Soles of our feet

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. 

…it’s all there, inside. – Justin F. Stone, TCC Originator

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From the recent issue of The Vital Force:

Connection: “The first meeting of European teachers was everything I expected and more. Just outside of Mantova, a welcoming atmosphere and delicious Italian home cooking created great conditions for UK, Dutch, and Italian teachers to meet. It was exciting to see how TCC is expanding and how we’re building community on this side of the Atlantic for the first time. Practicing together, we worked on awareness of the tan t’ien and working from the feet up. At the end of the weekend, I felt empowered to expand my teaching in the Netherlands. Hearing the movement names in Italian also was a treat, as it’s one of the most musical languages. Prestare attenzione ai piedi. Bring the attention to the feet.” – MKL, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

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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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Harmony: “Why do we put our attention on the soles of our feet when doing TCC? Only this morning, after four years of practice, I realized what the soles mean to me. Until now I’ve had a love-hate relationship with putting my attention there. Other things clamor for my attention, like judging how I’m moving or floating off into space, unaware. But if I put my attention in the soles – souls – of my feet, there’s no room for anything else. I’ve been in my default habit energies. There’s a choice: Think habitual thoughts or move to a different realm, one in harmony with my soul. TCC continues to amaze me.” – NHB, Philadelphia, PA

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Stillness: “Initially I directed my focus toward the soles of my feet and then toward my tan t’ien. Gradually, something remarkable unfolded — my body became enveloped in a profound stillness, allowing me to perceive and feel the flow of Chi propelling me forward and backward in a gentle, rhythmic motion. In those moments, it felt as though TCC was practicing itself, with the Chi taking the lead, and I, the practitioner, stepping aside into a state of quietude and stillness that permeated my entire being. Yet, paradoxically, I remained fully present and aware.” – LL, Prairie Village, KS

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Wisdom: It is hard to convince earnest students that it’s all there, inside, and nothing has to be learned or accumulated. Being earnest, we want to make a special effort, and that effort can be self-defeating. Once the habit energies are put aside, only Wisdom shines through, but the habit energies and tendencies that develop from them cover the inherent wisdom. – 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.

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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.