The Vital Force Archive

Dan Pienciak lists six awareness points drawn from Justin Stone's Spiritual Odyssey: natural breathing, releasing tension in the joints, feeling the t'an t'ien, continuous knee movement, waist and wrists moving as one, and even weight in the soles.

Jerry C. Jonnson lays out ten guiding codes for T'ai Chi Chih instructors, from knowing your purpose and putting on your own oxygen mask first to being present, acting rather than overreacting, and valuing the journey.

Linda Zelig, writing for the 2019 conference committee, recounts the 452-day climb to mount the Return to the Circle conference in Minnesota, from April 2018 planning to June 27 arrival.

Sixteen pyramid poems on silence and stillness written March 30, 2019 at Carmen Brocklehurst's Seijaku workshop, by Benjamin Brisjar, Sondra Lawson, Veronica Fleming and others.

Diana Bahn's poem carries the sense of ground into a canoe trip, paddling across lake water, portaging over rock, and passing painted Indian glyphs before turning back city bound.

Rick Davis, a retirement community chaplain, draws on the Lotus Sutra and Psalm 23 to argue that seated T'ai Chi Chih offers people confined to wheelchairs by aging and illness a renewed experience of chi and inner vastness.

Jim Campbell's poem credits Sister Antonia with lifting the heaviness from his shoulders, her laser pointer scribing a message across the sky: flow your Chi, letting go from your core.

Pam Towne's practical guidance for teaching seniors, covering hearing loss, balance, stamina, footwear, chairs for seated practice, time for social interaction, and knowing the facility's emergency procedures.

Nancy Jo Bleier recounts the 2019 Minnesota conference, from Dr. Ehlinger's guitar-accompanied public health talk and tribute to his late wife Sally to breakout sessions on props and on veterans with PTSD.

Newly accredited in April, Connie Krumrai booked a last-minute trip to the June teacher conference on scholarship funds, and a typewritten letter from Justin Stone about ego doubts gave her the nerve to arrange classes at Harvest Farm, an addiction and homelessness rehabilitation center.

Nancy Hebert, accredited in June 2019, describes her first Tai Chi Chih teacher conference: meeting veteran and new instructors, evidence-based presentations, twice-daily group practice, and the sadness of leaving.

Tracy Immordino's account of her first T'ai Chi Chih conference, Return to the Circle, from checking the attendee list for old classmates to the twice-daily silent group practices and the auction that raised over $7,000 for the scholarship fund.

Dennis McCann, a hospital chaplain accredited in 2009, describes his first annual conference as a spiritual upgrade that led 26 employees and patients to sign up for his eight-week summer course.

Justin Stone writes that the outer world mirrors our inner state, that habit energies are well-worn grooves requiring effort to leave, and closes with his poem "Saints and Poetry."

Justin Stone examines the Buddha's teaching on dukkha, arguing that suffering springs from our own habitual desires and that only a disciplined mind, honest introspection and emptying of old patterns can change it.

Asked at a Pennsylvania teacher accreditation how T'ai Chi Chih brings her joy, Kathleen McAllister recalls the angel card reading JOY that she wrote on her hand during her own accreditation week.

Nancy Werner-Azarski traces her encounters with Justin Stone through teachers Ron Barker and Ed Altman, conferences, retreats and postcards, likening him to the elephant described by blind men.

Carmen Brocklehurst recounts how a tape of Justin Stone's 1990 teacher conference talk, recorded without permission, was transcribed and made into the booklet Evolution Through Chi, now given free to new teachers.

Psychologist Bruce Eisenmenger draws on Robert Scaer's trauma research to argue that the rhythmic bilateral weight shift and attention to the Bubbling Spring quiet the amygdala and sympathetic nervous system.

Connie Shaw writes to her teacher Marie Dotts about an insight five months into class: scanning people's vibrations rather than their words revealed the draining habit energies behind familiar smiling masks.

Dr. David Parrish summarizes Richard Davidson's brain plasticity research on attention, positive outlook, resilience and generosity, and the Dalai Lama's answer about subtle energy, followed by Lorraine Lepine on adapting TCC to aging.

Diana Bahn describes teaching Rocking Motion to chemotherapy patients with foot neuropathy at a Mt. Sinai cancer center, using Realization Process methods to locate the heel centers and Kidney 1 points.

Two Widener University students describe what they found on taichichih.org beyond the classroom: photos of practice in public places worldwide, advice to keep practising on vacation, Justin Stone's quotations, and the health benefits reported by students, followed by student pyramid poems on silence.

Sandy McAlister recounts the storytelling session at the 2019 conference, Justin's challenge to perform a generous act and never mention it, and why his corrections left no room for emotions.

April Leffler taught T'ai Chi Chih to 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders at a Catholic school in Chester, and the boisterous third grade class did Six Healing Sounds for her dying dog.

Pam Towne, accredited in 1984 and present at every conference since 1985, recounts the Minnesota gathering: the Veterans Administration T'ai Chi program, brain research on bilateral rhythmic movement and PTSD, and Sandy McAlister's grounded closing practice.

Parker Reynolds prints an email exchange with Mary B., a former student practicing at home with the TCC DVD, who reports a 118/64 blood pressure reading, eased joint pain, and total absorption during her 45-minute practice.