Spreading 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.
Chi is the vital force in a living being. – Justin F. Stone, TCC Originator
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
From the recent issue of The Vital Force:
Diversity: “San Francisco is very diverse and many of our future teachers and practitioners here speak multiple languages. Realizing and feeling the basic Qigong elements of ‘slowness, softness, continuity, moving through the center, and synchronicity,’ we all sense the feeling and energy of the Chi. We meet a need here to slow down people and reduce their stress levels, as well as our own… As interest in TCC grows here, future teachers speaking Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese find us outside or in large indoor spaces where we teach for free or through a grant. I’m always reminded that Justin Stone considered TCC a gift to humanity.” – JH, San Francisco, CA
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Editor’s Note: Learn more from TCC teachers with more than 25 years of experience in the February issue of The Vital Force.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Service: “Becoming a TCC teacher has been an unfolding journey, filled with unexpected opportunities, a deepening personal practice, and a growing connection with students. Since my November 2024 accreditation, I’ve stepped into teaching roles in ways I hadn’t planned — first filling in for my teacher, then leading a class for Parkinson’s patients, and most recently, guiding a brain injury support group. In the coming weeks, I’ll begin teaching a class for cancer survivors. Interestingly, most of these opportunities came to me, rather than me actively seeking them, reinforcing the idea that when we’re ready, the right doors will open.” – SH, Greenville, SC
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Engagement: “Becoming an accredited TCC teacher has been a wonderful journey that began more than seven years ago when I was introduced to the world of TCC. I’ve been teaching since January 2025 and it has been such a sweet transition from student to teacher. Leading a group of 30-plus people at my senior center one day a week is so rewarding, as students appreciate and enjoy TCC. New people are eager to learn. They embrace the movements, energy, and meditative aspects of TCC. Because this is an older group of people, I exposed them to a seated TCC session and they were amazed at the benefits. They make it a pleasure for me to teach.” – RN, Menifee, CA
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Chi: Chi is not only the life principle in the individual, but it is also the Cosmic principle. Chi is the vital force in a living being which is incessantly active, whether one is awake or asleep. When the Chi departs the body, all other organs follow. The breathing system is the vehicle of Chi. All animate and inanimate objects of this universe are results of the vibration of Chi. This vibration of Chi is the prime cause of all events happening in the universe. Chi is the Cosmic life principal. It is that which makes us living beings and produces vibrations. Without vibrations and movements this world would not exist. We are able to live because every part of the immeasurable realm of Chi is constantly vibrating. – 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.
