The Vital Force Archive

Carmen Brocklehurst reports that the New Mexico Nurses Association approved a 12-hour, 8-week T'ai Chi Chih course for 14.4 continuing education credits, with Ellen Tatge administering records, plus late-night encouragement from Suni McHenry.

Ellen Tatge of Albuquerque filled all nine of the weekly classes she scheduled and started an ongoing Guided Practice hour so graduates of beginning classes could keep practising together.

Roxann Post reports on the moves of John and Joy Barbour to Payson, David Smith to Idaho and herself to Nevada, with Loretta Hopper and Della Alberson taking over the Mohave Community College classes.

Barbara Riley describes her first group presentation of T'ai Chi Chih at the Rossmoor active adult community, where more than 60 people attended the free demonstration and two full classes resulted.

Gord Wade reports from Edson, Alberta on a class of twelve senior women, a weekly evening class for businesswomen, demonstrations at a seniors lodge and TOPS meetings, and Elderhostel sessions booked in Banff.

Sr. Anita Germain recounts teaching T'ai Chi Chih at a kinesiologists' conference in a renovated train depot, in the gardens of a bed and breakfast, and with Hmong refugees in St. Paul.

Hannah Hedrick reports that the Chicago area now has 29 certified instructors, a listing in the Directory of Self-Help and Mutual Aid Groups, and plans for a shared group brochure.

Drena Delaney learned to run the equipment to produce a Chicago cable access program featuring Steve and Lia, while local teachers launched the T'ai Chi Connection newsletter and monthly Sunday meetings to refine the movements.

Steve Ridley's open letter to newly accredited teachers urges them to begin teaching at once, approach community colleges and recreation centers, practice faithfully every day, and stop teaching if that daily practice lapses.

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.

Mark Harrell's San Jose Mercury News feature "Grace under Pressure" drew over 400 calls to a local activity center and filled his classes, while Brian Battista was profiled in an Oak Brook paper.

Pat Hill reports on Denver's June Teacher Accreditation Course, the first in five years, which accredited fourteen teachers and prompted Colorado teachers to form a loose organization with potlucks, park practices and a new banner.

Billie Blair Miller describes team teaching with Fran Dukehart and taking over Martha Immel's Morro Bay classes, while Betty Comey lists the fitness clubs, bookstore, third graders and cable series her accreditation opened up.

Donna Shaffer describes proposing on-site classes to Bay Area companies, teaching 11 movements in a four-day mini-course for a flat $200 fee, and running one-day seminars at a nearby retreat center.

Teachers report in: Chris McLain brings TCC to nursing staff at Fargo hospitals, Donna Shaffer leads poolside sessions for Apple developers, and Ellen Greyson describes losing years of joint pain.

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.

Newspaper coverage of teachers Alison Douglas, Hope Ridley and Lisette Tingsdahl, including a Wyandotte seniors class where one student with a bad back felt relaxed but not tired.

Practical steps for getting T'ai Chi Chih approved for college credit or CEUs, including syllabus and credential requirements, Christeen McLain's nursing and addiction counselor approval in North Dakota, and an Albuquerque effort on eight-week classes.

Wm. Nielsen's chapel class dwindled from six students to one, a harpmaker built like a linebacker who spoke of hearing the still small voice and of T'ai Chi Chih as a tool.

Lynne Blackford describes her year teaching T'ai Chi Chih at the Missoula senior center, starting as a volunteer before students chose to pay a dollar, plus weekend workshops at Unity churches.

Sr. Alice Holden describes building St. Louis classes from scratch, with Lisette Tingesdahl's prenatal course, Barbara Lefforge's booth at Chevron's Wellness Fair and Barbara Joy's UC Santa Barbara staff workshop.

Susan Hudgens describes her first months as a newly accredited teacher, assisting Donna Shaffer's demonstrations and then negotiating fees, scheduling and promotion to land a TCC class at a Fremont health club.

Teacher reports gathered from around the country, including Susan Webster's corporate wellness contract in California, Ruthmarie Arguello-Sheehan's 7 am classes for 700 hypnotherapists, and a New Mexico nursing license credit approval.

Oonagh Perdue of Phoenix reports on her talks and demonstrations for clubs, hospices and other groups, and names Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor among the students who loved TCC.

Press clippings sent in by Daryl Isenberg, whose weekly class at the Cancer Wellness Center in Highland Park drew a Chicago Tribune feature, and by newly accredited Sandi DeLeon, quoted in the Needles and Mohave Valley Times.

Carol Ann Scanlon of Mission Viejo writes about teaching T'ai Chi Chih to Soroptomists International of Garden Grove and her dream of teaching at their international conference.

Susan Webster describes hosting Justin Stone's Heightened Awareness Seminar in San Diego and the teaching that followed: a weekly Naval Hospital employee class, a senior high-rise contract, and fuller classes.

Donna Shaffer brought T'ai Chi Chih to the first "Get Fit Los Gatos" weekend and a TANDEM Computers health fair, while Carmen Brocklehurst won a contract teaching New Mexico school staff.

Lucy Hocking writes from Mount Desert Island, Maine, home to Acadia National Park, inviting East Coast students and friends to practise with her and hoping to sponsor a New England teacher training.

Writing from Palm Desert after his Teacher Training week, Bill Fisher asks for letters and news clippings from back issues of The Vital Force to back up upcoming radio and TV talk show appearances.