Q&A with Senior TCC Teacher Nancy Werner-Azarski

Minneapolis, Minnesota | Accredited 1998

A first-person story about Justin: ‘Make effort without effort’

In so many ways, Justin has been a real guide for me. When I first started teacher training, I made every effort, pushing to make my practice better — not realizing that I had to do my practice where I was, not where I wanted to be. As a practitioner of Transcendental Meditation, I would sit before T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) to be in ready state for TCC. I once closed my eyes to start and saw Justin’s face right at my face. I was so surprised. Then he opened his eyes, looked at me, and was gone. Justin was saying, “Nancy, you know better than this, get up and do your practice.” This was clear. I had wanted to foster an attitude of being ready, but that showed a lack of trust in the TCC practice. I did not need to manipulate the process to have what I would consider a better practice. That was really a learning experience.

Another first-person story about Justin: ‘Don’t just do something, stand there.’

At a conference in Albuquerque, we were asking Justin all kinds of questions. After one teacher asked about something being “beyond” something else, Justin took one of his thoughtful poses, didn’t say anything for a minute, and just stood there — feet apart, facing forward, knees soft, palms facing towards the tan t’ien. That’s all he did. He just stood there. That was the answer. I wanted to do something. That could not be the answer. But it was Justin’s answer, so it had to be the answer. I remember it so clearly because it was resting in stillness. Movement lead to stillness.

How has teaching changed you?

How many times have you reread Spiritual Odyssey and gotten something different out of it each time? It happens when you’re ready or when you’ve changed. At the hospital where I worked, many nurses said, “You’ve changed so much, you’re calmer, more reassuring.” We don’t see the change, others do. The change just happens. Inner stillness leads to the work that produces love and gratitude.

Incorporating instruction/lessons learned from Justin: ‘To the mind that is still, the Universe Surrenders’

When I retired, I’d avoided two projects because I thought they were tedious. When hip pain stopped me in my tracks, it seemed like a good time to go through old photos and to review letters to my mother sent while travelling during the Peace Corps. I soon realized I’d been avoiding those two things because they brought back uncomfortable memories and emotions. Maybe that’s why I hurt my hip, so I would stop and do this. It’s like Justin’s story about the Chinese man whose son broke his leg, and then didn’t get picked up by the army to fight the war.

When I was finally able to some TCC movements, there was an opening to the idea that these two projects were not harmful. Once I let go of the underlying tension, everything opened up, and I could move better. I had forgotten to be soft. That’s probably how I got the right hip pain in the first place.

I believe that we hold tension in our minds, bodies, and hearts. But now I think the body just stores everything. And that’s the deal with TCC: it helps get rid of that while allowing you to keep the gratitude. Your practice gives you everything that you want, and don’t want but need. Thank you, Justin.

What lasting lesson(s) have you learned from Justin and his teachings?

There are so many overwhelming problems, but I’m not going to fix any of them. Some people say they’ll pray about it. I’ll say I’ve got to do my practice every day. Activities where you are resting in that stillness are very powerful. It may not change the world, but it certainly helps my little part of the world.

I definitely view TCC as a spiritual practice. Many see it simply as physical exercise, but they also see the benefits. So, you don’t have to believe in anything, right? Or you can believe. Neither gets in the way because I don’t know how it works. Instead, I listen to the stillness and the silence, and practice without music.

When I was on a teacher conference panel talking about Justin, I said that Justin was never in the room with me for some of the best experiences I had with him. The energy is out there, it surrounds us in so many ways, and gives us what we need.