Teacher Accreditation (February 2012)

With Sandy McAlister in Albuquerque, New Mexico; November 2011

By Molly Grady, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Ten excited, anxious and well-prepared T’ai Chi Chih candidates (from a teenager to a 70-something) presented themselves to undergo the process of becoming teachers. As those who have been through this know, it’s transformative. Twenty-one teachers audited the training to renew their own practices. Some came for a few hours; others stayed the entire time. (You know who you are, Alba). Antonia and Pam also came to support the training and to visit Justin and honor his birthday.

Unfortunately, our wonderful registrar, Ann Rutherford, was ill for the first part of the training and wasn’t able to join us until the last few days. I had the privilege of hosting and took Ann’s instruction to heart that I act as mama duck to my ducklings. I had no idea how profound the experience would be. We became a community, supporting one another, immersed in gratitude.

There was plenty of time for dialogue and individual attention. Discussions between candidates and auditors ranged from the very practical (how do you figure out what to charge for a class) to the metaphysical (what is life). Everyone enjoyed these small conversations, what Sandy affectionately called speed dating.

As always, presentations were worrisome for those who dislike public speaking, which apparently was about everyone. And as always, everyone was astonished by his or her power. From every training, the bonds formed will undoubtedly last forever.

I found myself reflecting on the teacher training process. The week is hard work – physically tiring and emotionally exhausting. We take apart something we enjoy (our practice) and find it hard to put back together again. There are left over pieces. Or we take a hammer to that back leg to make the weight shift complete. And there are challenging lessons like “the effort of no effort,” “flowing from the center” and the importance of stillness in movement. And then, slowly or suddenly, it all fits together. We feel it, Sandy recognizes it and we become T’ai Chi Chih teachers. We will be learning all of our lives, deepening our practice. But now it’s not just something we enjoy: It’s something we love that loves us back. And we’re ready to share the gift. Thank you, Justin.