Enthusiasm
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.
“There must be an effortless effort.” – Justin F. Stone, TCC Originator
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From the recent issue of The Vital Force:
Joy: TCC is not religion, and TCC has nothing to do with dogma or doctrine. But it’s definitely spiritual in nature. And it’s joyous. And it’s true. That’s why I always loved going back to Albuquerque to be with Justin. It was always joyous. I would skip into the room to go say hello to Justin. I felt like a little girl. I felt like I was back to myself. So many things had been pushed down over the years and taken away from what I intuitively knew. Then it returned. TCC allowed the joy of living to return to my life. It was effortless play. The play of the sage.” – CG, Lake Charles, LA
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Editor’s Note: Learn more from TCC teachers with more than 25 years of experience in the November issue of The Vital Force.
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Centering: “Life can be a challenge, with a sense of being pulled in every direction, spun around and turned upside down. In the noise and chaos of obligations, responsibilities, and schedules, it can be difficult to find a balance physically, mentally, and emotionally. How to find that inner stillness, the quiet? Centering and grounding oneself in the practice of TCC and focusing on the tan t’ien (flowing from the center) is one of the basic principles of TCC. Justin said, ‘The tan t’ien, the spot two inches below the navel, is the all-important place the Chi is stored.” – DK, Midland Park, NJ
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Balance: “As a student, I may not do TCC movements perfectly, but the results have been striking. The practice helps me let go of thinking and analyzing and simply be. I’ve experienced physical benefits as well: the strengthening of a weak left ankle after tendon surgery in 2018; asthma that’s mostly disappeared; and, perhaps most amazing, I don’t fall when I practice regularly, despite vision impairment from glaucoma. TCC makes me more aware of the space around me and I move more slowly and with better balance.” – PB, San Antonio, TX
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Gratitude: If it seems to you that I am enthusiastic about this subject, you are right. I know that this practice has done much for me. And I have heard countless times what it has done for others. I am grateful to have been the channel through which it came into the world. – 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.
