Kim began practicing T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) as a reluctant student in 1990 with the use of an instructional videotape while living in Boston, Massachusetts. After TCC originator Justin Stone moved to Albuquerque in 1993, Kim and Lisa Otero made frequent trips to New Mexico to study with Justin and Carmen Brocklehurst, Lisa’s aunt.

Nine years passed, with dozens of TCC trips to and meditation retreats in New Mexico. In order to become accredited to teach, because there were no teachers in Boston, Kim spent one month in Albuquerque taking private lessons with Carmen and Justin, and participating in local classes at the NM TCC Center. During that period of initiation, Justin invited Kim to nightly meditation at his home. After one of those one-on-one sessions, Kim found she had memorized the Heart Sutra in Japanese, a chant that always ended Justin’s Turiya Meditation.

Kim — like 9 out of 10 who used to write to Justin — credits T’ai Chi Chih with saving and changing her life.

After Kim became accredited in May 1999 (along with Caroline Guilott), Kim held a number of very large classes in Boston, its suburbs and in Portland, Maine. She also taught James Hecker and others privately at her Boston home.

During the ensuing years, Kim (repped by Getty Images) photographed Justin for the Photo Textbook and photographed Justin’s artwork for a monograph, Tentatively Forever, that she arranged to print in Belgium.

Kim became the publisher of Good Karma Publishing (GKP) in January 2004; moved to Albuquerque to spend more time with Justin in September 2005; became the editor of The Vital Force journal* in May 2007; and launched TaiChiChih.org in 2008. When Justin died on 28 March 2012, Kim prepared a 48-page Vital Force Memorial Issue in May 2012, which is still available. Kim ran GKP, the publisher of Justin’s materials, with Mary Ruiz‘s help in Albuquerque, until February 2015.

*Board members include Lisa Otero, Guy Kent and Dora Wiemann.

As part of the dissolution of GKP in December 2018, its Board voted to give Kim the registered trademark to T’ai Chi Chih and the copyrights to Justin’s works. She launched JustinStoneTCC.com in March 2019 to keep Justin’s work available.

In March 2020 in response to Covid-19, Kim made Justin’s instruction available to stream. She looks forward teaching again, as it’s been the most rewarding activity of all her endeavors.

Beyond TCC

Outside of these efforts on behalf of TCC, Kim works full time as a website entrepreneur and publisher, editor and writer, content marketer, social media manager and photographer.

She divides her time between San Francisco’s East Bay and Albuquerque, where she hangs out with Pal Amy Tyksinski and others from Justin’s old Saturday night meditation group. She also considers the Northern Colorado community of practitioners a spiritual home.

See all accredited TCC teachers in Albuquerque here.