The Lighter Side (January 2005)

You know the essence is sinking in when:

6. For months, you listen and sing along to a favorite song on a CD whose words you believe are “…and the old man and the Buddha singing out the truth in Love…” when one day you read the CD jacket and it says “…and the old man and the booze seeking out the truth in life.”

5. You wonder if you can teach Rocking Motion to your dog.

4. Even Country/Western songs seem to take on Spiritual meaning: Getting drunk is just another unfortunate vashana; trains represent the locomotion of yinning and yanging; and romantic love turns into Universal Love.

3. During your day job, you check out office/clinic/conference room spaces to see if you could hold a TCC class there (even when you haven’t taught for almost three years!)

2. You have completely forgotten how to “do” a movement.

1. The gratitude you feel brings tears to your eyes for no reason at all.

– Rhonda St. Martin
Albuquerque

* * *

Thank goodness I saw a typographical error at the last moment before I mailed out the second paragraph of a letter for a teaching position to 18 senior citizen centers. I meant to write “FLOWING”. Before I realized the mistake here is what I wrote: “As an accredited teacher, I have observed many benefits to seniors of this simple form because the gentle FLOSSING movements are relatively easy to learn. It can even be done in the sitting position.”

– Michael Isaacs
California

* * *

Recently, a few new students attended my TCC class held at the retirement community. Leonard seemed a bit hesitant since this was his first time taking the class. When I quoted Justin as saying that TCC is the lazy man’s exercise, he quickly replied, “Good, then I’m in the right place!”

– Sharon Sirkis
Columbia, MD

* * *

On my previous Bio submission to the lighter side column, instead of typing that I was accredited in 1997, I typed the year 1007 by mistake. I laughed and read it to Barry, my other half, and he said, “Well, they say TCC is good for longevity, eh?”

– Sharon Sirkis

* * *

When I teach the six healing sounds, I like to break down the move. First, we say the sounds out loud. Then, before adding the leg moves, we place our hands on our Tan Tien to feel how we aspirate the sounds. Tess, my student and good friend, was a little too enthusiastic when aspirating the sounds. I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer when I noticed her sucking her belly in like a body builder, and said, “You look like you’re giving yourself the Heimlich!”

– Sharon Sirkis

* * *

I teach the Platters and Pulling in the Energy by telling the students to do clockwise/counter-clockwise circles with the arms. I asked one student, who just couldn’t seem to get the direction right, what the problem was. “I only do digital,” he said. It took me a minute to get it, duh.

– Kathy Grassel
Albuquerque

* * *

I asked my D-home students what they wanted to be when they got out of jail and grew up (or, grew up and got out of jail). I got some interesting answers: a cosmetologist, a drug counselor, a tattoo artist, a roofer, a marine. One boy said he was going to be an architect and he was going to design his own home and it would have one big bathroom with five toilets all in a line and three showers with no doors. And he would be able to send his kids to their rooms for 72 hours. And…they would do Tai Chi Chih every Saturday.

– Kathy Grassel

* * *

In one of my beginning classes, three of the ladies are sisters. After the class ended, we all sat in a circle and I asked if anyone had a comment or question about Tai Chi Chih. “Yes,” one of the sisters answered. “How often can we do this practice at home?” “One, twice, or as often as you please,” I replied. “But make sure that you do not do it right after eating.” Her other sister looked at her and said, “Well, you cannot do it at all then.”

– Caroline Guilott
Lake Charles, LA

* * *

At the Albuquerque Teacher Training after Justin had sat in on some of the presentations, we took a break. Some of the teacher candidates who had not done their presentations yet were sharing concerns and seemed a bit nervous. At that point Maya piped up and said, “Giving your presentation in front of Justin is like reciting the Ten Commandments in front of Moses.” Several of us proceeded to laugh hysterically!

– Debbie Cole
Severn, MD