instrument
- everyone is different and have their own pace of connection with their body

Chi/ki Experiment
- the word "Qi" (qi-gong 氣功) shares the same character/kanji as "ki" (ki-ai 氣合)
(however the character for Tai Chi 太極 is different from Qi/Ki 氣)
- "Qi" or "ki" is a major component of our body that can be easily overlooked

Alignment
- apply the same concept of feeling the air/ki through your spine to build upper body awareness
- to feel the alignment of shoulder, arms, and lower body
- to feel the space around our body

Warm up:
1) tai chi warm up arm swinging exercise
- purpose: posture awareness, and the concept of initiating from your core, and "letting go" of the arms
2) den den daiko arm swing exercise
- purpose: initiating from core, imagine a tiny pulley on the top of your head that guide the direction
3) dying cockroaches for 2 minutes
- purpose: "shake it up" shake up the qi/ki throughout your entire body

alignment of body with drum
- air bachi to check posture and allignment
- 2 minutes drum roll gradually from soft to loud, focus on posture

doko doko
- focus on hand grip tension
- gradually go from soft to loud to soft to allow your body to adjust and reset

Waterbottles
step 1: swinging forward and backward to feel the water flow and the timing of when the water hit the bottom fo the bottle
step 2: swing the bottle without making the water splash inside the bottle
step 3: explore swinging the bottle in different direction, again without splashing the water inside
Purpose: follow the flow of water, understanding the flow from "initial energy", the "velocity" of the flow, and the direction of the flow.
step 4: try the same motion on the drums

Drills:
2 minutes roll
- focus on breathing and bring your awareness to where tension happen

partners' oroshi
- All together and then one by one - crescendo > decrescendo
- partner (whisperer) whispers with gesture/shaker to help bringing attention to tension spot
- focus on breathing and using core power
- be mindful that everyone is different and the goal is to go beyond your own comfort zone rather than comparing with others