The Vital Force Archive

Linda Robinson describes three years of practising T'ai Chi Chih with a Buddhist meditation community, moving together then sitting twenty minutes in silence, with comments from six fellow participants.

Jim Shorr describes moving his primary class to a spiritual living center before Wednesday evening services, his plan to train students toward accreditation, and quotes from regulars Sandy L and Jason M.

Ten reasons to come to the June 2017 teacher conference in Boulder, from the theme "Feel the Chi ~ Share the Chi" to first-hand accounts of practicing with Justin Stone and Seijaku accreditation afterward.

Susan Roady-Ross breaks Pulling Taffy Perpetual Motion into smaller steps and arm circles, using the cue "pull, reverse, heel touch" and naming the heel touch as the key to perpetual motion.

Lisa M. Otero previews the 2017 teacher conference program for the Conference Program Committee, with a first day devoted to deepening personal practice and a second to teaching, service and the rededication ceremony.

Lisa Stroyan noticed her fingers curling during practice and traced the habit to sympathetic nervous system activation, learning to let her hands open through presence rather than muscular effort.

Sheryl Adair describes how Pam's Albuquerque accreditation sessions, sequencing Seijaku with T'ai Chi Chih and Fast Track, showed her that Fast Track is Justin's cherry on top.

Kent Jarratt used the Six Healing Sounds while waiting in a car during a police sting to recover his stolen laptop, then visualized the whole practice after heart ablation surgery.

Caroline Guilott describes how Fast Track freed her Seijaku practice, releasing the mental emphasis on moving through resistance while keeping her rooted in the soles of her feet as she hopped.

Fran Alexander lists the subtle habits she caught in her own posture while auditing the Pennsylvania teacher training, and BJ Amin recounts tracking down a Canadian friend photographed with Justin Stone ten years earlier.

Ava Wilensky, six months into T'ai Chi Chih, was left unable to walk, sit or lie down after a hiking trip, and rebuilt her mobility by yinning and yanging alone, three repetitions at a time.

Adabelle Rychtarik's students in Simpsonville report what two years of practice changed: Sandra Johnson stands comfortably through church songs using the TCC stance, and Kathy Neely regained balance and arm mobility despite Parkinson's.

Sandy McAlister describes her own pre-practice ritual of standing still, rooting into the ground and letting muscles release, then treats the stillness between movements as a chance to start fresh.

Weekly journal entries from April Leffler's college students Nav, Rebecca and Samantha, who describe getting out of their heads, grounding during finals stress, and feeling energy intensely in their hands.

Daniel Pienciak asks practitioners to feel how deeply the supporting knee bends and whether the back leg bends as much as the front, offering heel adjustment when the stance is too large.

Lisa M. Otero describes founding a Facebook page with Deanna Rausch that links students without a nearby teacher to accredited teachers offering instruction online, including second-signature mentoring for candidates.

Pam Towne likens modern life's accelerating pace to a childhood merry-go-round, recalling how crawling to its still center steadied her, and describing how regular TCC practice does the same today.

Janet L. Starr, a newly accredited teacher in Houston with only one other teacher nearby, describes starting a closed Facebook TCC Teacher Circle Group that grew beyond her accreditation classmates and mentors.

Mary Wichmann finds golf pros teaching circular motion, a soft grip and effortless swing, then turns her New Year resolve into written apologies and thanks to her parents, great uncle and family.

Caroline Guilott of Lake Charles explains how to set up a local T'ai Chi Chih Facebook community page, from the taichichihcitystate naming convention to posting class times, event photos and Justin Stone quotation cards.

Sue Bitney recounts the five months between her husband's cancer diagnosis and his death, the four years of surviving since, and her decision to retire in March as a deliberate act of letting go.

Tish Jaramillo identifies the tingling warmth in the palms as Heart Protector 8, the acupuncture point called Palace of Weariness, and traces the Pericardium meridian from heart-center to fingertip.

Carmen L. Brocklehurst describes how Seijaku shifts the emphasis to strength before softness and breath into the t'an t'ien, with beginner students reporting tingling, grounding and reduced blood pressure and diabetes medication.

Pyramid poems by Leya Cragin, Veronica Fleming, Brock, Jerry G., Larry Saun, Corine, Joyce Veerkamp and Donovan on Rocking Motion, Bird Flaps Its Wings, Bass Drum and Around the Platter.

Donna Deffenbaugh compares the 365 blank squares of a new calendar year to a brown pelican in the Caribbean Sea, which keeps no schedule and simply plunges headlong into the water.

Justin Stone defines karma as action and its motivation rather than blind destiny, and argues that circulating and balancing the Chi fades habit energies, burning the karmic seeds.

Julie Heryet recounts the response to her Seattle conference presentation on Folsom State Prison, prints her student L.H.'s poem about living in the now, and reports the class losing five men to a facility reclassification.

Susan Kenney, more comfortable moving than staying still, describes how lengthening the pauses between movements let her feel Chi in the body and take in the energy of a practice circle.

Justin Stone, in a taped lecture, defines Chi through Lao-Tzu and Sri Aurobindo, describes the reciprocal character of mind and Chi, outlines a maximum Chi program for athletes, and names the seven emotions.