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.
November 2020
The November 2020 issue is shaped by the pandemic, with Daniel Pienciak on panic and the Maximum Chi Program, Barbara Kristoff and others on Zoom classes, and Nancy Rolph-Johnson moving practice into Long Beach parks. Sandy McAlister traces the Intensive and its new requirement for teacher candidates, and Judy Hendricks describes the Albuquerque center’s new home.
Eric Schoenfeld recalls the spirit of oneness at retreats at the now-sold Franciscan Spiritual Center in Pennsylvania, and finds that same warmth in Sandy McAlister's Tuesday noon Zoom practice.
Eric Schoenfeld
Sarasota, Florida
Caroline Guilott describes the hop of Seijaku, light on the feet with the waist turning internally, as the point where thought disappears and awareness becomes total and glorious.
Caroline Guilott
Lake Charles, Louisiana
Barbara Kristoff walks California's Old Tiburon Trail using Justin Stone's Satipathana mindful meditation, then describes the Zoom class she co-teaches with Linda Prosche and Tom Rothenberger, closing with pyramid poems from their park practice.
Barbara Kristoff
Corte Madera, California
Mary Ann Benner found T'ai Chi Chih at the Mayo Clinic during her husband's three months of cancer treatment, then carried it home to Lorraine Lepine's church group and daily Zoom sessions through COVID-19.
Mary Ann Benner
Kansas City, Missouri