The Vital Force Archive
Forty years of The Vital Force (1985-2025), the journal of the T’ai Chi Chih community. Search for a word, a teacher, a movement or a place, or browse by category and topic.
May 2025
The May 2025 issue takes up grounding, with Marie Dotts tracing her root from the soles of the feet to the t’an t’ien and Daniel Pienciak correcting his weight shift in Perpetual Motion Taffy. Several teachers report from Corozal, Belize, including Beverly Miles and Lorraine Lepine, and Sandy McAlister announces the year’s focus on supporting each other.
Gail Terriff describes the self-care habits that keep her replenished, from journaling and singing aloud to her morning T'ai Chi Chih practice, and quotes Thich Nhat Hanh's book Anger on mindfulness as the energy of being present.
Gail Terriff
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
TCC Guide Sandy McAlister likens the community's year to Spring, announcing the 2025 focus on Supporting and Strengthening Each Other, new suggested guidelines for preparing teacher candidates, a Foundation stipend for European support, and a July 26 Zoom teacher conference.
Sandy McAlister
Hayward, California
Marcella Levie recounts first seeing T'ai Chi Chih at sunset on Siesta Key Beach in 1991, then training over Zoom with Lesley Nell and being accredited in the UK in 2022 with Orly Mani, and the three Dutch groups they now teach.
Marcella Levie
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
