Dixie D Adeniran

T’ai Chi Chih is a cherished personal practice that I do every day. It is a simple practice that is easy to learn, but that takes a lifetime or more to refine. I thought I would take the accreditation course to “deepen my practice.” I didn’t know I wanted or needed to share it until I started teaching in 2015. Now, sharing it is one of my great joys.

TCC has changed my life profoundly. I began filled with stress, a mind that would not stop jumping, and lots of aches and pains. All that has changed for the better.  TCC brings me joy and equanimity. The “good” times, the “bad” times, and everything in between are parts of my life to be lived fully awake and rooted in love and gratitude. TCC begins in the body, bringing relaxation, ease and health. It expands to the mind bringing calm and awareness. It proceeds to the spirit, bringing serenity and centeredness.

TCC came to me in 2009 through my sister, Shirley Cross, (now an accredited TCC teacher), who invited me to attend a class with her while I was visiting. I liked it immediately. A friend back home happened to be taking a local class and highly recommended her teacher, Lisa Otero. I found out that Lisa was starting classes at the church I attended. I signed up. That was one of the best things I ever did! I was accredited by Pam Towne in 2014, and began teaching at a senior center in Ventura, California, loving the beautiful students I met in many classes.

TCC has helped me greatly through some challenging times. My dear husband was in failing health for several years, and I was his caregiver. It enabled me to be calm in the midst of sometimes chaotic activity. It brought me good judgment for decision making, and the ability to live in the fullness of each moment we had together. Our home was destroyed in a wildfire in 2017, which meant we had to leave the area, and I had to stop teaching TCC. My husband died in 2018, and TCC helped me get through all the grieving and turmoil feeling like I was rooted in a firm center.

In 2018, I was able to begin offering classes out of my new home in Arroyo Grande, California, and then through the City of Arroyo Grande’s Recreation Services.  What a joy to be teaching again!  Then in 2020 COVID-19 came, turning the world upside-down, letting me know again that nothing in this manifest world is permanent.

This simple practice is life-changing in the best sense. Welcome!