The Vital Force Archive

Lesley Nell describes how she and Laurin McDonald, accredited in 2018, ran a Discovery Workshop in Banbury for wellbeing coaches and therapists in March 2020, just before lockdown.

Sue Kenney notes that most T'ai Chi Chih teachers are white women of middle and older age, and proposes demonstrations, diverse-led DVDs and YouTube materials, Zoom mentors and funding to reach younger people, men and people of color.

Jessica Lewis describes moving her Delaware classes to Zoom after the March 12 state of emergency, the marketing language she now uses to promote TCC, and the T'ai Chi for Veterans program's shift when VA activities halted.

Gail Terriff recounts how a recreation therapist's request for T'ai Chi Chih "forever" at Edmonton's Hope and Wellness Center drew Alberta teachers together, only for COVID-19 to postpone classes after week one.

Jerry Jonnson offers teachers a ready-made promotional piece citing Dr. Richard Davidson's neuroscience of well-being, presenting T'ai Chi Chih as an easier moving mindfulness, ending with his outdoor Mt. Cuba Center classes.

Judy Chancey lists the practical steps to take while awaiting TC4VETS certification, from offering pro bono VA volunteer classes and meeting VFW commanders to practicing cues without left and right.

Jessica Lewis reports on a T'ai Chi Chih Foundation grant that paid for 1000 flyers and a banner promoting Free T'ai Chi for Veterans, distributed at Stand Down and to Delaware realtors.

Margery Erickson walks teachers through the TaijiFit veterans application at taijifit.net/vets, from the 150-hour training requirement and new acronyms like Vairkko and CANVAS to networking locally and teaching free, volunteer classes.

Jessica Lewis describes launching veterans-only classes through Taijifit and the VA Community Care Network, with a roadmap for letters of introduction, meetup listings, flyers and befriending local VA staff.

Nancy Hebert, accredited in June 2019, describes her first Tai Chi Chih teacher conference: meeting veteran and new instructors, evidence-based presentations, twice-daily group practice, and the sadness of leaving.

Dennis McCann, a hospital chaplain accredited in 2009, describes his first annual conference as a spiritual upgrade that led 26 employees and patients to sign up for his eight-week summer course.

Parker Reynolds prints an email exchange with Mary B., a former student practicing at home with the TCC DVD, who reports a 118/64 blood pressure reading, eased joint pain, and total absorption during her 45-minute practice.

Sandy McAlister marks T'ai Chi Chih's 45th year with retreat participants' reasons for practicing, and urges teachers to drop unwarranted fear, use World Tai Chi & Qigong Day, and let TCC shine publicly.

April Leffler describes organizing T'ai Chi Chih flash mobs at two Pennsylvania malls, one circling a two-story lighted reindeer, with participants' accounts of finding calm amid holiday shoppers.

Shari Holmes, accredited in November and teaching her first class right after New Year, describes the twelve students who came, the forgotten handouts and tips, and watching beginners find softness.

Ron Richardson asked students at his church class why they practice, and student Park Dodge of Tupelo compared moving in unison to the call and response of liturgical worship.

Dr Jerry C. Jonnson offers two handouts he wrote to promote his classes: a plain description of T'ai Chi Chih with a list of researched benefits, and a basics card weighting shifting at 80 percent, posture 15 and hands 5.

Eliza Fulton describes demonstrating T'ai Chi Chih at the Glenwood Springs Downtown Block Party, microphone and gawking crowd included, until three young people with a baby joined her and one bystander signed up for a class.

Stephan Koblick, drawing on his sports and karate background, describes how he reframes T'ai Chi Chih for reluctant male students by comparing the weight shift and chi transfer to a golf swing or a thrown baseball.

Sandy McAlister opens her continuing classes with a circle of good news and questions about softness and favorite movements, and tells of a reclusive student whose balance class led to friendships and a first cruise.

Laurin McDonald recounts flying from England through blizzards to Philadelphia for her March 2018 accreditation with Daniel, the refinements on weight shift and Rocking Motion, and new UK classes starting in April.

Lisa Otero explains how she runs drop-in classes at fitness centers, a church and a park, placing experienced students in front rows and using a circle-within-a-circle formation for large group practices.

Nancy Johnson's rhyming invitation to her Tuesday 10:00 class walks through the movements in order, from Rocking Motion to Passing Clouds, promising tingling fingers, released tension and calmer feelings.

Julie Heryert reports that donated industrial fans have transformed the sweltering Folsom chapel class, which now has 33 students and a waiting list, and describes meeting ARC founder Scott Budnick.

Prompted by David Parrish's conference talk on brain imaging research, Sandy McAlister asks her students whether TCC is a mindfulness practice, and finds that relabeling her class sign "Moving Meditation" stopped the interruptions.

Jessica Lewis, once the only accredited teacher in Delaware, lays out practical promotion tactics: a logo and business cards, a website, free newspaper coverage, short free presentations, doctor contacts, and a local TV interview.

Meg Scinto's flight home from the 2017 conference seated her beside a man whose nephew took his life after Afghanistan, strengthening her plan to start a class for veterans.

Kent Jarratt rides a four-hour local bus home from his April accreditation in Aston, sizing up every passenger as a future student, then watches his enthusiasm turn to fear until his barber becomes his first weekly student.

The 2017 planning committee lays out the Boulder program day by day, from Dr. David Parrish on brain science and a four-teacher panel on grounding to Jessica Lewis on teaching alone in Delaware, Sandy McAlister's movement refinement, and the Saturday auction.

A rundown of the TCC blog, Instagram account and Facebook page, including the hashtag for reposting photos and the ten-point Facebook list of facts about T'ai Chi Chih worth sharing.