Allowing the Chi to flow

T’ai Chi Chih is a mindfulness-moving meditation practice that’s easy to learn. The series of 19 movements and one pose helps circulate the Vital Energy, the Chi. Practitioners experience peace, improved health, and many more benefits. Our free monthly e-newsletter offers inspiration between issues of the TCC quarterly journal, The Vital Force, in which teachers and students tell stories about ways they’ve benefited from the practice. 

The character of the Chi gradually changes. – Justin F. Stone, TCC Originator

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From the recent issue of The Vital Force:

Flow: “The more I practice, I’m conscious, or becoming conscious, of the heavy air showing me how to let go, how to let the Tao play me, as Justin writes. I surrender to the almost imperceptible. I become tuned to this letting go in the wrists, in the tan t’ien, in the shoulders, in the body so I release and realize this Chi flowing through my body. All the way to the end of each movement, this impalpable becoming palpable becomes a guide to my internal development of letting the Chi flow.” – CG

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Editor’s Note: Learn more from TCC teachers with more than 25 years of experience in the May issue of The Vital Force.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Change: “I came to a TCC workshop fairly confident in my practice. Imagine my surprise in learning about my substantial imperfections. Acutely sensitive to criticism, I didn’t welcome this. I wondered why I chose to not only endure criticism but work so hard at perfecting something so non-essential. But I also had the epiphany of recognizing how much better the corrections felt. It’s as though my vital life force (tan t’ien) is leading me forward to practice this greater effort for the greater goal of less effort in life.” – SCR

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Bliss: “The concepts of motion and stillness seem to be opposites. We can’t get to one without first having the other — round and round, back and forth. In a TCC workshop, motion and stillness were brought together in a beautiful way, resulting in a softness I’ve never felt before. Moving as if in a dream, while waiting, waiting, and waiting for that tiny imperceptible moment of complete stillness in the tan t’ien, when the weight shift is complete and changes direction, was truly an ‘aha’ moment (and an ‘aaahhh’ moment). It has also brought a new level of peaceful, introspective, and internal bliss.” – KL

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Chi: Tantra says that every cell of the body can be brought to a point of Bliss. If one will do T’ai Chi Chih and then remain quiet for a period of time – not thinking, not planning, not conceptualizing – he or she can experience the same thing. With absolute quiet of the mind, a  pulsation will be noticed throughout the body. The movement of the Chi can plainly be felt, and that feeling is one of Bliss. – Justin F. Stone

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Where in the World have you been doing T’ai Chi Chih? Share your images for our gallery.

Want more inspiration? Want a connection with the global TCC community? Want tips for better practice? Join us:

Subscribe to The Vital Force. Our quarterly journal offers engaging stories, hints, and insights from TCC teachers and students. We also highlight wisdom by, and photos rarely seen of, originator Justin Stone.