#alibernie

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Ali Bernie, Part II Riverfront Boardwalk | Wilmington, NC

[peoplemakethepeople-blog]

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"How long have you been doing this?" I asked.

"I started back in the 70s. I was sellin' stuff doh' to doh' and this guy came up to me, sayin', 'Here! Read this book!' It had all these people doin' funny things, funny things like turnin' up on they head, puttin' they legs around they neck, walkin' on they hands. I couldn't undastand what the words meant, but I kep' readin' and readin' and readin', five years, until I could finally get it."

"So you practice yoga?"

"I practice tai chi...did that this mohnin'. I got a book on my eatin' table in my livin' room. But yoga, yoga was not popular here in America, during that time. Martial arts wasn't neither. But I jus' kep' readin' and readin'...and practicin'." 

"And all that comes in with martial arts, and all this tai chi stuff," he continued. "Energy. You call it internal energy. You'd be surprised how much internal force you have. You. I'm lettin' you know whatcha got inside of ya. We all got it, but it's neva' developed."

[peoplemakethepeople-blog]

Ali Bernie Riverfront Boardwalk | Wilmington, NC

[peoplemakethepeople-blog]

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"See, you gotta act like yo' feet is a duck feet. And then you lift one leg, betta be the right one, 'cause it's hard to do it on the left."

We stood facing one another on the boardwalk. He slipped off his shoes and suit jacket, hanging his cap on the fence.

"Look in the woods ova' there at somethin', 'cause you gotta get a tree pose." Bringing his palms together, he swayed as he raised his foot off the ground. "See, I still weebles and wobbles...But you jus' keep starin' at da tree, and pretty soon, you find yaself watchin' a tree betta than anythin' else."

Then, without pause, or further explanation, he declared, "Meditation! Meditation is one of those things that you can jus' get into yo' world, relax yaself and you'd be surprised whatchu can do."