So Many Places to ShareWe have many ways to share and disseminate connections made between regional communities and individuals: The Vital Force, the Guide’s newsletter, the Facebook group, and the New Mexico T’ai Chi Chih Association. It can be hard to know the difference between them or what to look for where. I see the [...]

From the Editor Each issue of The Vital Force is woven from the voices, experiences, and insights of our global T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) community. As you’ll see in the pages ahead, this August issue brings a wonderful blend of practical tips, inspiring stories, and gentle reminders about why we practice. Grounded in Connection In [...]

Spreading TCC Globally This May issue contains dispatches from teachers making an impact in Belize, Costa Rica, the UK, the Netherlands, and Canada. It is inspiring to read about the growth of T'ai Chi Chih (TCC) in pockets around the world. And it's a testimony to the power of the practice and sincerity. Locally here [...]

New Teachers in November During the recent teacher accreditation in late 2024, candidates jotted down observations towards the end of their training, as they are asked to do. But for this February issue, seven of the 15 have also shared their experiences of teaching their first classes. The writing reflects a special metamorphosis. Hope all [...]

“Do Something!” As Michelle Obama said in a different context in August, when confronted with change you want to see, ‘Do something.’ As the former Speaker of the House says, “Don’t agonize, organize.” What am I referring to? As T’ai Chi Chih teachers grow older and retire, many think that the Chi will step up [...]

From There to Here In honor of the 50th anniversary teacher conference, I shared a timeline at the conference of all the teachers who preceded my tenure at The Vital Force journal and JustinStoneTCC.com. Here is a heartfelt appreciation to all. Community Generosity Thank you to an anonymous, generous donor whose funding helped The Vital [...]

Senior Teachers Speak This May issue has three amazing Q&As from longtime T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) teachers: Paul Ciske (accredited in 1991), Christina Tillotson (1993), and Kathy Grassel (1994). Their stories are inspirational, personal, and universal. These are the lights of our TCC community. These are the people whom other teachers can meet in July [...]

This Issue: ‘Intuition after Practice’ Subscribers have never emailed so many positive comments about a thematic idea. It was personally delightful reading so many shorter expressions. Perhaps teachers attending the 50th anniversary conference this summer will write immediately and intuitively after a practice. E-Books at 50% Off Jessica Lewis emailed asking for quotations by Justin [...]

Taichichih.orgHave you seen the redesign of the home page of Taichichih.org and of the ‘Find a Teacher’ page? The teacher directory has been removed from the homepage, and many changes have been made to the directory design and functionality. See additional reflections on page 20. 50th anniversary of the origination of TCCOne of the most [...]

From the EditorSeijaku: Available Online!Seijaku, the advanced form of T’ai Chi Chih is now available wherever you have an internet connection. Seijaku, which translates as “stillness in the midst of activity,” is an advanced and powerful form of the T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) discipline. Many students believe they do not understand the vital principles of [...]

Graceful ConclusionThis issue contains many reflections, understandings, and experiences with T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) movements, “coming to a graceful conclusion.” One of Justin’s most effective teaching methods was through the use of repetition. And he always used this phrase when practicing with us. When I queried my computer for all the instances of this phrase, [...]

Abandon Hope: Back in Print!After a long hiatus, Justin’s book, Abandon Hope, is back in print — thanks to the amazing generosity of the Northern Colorado teachers (taichichih.org/teacher/northern-colorado), Rebecca Paulson (in particular), and Carmen Brocklehurst. Order pre-release copies at 30% off through March. Use discount code ‘abandon30’ at checkout. See justinstonetcc.com/shop/tai-chi-chih-books/abandon-hope-book. ENJOY. Abandon Hope: ‘Do [...]

The Cleveland Clinic & ArthritisTeacher Sally Sherwin took the initiative to promote TCC and it yielded huge results, see page 4. Belvoir Media Group, LLC has granted permission to The Vital Force to reprint the article “Try T’ai Chi Chih” from the October 2022 issue of Arthritis Advisor in the organization’s newsletter. This is for [...]

Authority & TruthT’ai Chi Chih teaches us to trust our experience of the truth. A teacher shared this quotation by Sadhguru: "Authority is not the truth, truth is the authority." Got a Teacher Event Offering?If you teach a class online or have a special event offering that’s of interest to a national population, it’s eligible [...]

Reprinting Articles on Teacher Listing PagesAre you a teacher with a teacher listing page (i.e., taichichih.org/teacher/kim-grant)? Have you written an article recently that you’d like to share with new and prospective students? Let me know, and I’d be happy to upload it for you after the issue is distributed to subscribers.See taichichih.org/teacher/dorene-krause. Hannah Hedrick’s Seated [...]

Q&A with Senior TeachersLast year, Lynne Roberts (page 8) suggested collecting stories from the more experienced teachers in the community. With this issue, it’s begun bearing fruit. Twenty-six teachers accredited between 1977 and 1986 were invited to answer any number of 10 questions put to them about their journey – in the hopes that the [...]

Celebrating & Remembering JustinJustin packed a picnic basket for every serious student he encountered. It was stuffed with all the essential teachings and, more importantly, pathways to access Knowing. I began hearing about Justin and T’ai Chi Chih in the late 1980s while living in Boston with Lisa Otero, Carmen Brocklehurst’s niece. You cannot know [...]

A Supremely Important Reminder & RequestI was entrusted with the copyrights to Justin's words and works – and the trademark to T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) – in December 2020 when Good Karma Publishing folded. A huge part of that involves making sure that the TCC we know today, the TCC that Justin left us, is [...]

Stories and a Request about JustinTeachers Donna McElhose and Nancy Werner-Azarski were talking the other day about their experiences with Justin at conferences and other events. As they said, many teachers who knew him best are gone and or getting older. Their stories will be lost if we cannot capture them soon. Donna’s students got [...]

Classes Post Covid-19? Teacher Jim Shorr poses a good question: What happens to TCC practices when the pandemic is nearly over? What are the opportunities? For the next edition, please consider writing about what classes and approaches you will be pursuing. Teacher Listing PagesTeachers: I’d like to draw your attention to different teacher pages, so [...]

Taichichih.org/events Reminder to Teachers: If you are offering a daylong or weekend virtual (or real-life) event, you may have it posted on taichichih.org and on the back page of The Vital Force. Simply send details to me. Vital Force Subscription Auto-Renewals Since the subscription renewal rate for The Vital Force is about 95%, and because [...]

Teacher Listing Pages – Who Are We? • Please visit the taichichih.org homepage and scroll down to find the link for featured teachers and teachers teaching on Zoom or FaceTime.• The site currently profiles 85+ teachers, including Justin (the original teacher) and one association (see Northern Colorado).• Starting with this August issue, when a teacher [...]

Let’s Be ReadyJustin used to affirm a breakout moment for T’ai Chi Chih. Let’s be ready – when a big publication writes about TCC or a significant medical study includes TCC or when your teaching venues open up again. * I’ll wait to pitch TCC to a national reporter after a significant number of our [...]

Make It $1/MonthBecome a sustaining member of taichichih.org and The Vital Force with a monthly, recurring gift of any amount, even $1/month. Go to Donate or call Kim at 617-901-9628 with your credit card. It’s like Netflix but for TCC. Taichichih.org/teacher/Your_Name_HereTeachers: stay tuned for details about how to promote yourself and your classes on our [...]

SolidifyingSomething feels afoot with T’ai Chi Chih, and the image that comes to mind is a projectile in a slingshot. TCC feels ready to be propelled into the world with a force that would break apart if it weren’t fundamentally solidified. Hurled out of a slingshot, it would disperse into pieces and fall to the [...]

www.justinstonetcc.com Justin’s T’ai Chi Chih teaching materials are alive and well! His published writings, instructional DVDs, and recorded music and spoken word are now available to all in perpetuity. The website for free downloads and for purchasing physical copies of Justin Stone’s teaching materials is in process. Its completion is expected by mid-June (and hopefully [...]

Teaching Wherever We Find Ourselves On a recent slow boat trip through Vietnam for 11 days, I found myself teaching T’ai Chi Chih at 6 am to most passengers on board. During the first of many communal meals, as we introduced ourselves, I mentioned TCC, and much to my surprise, the passengers clamored for a [...]

Good Karma Publishing: The End Of An Era Allow me to change hats for a moment, from editor of this quarterly journal to my former role as GKP publisher. It was my distinct honor to run GKP from January 2004 until mid-February 2015. Working with Justin and preparing Justin’s materials to reach a wider audience [...]

Thoughts I recently attended Lisa Otero’s workshop in Fort Collins, Colorado, where Lisa shared a handout with 10 philosophical keys to understanding the writings of Justin Stone. Not only did they spur lively commentary, but they infused the practice with another layer of richness and depth. Caroline Guillot (also in attendance) and I welcomed the [...]

Intentional Communities I split my time between two locations and travel frequently for work. I recently experienced four different T’ai Chi Chih groups and feel better than ever about our teaching diversity and TCC’s reach. The amazing Northern Colorado teachers host dozens of weekly events and during my week in Fort Collins, I attended an [...]

Grounding & Graceful Conclusions In the November 2013 issue and now this one, I’m grateful for the continuing conversation (and tone) in relation to whether we practitioners rise after closing a movement – or remain with knees bent before starting the next movement. I’m glad everyone feels free to make his/her experiences known. Using Justin [...]

This Issue & The Conference The Boulder conference in mid-June was nothing short of stellar, amazing, and impressive. The ramifications for, and influences upon, teachers and students will be far-reaching. Among other things, it demonstrated to all in attendance that the community is thriving, coalescing, and expanding. Although many of these issues’ articles are drawn [...]

Remembering Justin It’s been about six months since we celebrated the 100-year anniversary of Justin’s birth and less than two months since we noted the five-year mark of his death. His stories and personal interactions with him are never far from the surface; in fact, they exist more like Chi pressed into our bones. Many, [...]

Annual Board Meeting Report The Vital Force Board meets annually to monitor and provide direction for the fiscal health of The Vital Force, a non-profit 501 c3. We also review the prior year’s activities and set priorities and intentions for the forthcoming year. We are pleased to report that membership levels remained consistent from issue-to-issue [...]

Free e-newsletterette Have you ever noticed the “Get Updates from Us” form on the homepage of taichichih.org? About 200 people have. So we have begun sending a free, monthly e-newsletterette featuring snippets from The Vital Force. This outreach has a dual purpose: increase subscriptions by offering teachers (who have signed up for the e-newsletterette) an [...]

New Teacher Voices This issue features a wealth of reflections by new teachers accredited in Pennsylvania and Colorado during the last quarter. It’s apparent that they, individually and collectively, had an incredibly transformative week. Surprised? Many of the stories were the basis of their in-class presentations. Many are reflections of before, during and after the [...]

Written Content The Vital Force would be an empty shell without your contributions. Thank you for always putting fingertips to the keyboard. Visual Content If you are a visual artist, The Vital Force welcomes a submission of 10-12 images of your creative work. (Of course, we welcome single, stand-alone photos and specific photos to accompany [...]

Contributions The quality of, and participation by, a wide range of students and teachers continues to be inspirational. May The Vital Force remain a safe and independent harbor for expression. Albuquerque Teacher Training I was fortunate to speak about The Vital Force at the recent teacher training, where I also sought and received feedback and [...]

In Justin’s Words In Spiritual Odyssey: “You cannot give the same teaching to two people. It must fit the Karma of each one and never be a teaching by rote. How do you know what teaching to give? You will be guided.” Community Something seems to be happening out there. Communities are growing and strengthening [...]

Justin wrote, “The great secret in T’ai Chi Chih is what happens to the Vital Force. We should be grateful for it.” Nothing more is needed in this moment. Justin’s statement and joyous visage are enough. One “right” second in his presence (whether in person or through his work) always had a way of sweeping [...]

Conference 2015 – August 6-9, North Carolina Read all about it at taichichih.org/conference-2015. It’s not too late to register. Inside May This edition follows up on some compelling interviews from the February issue – with a few more teachers sharing their motivations for teaching T’ai Chi Chih, their ideas about training the next generation, and [...]

Interviews In This Issue The Vital Force posed the same series of questions to a number of T’ai Chi Chih teachers in the community, with the intention of sharing their light. We have published the first four interviews in this issue, and we hope and expect to share more throughout the year. Whether you are [...]

Database Update: Find A Teacher Per your request, we are trying to make our website’s “find a teacher in your area” function a more effective tool to link prospective students to active T’ai Chi Chih teachers (taichichih.org/tai-chi-chih-teachers). Teacher contact information on the website is currently self-reported. As such, much of this information is out-of-date. Bounce-back [...]

Smile Have you heard of the “AmazonSmile” program? It’s a simple and automatic way to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop. And it costs you nothing. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection, and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com. The added bonus? Amazon will donate [...]

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Grounding & Graceful Conclusions In the November 2013 issue and now this one, I’m grateful for the continuing conversation (and tone) in relation to whether we practitioners rise after closing a movement – or remain with knees bent before starting the next movement. I’m glad everyone feels free to make his/her experiences known. Using Justin [...]

Why An Issue Dedicated To Conference 2013 The Minnesota T’ai Chi Chih community created an incomparable conference that embodied both a gravitas and lightness. The outpouring of material contained in this issue is a testimony to the spirit and execution of their event. May it serve to unite the teachers who could not attend. And [...]

What Would You Like To See In The Vital Force? A Request/Recommendation “I would like to see a Q & A column in The Vital Force. I have learned a lot from different people about how to teach students different movements. Take Around The Platter. I can describe it as a round platter, or the [...]

It Takes A Village Have you ever read an online article about meditation, yoga, or “T’ai Chi” and thought, “Hey, the same could be said about T’ai Chi Chih!” It’s ok, admit it; we all have. But have you followed through to join the online conversation? Have you piped up and mentioned TCC? It only [...]

Teacher Website Database: The drop-down menu on taichichih.org/the-teachers remains out of commission due to the website hacking last year. But the downloadable PDFs (also on this same webpage), with teacher names sorted alphabetically by name and/or by region, are available to all and updated every six weeks. Gratitude For VF Volunteers: Special thanks go out [...]

Feedback About Remembering Justin “Thanks for sharing all the recent experiences about Justin. I loved it. I can feel the conversation. Talk about really listening… I loved hearing Judy Hendricks mention something “off the cuff” about Justin. And I overheard Carmen Brocklehurst tell a “Justin story” while in the restroom at conference. Both examples were [...]

Justin kept teaching all the way to the ‘end.’ Quite a few months before his death, his caretakers decided he needed more rest and fewer visitors as he prepared to die. We were asked to stop coming to his house. As you can imagine, there were some private discussions between community members about this. I [...]

Justin was/is the love of my life. (Luckily, my partner understands what this means!) He links me to the Absolute; his love was/is utterly unconditional; he was not concerned with my personality; all he cared about was if I was doing T’ai Chi Chih and meditating; every interaction was to encourage/prod/move me in the direction [...]

On The Value Of The Vital Force To Readers From T’ai Chi Chih practitioner and Vital Force reader Linda Prosche: “My heart is full, and I am sending this to say thank you. We never know who [or what] will show up in our lives and the seemingly random things that arise because of that [...]

www.taichichih.org Our new website redesign makes building community and connecting students and teachers so much easier. Take a look at this typical exchange (to the right). And speaking of building community, our TCC Facebook community went from about 600 “likes” (aka “friends”) to about 825 within two months of launching the new website – just [...]

Soliciting Ideas We’ve almost worked our way through discussing the movements (even though articles have been dwindling for some time). We tried “Where in the World,” which I’m hoping will be better received if you get to see yourselves practicing TCC on the new website. (Don’t be shy; send photos to tcc@kimgrant.com. Locations don’t have [...]

Reader Voices: Chris Norkus I have ongoing T’ai Chi Chih sessions two days per week and will teach a new round of classes for beginners soon, but recently I had more students than ever attend. I even extended the classes so we could listen to Spiritual Stories from the East and the KNME Justin Stone-Carmen [...]

Reader Voices: Meg Costello “The Vital Force is where I catch up on the news, events, and conference excitement. May Swanson’s article in the last issue and this sentence of hers led me to write: ‘As long as we continue to teach classes, with the pureness of heart and love that Justin intended, students will [...]

AARP & T’ai Chi Chih “I wanted you to be the first to know that my article on T’ai Chi Chih will appear in AARP The Magazine’s November/December issue in all three of its three editions (for ages 50+, 60+, 70+). Originally, it was slated for only the 70+ issue. You should also know that [...]

Facebook Page Please join the almost 450-person-strong group on facebook.com – where students from around the world can ask questions, make comments, and find support and inspiration from others who are also practicing T’ai Chi Chih. We get detailed reports showing anywhere from 372 to 534 people visiting the page each week. Teachers, add your [...]

New Tag Line Thanks go to Tudor Oprea – a great supporter of The Vital Force and its mission to spread the word about T’ai Chi Chih – who came up with this new tag line: “May The Force Be With You” – as in, The Vital Force. We like it and hope you do [...]

T’ai Chi Chih Enters Social Media Marketing Realm TaiChiChih.org is embarking on an exciting outreach campaign to spread the word of TCC, to reach more people who could benefit from practicing this moving meditation. To do this, we will employ online social media marketing tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. (Yes, we have already [...]

Renew On-Line We’re trying to make your lives easier: The Vital Force now offers secure, on-line renewals. Visit taichichih.org/vital_force.php. Subscribe for one, two, or three years (domestic and foreign) and hit the blue “BUY NOW” button. It’s almost as easy as one-two-three. If you don’t have a gmail account with a password (to use on [...]

– Reprinting The Vital Force – To clarify: Subscribers of The Vital Force are welcome to make copies of articles with permission. (Authors never need permission to make copies of their own articles.) Only one person has been denied permission in the last two years – when he wanted to reprint the entire issue every [...]

Toot Toot We haven’t blown our own horn since our tenure began with the May 2007 issue, but when someone commented at Justin’s 92nd birthday party in November that, “Would it really matter if there was no more Vital Force,” we felt like it might be time. Although we get lots of complimentary emails that [...]

Soliciting Experiences Articles do not pour into The Vital Force in numbers great enough to sustain a quality publication without solicitations from the Editor. We know from feedback that you are quite appreciative of The Vital Force and look forward to reading it cover-to-cover upon arrival. So please consider adding your voice to this chorus [...]

www.taichichih.org After our teachers, the web site is our most valuable resource for spreading the word about T’ai Chi Chih. If you are a teacher, please consider linking your site to this main one. On the flip side, it has long been the policy of The Vital Force not to link out to individual teacher [...]

Sharing The New Website You’ve sent some great feedback about the new taichichih.org site. Thanks, and keep it coming. At the upcoming Bay Area conference, a supply of promotional postcards for the site will be available. The postcard is an easy and attractive way to spread the word about TCC. Those not attending and wanting [...]

Web Site It’s done! Please visit taichichih.org. Regular monthly site updates will now be done through our consulting web designer. Submit your changes by the first of the month, and information will be uploaded within a few days. As a reminder, all teachers are welcome to submit calendar events for upcoming retreats and workshops. We [...]

Web Site Our community site, taichichih.org, exists under the aegis of The Vital Force. I am in the process of branding it and making it more reflective of gkpub.com. Now (through early December) is the time for your feedback. The new site should be ready to unveil in the next edition of The Vital Force. [...]

Community Calendar Many of you may have noticed that the Community Calendar was opened up to community members giving T’ai Chi Chih retreats, workshops, and intensives. As Justin said when he and I were discussing the fact that the Calendar had been limited in the past, “The only thing reserved for Teacher Trainers and Guides [...]

Revitalizing The Vital Force When I first learned that Victor Berg had resigned as editor of The Vital Force, I thought that if no one wanted to step forward from the subscriber pool, perhaps the journal should fold. If the community then felt it had lost something, the newsletter would be resurrected. If not, it [...]