The Vital Force Archive

Ardi Baker, in her seventies and left depressed and listless after an illness, found T'ai Chi Chih through a newspaper article and turned her practice time into prayer.

Ann Rutherford taught all 19 movements in six consecutive two-hour days over a December break, surveying her students afterward and finding sore muscles, vivid dreams and unanimous preference for the intensive format.

Mary Case, who noticed her own sudden hearing loss ten years ago, offers practical adjustments for students who cannot hear you: face them, seat them discreetly up front, lower the music, and use a waist amplifier.

Marian Massman gathers written comments from students at the end of her Wisconsin classes and retreats, reporting eased shoulder tension, steadier balance after a stroke, lower blood sugar and first full nights of sleep.

Julie Buffalo describes a second year of teaching a well-attended class in a green park on the hospital campus where she works, where the earth seems to rise up to meet practitioners' feet.

Judith Schwartz describes her three classes at Laguna Honda Hospital, including the Zen Hospice Floor, where she rings a singing bowl, plays Mbira and chant recordings, and leads patients in wheelchairs.

In a 1991 Albuquerque talk, Justin Stone defines nonattachment through a dying Zen master's exchange with his disciple, arguing that recognizing impermanence, like a traveler at an inn, is the starting point of a spiritual life.

Mark Moloney recounts a caseworker at a children's psychiatric inpatient facility who stayed centered through a shouted, threatening family conference, crediting the 40-minute T'ai Chi Chih class held that morning in the same room.

Cynthia Madonna describes seated practice at Laguna Honda Hospital, where residents calm down, insomniacs nearby fall asleep and one stroke patient left his anger in the Wellness Center, plus her own recovery from a back injury.

Justin Stone describes prajna, the innate wisdom covered over by vashanas or habit energies, warning against guru worship and spiritual materialism and recalling the Sufi master who asked, "Are you ready to learn?"

Sr. Patty Campbell gathers comments from Sisters aged 80 to 93 who practice with her at their Motherhouse, describing eased arthritic joints, calmed anxiety, prayerful focus, and moving from wooden soldier to Raggedy Ann.