The Vital Force Archive

Rebecca Paulson describes an afternoon of teachers gathered at Holly Trenary's in Loveland, comparing how each presents the movements and asking whether adjustments let them feel the Chi more.

Justin Stone asks readers to notice posture and passing states of mind without correcting them, reading tension in the wrists and waist, and to feel the exact instant weight shifts between feet.

Sheryl Adair writes from her grandfather's rocker with coffee and the latest Vital Force in hand, thanking KG and contributors, followed by eight Pyramid Poems on Rocking Motion.

Jeneth Rundle planned a year off from teaching after moving to Oregon, then agreed to teach a neighbor recovering from cancer treatment, a stroke and surgery who progressed from seated practice to standing for a full hour.

Linda Jones, who incorporated the Foundation and co-drafted its bylaws, argues that Justin's wish for TCC not to be an organization was semantic, and calls for a larger, geographically diverse Board.

Carmen L. Brocklehurst noticed she had cut short the arm curve in Around the Platter during Seijaku practice, repeated it fully, and drew from that completeness a lesson about awareness in daily life.

Jean Olszak's rhyming poem answers the question "What's in it for me?" with lower blood pressure, steadier balance, quieter joints, a clearer head and a brighter outlook.

Cathe Powers traces her path from finding T'ai Chi Chih after a marital separation to accreditation, including a Santa Barbara intensive, two signature teachers, and leading Lisa's classes during her trip to India.

Jessica Lewis recounts a 90-minute virtual meeting with David-Dorian Ross and TaijiFit instructors about the Free T'ai Chi for Veterans program, the Fang Song principle, and how teaching Vets with few words changed her view of other T'ai Chi styles.

Cristina R. Fridenstine recounts joining a beginner class at Senior Amigos in Las Cruces in 2018, drawn by memories of T'ai Chi along Hong Kong's harbor, and her growing wish to teach young people.

Linda Jones lays out the teaching rules for David-Dorian Ross's Tai Chi for Vets program: verbal safety cues and humor are welcome, but no individual corrections, no detailed demonstration and no expectation that veterans memorize the movements.

Sandy McAlister describes the year-end class celebration at Rossmoor, where donations go to a residents' assistance fund, then proposes local service projects and the TCC Foundation's three $200 teacher grants.

Eliza Fulton describes her twice-monthly seated classes, called "Move Free," with Alzheimer's residents at a Colorado veterans nursing home, using paper towel rolls and nerf footballs as props.

Daniel Pienciak recalls his accreditation trainer's disappointment at a sloppy Anchor Taffy repetition, and how doing thirty-six Rocking Motions at the start of practice brought a new grounded feeling through every weight shift.

Judy Chancey lists the practical steps to take while awaiting TC4VETS certification, from offering pro bono VA volunteer classes and meeting VFW commanders to practicing cues without left and right.

Pam Towne recommends Seijaku as a next step after a year of T'ai Chi Chih, describing how it deepens softness, increases Chi flow, and recalling Justin Stone's 1986 teaching of the form.

Nancy Werner-Azarski works through her dismay at the cancelled 2020 conference and proposes declaring May a month of giving, with donations redirected to the Foundation, the Albuquerque Center and The Vital Force.

Nancy Werner-Azarski reports on nineteen Minnesota teachers gathering in November 2019 to practice, read from Spiritual Odyssey, watch Mary Strom's conference video, and thank outgoing leaders Mary Weddle and Susan Sobelson.

Denise Emanuel Clemen counts TCC as the most portable practice she owns, recalling sessions on the Grand Canyon rim, the Badwater Basin salt flats, and her brother's Maryland double-wide, followed by pyramid poems on silence.

Jerry Jonnson offers teachers a ready-made promotional piece citing Dr. Richard Davidson's neuroscience of well-being, presenting T'ai Chi Chih as an easier moving mindfulness, ending with his outdoor Mt. Cuba Center classes.

Rev. Richard Davis uses his daughter's mispronounced "cumpf-ter-full" to show how uncorrected habits linger, then argues that counting repetitions traps awareness in the head instead of in the moving, grounded body.

Nancy Johnson's poem follows a walker who loses the way to a labyrinth, is set right by three strangers with big dogs, rests at the center, and spirals back out.

Justin Stone contrasts Indian Buddhism's escape from suffering with the Taoist love of life and longevity, concluding that daily contemplation and gratitude serve most people better than asceticism.