The Vital Force Archive

Jessica Lewis pushes back on the claim that only specialists can teach Veterans, giving three reasons T'ai Chi Chih suits students with PTSD and advising class-wide suggestions rather than individual corrections.

Anita Vestal, Jessica Lewis, Adam Lacey and Greg Berg report on their Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale survey of over 400 practitioners, and an abstract submitted to the 2026 Osher Center conference.

Sue Kenney notes that most TCC groups gather similar people, and challenges teachers to carry the practice into mental health clinics, public housing projects and drop-in centers, raising funds to pay teachers when students cannot.

Lisa Stroyan describes offering suggestions rather than corrections in ongoing classes, from a nervous newcomer discovering effortless rise in Light at the Top of the Head to catching her own unrolled right wrist in Bass Drum.

Richard Karasik takes up Justin Stone's puzzle of smoothness and continuity, arguing that whether you drop the hands between movements matters less than keeping the drop inside the practice rather than treating it as a coffee break.

Sue Kenney describes a student returning to George Manning's Tuesday class at Hope Cooperative's mental health program after two years away with long COVID, recalling the Taffy variations and finishing seated.

Linda Braga lists how nutritionists, neuroscientists, astrophysicists and others define human beings, then cites Justin Stone's claim that regular TCC practice can speed up evolution and heighten awareness.

Linda Braga read a podiatrist's brochure on plantar fasciitis and found its recommended lunge stretch and heel-walking exercises already present in the Six Healing Sounds, Anchor Taffy and Rocking Motion.

Thirteen accredited teachers, among them Michelle Sarubbi, Pam Towne, Barbara Kristoff and Shirley Cross, name what teaching T'ai Chi Chih has given them: grounding, community, patience, creativity and companionship through grief.

Pam Towne uses Passing Clouds as a reminder to let thoughts drift by without following them, keeping the head facing forward while the waist turns, and describes extended repetitions as moving meditation.

Terry Jennings passes along Elizabeth Tyler's teaching image of the pelvic area as a fruit bowl that spills if you rock too far forward or back, plus her own Rocking Motion one-liners.

Steven Huskey teaches a weekly 45-minute seated class for brain injury survivors, emphasizing weight shift felt through the sit bones, upright torso, and compact hand movements in the side-to-side movements.

Jessica Lewis recounts how a painful condition in three right toes converted her from dismissing seated TCC as "TCC light," and argues for starting all students, especially veterans, in a chair and adding seated training to accreditation week.

Gail Terriff describes the self-care habits that keep her replenished, from journaling and singing aloud to her morning T'ai Chi Chih practice, and quotes Thich Nhat Hanh's book Anger on mindfulness as the energy of being present.

Marie Dotts traces her grounding from the soles of her feet to the t'an t'ien and the vertical core, describing how a level pelvic floor and slower pace deepened her root.

Laurie Jacobi, quoting Waysun Liao and teacher trainer April Leffler on thinking, works out how to cage the monkey mind by turning attention to feeling the weight shift millimeter by millimeter.

JJ Johnson describes how instructor Marie Dotts located the Bubbling Spring point below the ball of the foot, and how rooting the weighted leg before stepping out changed the start of every movement.

Carmen Brocklehurst breaks down the hip swivel used in the side-to-side movements, from the slight curve of the hips to Justin's reminder "nose to the front" and grounding the Chi.

Guy Kent, a Vital Force board member, makes the case for recurring monthly donations to the T'ai Chi Chih community, noting the 2017 tax law's effect on itemized charitable deductions.

In a letter addressed to Justin Stone and then to colleagues, Sherry Corson asks whether the hip swivel is something teachers do or simply allow, finding it arises from relaxed hips and full weight shifts.

Terry Jennings answers questions on feeling grounded in resting pose, moving on without disrupting Chi flow, and her favorite Cosmic Consciousness Pose saying: embrace everything, all 10,000 things.

Judy Hubbell describes teaching T'ai Chi Chih outdoors and at senior centers in the Castro, South Sunset and Ocean Beach, with City College classes for older adults and YouTube sessions for isolated students.

Lorraine Lepine traces how natural breath, emptying, and slowed movement lead to subtle vibration and inner light, citing Paul Reps and Justin Stone's statement in 20th Century Psalms that we are the product of sound vibration.

Tara Stiles describes walking the corridor of five tiers of cells at Folsom Prison, resting attention in the soles of her feet, and the hungry, intelligent questions of the men who chose her class.

Lisa Stroyan describes how seated T'ai Chi Chih amplifies awareness of the t'an t'ien and feet, with guidance on soft seated weight shifts, chair choice, and letting students sit, stand or rest as needed.

Richard Brier lists the reasons we practice, from awakening intuition to opening to cosmic Chi, and describes the "mind fasting" of the empty cup behind Joy Through Movement.

Linda Braga recounts writing "Blooming the Rose Within" during a silent retreat at Santa Sabina Center, where she led morning T'ai Chi Chih, and its 2020 first-place win in the International Dancing Poetry Contest.

Lorraine Lepine describes moving her attention from the soles of her feet to the t'an t'ien until the Chi seemed to practice itself, and a group meditation on listening to mental clamor rather than pushing it away.

Regina Otero-Sabogal, a psychologist and Colombian immigrant, describes recruiting students for free Spanish-language T'ai Chi Chih classes at Galería de la Raza's Casa Adelante housing and Berkeley's Latino Family Engagement Program.

Lisa Stroyan describes a stiff early-morning practice easing into a new grasp of the Effort of No Effort, distinguishing doing from feeling and moving from knowing TCC to learning from it.