Cultivating 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.
What must be changed is this life force, this intrinsic energy. – Justin F. Stone, TCC Originator
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From the recent issue of The Vital Force:
Remembering the Chi: “A former student recently re-entered a teacher’s TCC class cautiously. She’d been absent for two years, suffering from long COVID. She expressed hesitation, but he reassured her she could call on muscle memory and relax. As class progressed, she began showing a bit of confidence. A few times, he stood next to her for several repetitions, inviting her to feel the energy. She quickly remembered ‘The Taffy’ variations and finished the last few movements seated. After class, she shared that she’d been nervous about returning, but now felt the Chi and more confidence. TCC had reintroduced her to her own energy — an important step in healing body, mind, and spirit.” – SK, Carmichael, CA
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Editor’s Note: Learn more from TCC teachers with more than 25 years of experience in the August issue of The Vital Force.
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Experiencing the Chi: “Twice each summer at a retreat I offer a group of women one hour of joy. With limited instruction, an introduction to Justin Stone, yin/yang, and demonstrating half of the TCC movements once, we push aside furniture on a large deck and form a circle. ‘Feel your way’ … ‘just watch me and follow as your body moves you’ … ‘just be and enjoy what comes up’ … ‘move slowly through the heavy, humid Minnesota air’ … ‘breathe’ … ‘enjoy this special time.’ They don’t even know if they’ll ever experience TCC again. But this morning, these women from Nevada, Texas, West Virginia, Illinois, and California just want an hour of peace, support, and joy.” – MW, Rochert, MN
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Feeling the Chi: “A student one day came in a little late and had to stand on the other side of the room. She came up to me afterwards to tell me that the energy on that side (or the energy of her immediate neighbors) was different. She couldn’t say just how different, whether positive or negative, less or more, just different. I can definitely feel collective Chi during a class. I never imagined it could be piecemeal, but there you have it. I trusted her impression.” – KG, Albuquerque, NM
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Cultivating the Chi: It is much easier and more suitable for our way of life to work from the other side, to directly cultivate the Chi itself, to free it so it circulates easily. And to balance the negative and positive aspects of this Vital Force, the Yin and Yang Chi. Looking from the other end, we will find that such practice automatically influences the mind and brings about the desired results. – Justin F. Stone
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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.
