Circulating the Chi

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.

“We are a product of the Chi.” – Justin F. Stone, TCC Originator

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From the November issue of The Vital Force:

Freedom: “Once you feel, I mean really feel the tan t’ien navigating your movements, you can never go back to just going through the motions. What lightness, what freedom to have my body move without me making it move. The pilot — the tan t’ien — is in control and my body can glide without effort. On rare occasions when practicing, I’m blessed with that magical moment of ‘T’ai Chi Chih doing T’ai Chi Chih.’ There’s no effort on my part; it’s a gift from the Universe I cherish.” – CP, Midland Park, NJ

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Editor’s Note: Read more experiences that teachers and students have with T’ai Chi Chih in the November issue of The Vital Force.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Continuity: “If continuous means without stopping, that’s how I perceive the flow of Chi. It’s the never-ending river of existence that supports everything else. Our neurons can only fire every so often before they have to rest to recharge. The brain then interprets all of these firings to allow us to perceive our universe as continuous from one moment to the next. In one understanding of reality, the universe is a disconnected set of activities our brain stitches together into a meaningful whole like a pointillist painting. From a distance we see what the artist wanted us to see, complete and whole…. Do I perceive the connectedness of all of my movements to my fellow students practicing next to me? How that is connected to a larger flow of TCC with practitioners worldwide?” – RK, Saratoga, CA

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Polarity: “When Terry and I were leading a small TCC class of friends, one of them had to sit down due to physical difficulties. I’ve done seated TCC, so I sat across from her and mirrored her movements. It was pretty standard until we got to Working the Pulley. During the third repetition, I caught a ‘wave’ in my right hand that shot up my arm. I looked up and my friend’s eyes were as big as saucers. ‘Did you feel that, too?’ I asked. She felt it enter her left hand (remember, I was mirroring her) and go all the way up into her shoulder. That was the mother of all polarities.” – JJJ, Windsor, CO

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Reality: “From the spiritual standpoint — that is, identification with Reality — we stop living in the stagnant, harmful, illusory ways and, effortlessly, convert to accord with Reality. All this does not take place in five minutes, but sincere practitioners of Chi Kung disciplines — TCC being the easiest and most effective, I believe — find their physical, philosophical, and spiritual needs being taken care of. This is real fulfillment, not the attainment of temporary desires. TCC students should give careful thought to these matters and then give proper weight to their practice. Nothing is more important.”

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 a 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.


Looking for classes?

See our featured teachers.

See teachers offering Zoom and Facebook Live classes.

See Justin’s streaming instructional videos.

Published On: December 16th, 2021Categories: Vital Force e-Newsletter

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

Justin Stone’s

Selected Books