TCC Road Warriors

It was an energy adventure, travelling through Anatolya (a.k.a. Turkey) during a major earthquake and a tragic military venture in October 2011. Fifteen of us gathered in Ankara to begin our Road Scholar journey through Turkish history, to hear expert lectures and walk the ruins of Troy. We were asked by our guide, “What do you do in life? What’s your favorite avocation?”

I replied that my life’s journey and energy source was T’ai Chi Chih. A few folks from Vancouver had practiced T’ai Chi Ch’uan years ago and urged me to start an early morning TCC practice. And for the next 14 of 16 days, beginning in Cappadocia, all but one person participated in a 7 a.m. class. Curious students were set on their practice path, and at breakfast I was bombarded with questions about the history of TCC, the nature of Chi and how we TCC practitioners move.

When we reached Konya and its Whirling Dervishes, one fellow traveler compared the stance of the dancers and the looseness of their wrists with what our group had learned. (Carmen Brocklehurst has long been my inspiration for learning looseness of shoulders, arms, wrists and hands.) The next day, at the Dervish Brothers Center, the host asked for and received a group demonstration of the first nine movements and Cosmic Consciousness.

At the farewell dinner in Istanbul, a group member lit a table candle indicating how TCC had helped her weight shift, to focus on the tan t’ien and to begin to learn the deeper meanings of TCC. Another cited his increased ability to relax and achieve balance where he had experienced walking issues. What greater joy than sharing our practice with new friends.