The Vital Force Archive

Lavana Kilborn recounts being pushed into teacher accreditation by demanding Port Alberni seniors, then teaching Elderhostel introductions and a volunteer wheelchair class at an intermediate care home where she omits the Taffys and relies on music.

Hope Ridley passed along excerpts from Joi V. Eden's Accent on Living piece, listing seven guiding principles for t'ai chi practice adapted to physical challenges, from setting your own pace to keeping weight over the bearing area.

Teachers report in: Lisette Tingesdahl meets Barbara Joy by chance at a ROM Institute conference, Gary Halden's wheelchair student straightens her bad leg after five weeks, Ellen Tatge lobbies the New Mexico Arthritis Foundation, and Sister Dorothy Ferrell prepares classes for IBM employees.

Gary Halden offers eight pointers for teachers, from giving every student an individual correction to reading complaints about sore quadriceps or an aching lower back as signs of leaning too far forward.

Nurse Marty Wilkes describes how T'ai Chi Chih, taught by Mark Louris, became part of the three-week Chronic Pain Program at Sister Kenny Institute, Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis.

Judy Murphy recounts teaching a student diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, whose separate "parts" emerged one by one during the form until a farewell note arrived signed by all of them.

Carmen Brocklehurst describes persuading Albuquerque's Health and Wellness director to fund city employee classes, and the student on crutches whose back pain eased when he practised seated.

Carmen Brocklehurst ran an eight-week pilot course for the City of Albuquerque in which employees on disability leave were required to attend, drawing 20 to 30 police officers, fire fighters and refuse workers weekly.

Renee Wilson, accredited in 1987, tells how her student Nicole Calestagne, who has ALS, went from sitting through classes in pain to standing without it, prompting her neurologist to recommend T'ai Chi Chih to other ALS patients.

News that Mill Valley teacher Joseph Segal, comatose for six months after a head-on automobile crash, is home in Corte Madera, sitting up, practicing T'ai Chi Chih in a limited way, and recently visited by Justin.

Loretta Shiver's first eight-week class for five children aged 7 to 10, including two with motor problems, one of whom her occupational therapist noted had improved.

Nancy Farnham's abstract for an AHAA Innovation of the Year award describes how a grant-funded T'ai Chi Chih program at a Fargo nursing home grew beyond its twelve targeted residents and calmed the 4:00 p.m. agitation hour.

Reprinted from St. Luke's Hospital's Intercom Magazine and submitted by Dorothy Marks, a profile of 37-year-old Dorothy McKnight, who takes twice-weekly T'ai Chi Chih classes as therapy for psoriatic arthritis.

Esther Kieffer reports 21 students since October in Cedar Falls and describes starting each day in her preschool classroom for children with handicaps with Rocking Motion to Fragrance of a Dream.

Virginia Shilson passes along dated testimonials from Albuquerque students Gwen and Bob Cameron, who report energy for chores, easier health walks and a calmer wait in a doctor's examination room.

Robyn McCulloch, a Recreational Therapist at Washoe Medical Center in Reno, taught the whole form to three Occupational Therapists in nine hour-long sessions and modified movements for chronic pain and rehabilitation patients.

Adele Wenig reports on senior classes at a Jewish Community Center, chiropractic center sessions, and a Stroke Club presentation where three students gained relaxation and balance while one grew fatigued from trying too hard; plus notes from Bonnie McKenzie and Carolyn Shaw.

Short on time before going out, Jane Klingensmith missed her afternoon practice and instead braced her feet against the tub end, working Around the Platter, Push Pull, Pulling in the Energy and Carry the Ball while bathing.

Letters from Lee Muller playing at sunset in Taos, Joe Wythe teaching daily in Guadalajara, Jane Klingensmith starting her first class, Lillian Susumi adapting for left-right disordered students, and Christeen McLain-Curran on TCC being almost too easy to trust.

Jeanne Carlson-Linscott describes crushing her shoulder, collar bone and seven ribs in a motorcycle accident a week after accreditation, doing one-handed and mental T'ai Chi Chih in hospital and leaving in six days.