The Vital Force Archive

Wendy Helms, troubled that her paying students in dojos and universities were all privileged, volunteered to teach a weekly class in a county transitional housing program for homeless families.

Aida Wilks describes three weeks of teaching T'ai Chi Chih in Manila in 1998, where children responded faster than adults and her two asthmatic nephews, aged 7 and 8, went attack-free.

Teachers in Alaska, California, New Jersey and Virginia report on Seijaku accreditation in Albuquerque, a fifth Kaiser-Permanente site adopting TCC, an Elderhostel group, and a ski club demonstration.

Teacher updates spanning Theda Gillespie's newspaper feature and regional TV interview in New Zealand, Marlene Brown's coaching visits in Lausanne, Kaiser Permanente and corporate classes in California, a Minnesota prison inmate's letter, and Dale Buchanan's new Virginia studio.

John Buffington, newly accredited at Carmel Retreat in Mahwah, describes practising at a forest waterfall with auditing teacher Ralph Garn and plans first classes at his mother's nursing home and his church.

Cristina Minelli returned to her hometown of Mantova after 14 years in the US and, through a sport center owner named Beatrice, gathered 14 students for her first Italian classes.

Teacher notes from Gord Wade in British Columbia, Anna Martens-Janssens in Antwerp, Sharon Davis in Sedona, Jackie Kingsbury in Zephyrhills and New Mexico teachers planning the 1998 conference, plus Lois Mahaney's 80th birthday.

Paula Favorito passes along a Suburban Town News notice for a T'ai Chi Chih course at Holy Name Hospital, where a typo promises twenty simple non-marital movements.

Susan Patterson recounts years of struggling to find reliable rental space in San Diego before leasing her own studio in 1995, and concludes a studio is not needed to build a teacher family.

A state-by-state roundup: seated TCC on local TV at Casa Sandoval, Marianne Merritt's classes for California prison staff and inmates, a University of Cincinnati research grant, hospital wellness and community college classes, and an April Seijaku retreat.

Steve Ridley argues against building a formal organization around T'ai Chi Chih, noting that Chinese chi kung sets survived centuries without one, and that Colorado grew from no teachers to over 30 by word of mouth.

Susan Patterson recounts a skeptical husband at the conference Expo who felt something as he walked past the room, sending his wife Peggy Scanlan in to ask for a Lancaster teacher.

Teacher letters report the Africa Fund covering Sister Marie-Ann Main's airfare for accreditation, a Dutch-language text translation in Switzerland, monthly outdoor practice at Portland's Rose Garden, Kaiser Permanente classes, and a San Diego publicity push.

Newspaper clippings from Arizona and Wisconsin cover Lee Campbell's six-week course at Sun Lakes Country Club and Barbara Sommers teaching at the Rice Lake Coffeehouse to students with chronic pain and migraines.

Lee Campbell met Barbara, newly moved to Phoenix from Calgary, while she walked her dog, and invited the former student of Sharon Melvin to her Wednesday night Share the Form.

Ray Watson describes teaching Mary, a woman in her seventies paralyzed on her left side, who heard him on Batavia talk radio and, combining TCC with visualization and self-hypnosis, regained feeling and began standing.

Letters from teachers worldwide: Sister Francis Kay's African Fund to fly Sister Marie-Ann to the USA for accreditation, Gordon Wade's grade 6 and 7 class, Kassandra Jor rebuilding in Vancouver, and Karen Carrier's tea ceremony.

Ralph Garn's practical advice for new teachers on finding venues, reaching the decision maker, and pricing, including how he rebuilt classes in Syracuse through a new age bookstore and a summer questionnaire.

Stan Ousley, newly certified, found that six of eight students in his first Denver class and six of seven in Santa Fe came because of Carmen Brocklehurst's PBS program.

Newly accredited at Alameda, Eugene L. Box describes starting drop-in classes at the Deming Senior Center and contracts with Western New Mexico University, and how 'time for oneself' persuades busy students to practice daily.

Brief notes from newly accredited teachers: Mark H. Covell on his first weekend class in Oregon, Marianne Merritt planning a prison class in Galt, and Theda Gillespie's 90 New Zealand registrants.

Sr. Mary Ann Cirillo describes meeting a Tulsa woman at the Regis University conference and connecting religious communities in New Jersey, St. Louis and Denver with T'ai Chi Chih teachers.

Susan Patterson describes opening a T'ai Chi Chih studio in San Diego in July 1995, driven by demand from California nurses, and the monthly teacher gatherings it now hosts.

Rich Axline, accredited in San Diego in 1994 and teaching his second class, admits presentations still challenge him, then recounts two students whose back and leg pain vanished during his first class.

Meara Joy Norice, accredited in 1990, writes from a teacher training in Mahwah hosted by Sr. Antonia Cooper, explaining why she commits to auditing at least one training a year.

Marian Massman writes from her sabbatical at Shantivanam, a 120-acre woodland retreat, Jennifer Biehn prepares to present TCC at Quaker Center, and Carol Glinski fills two Jacksonville classes by word of mouth alone.

Barbara Sommers recounts how, after moving from suburban Chicago to rural northwest Wisconsin, natural foods Co-op members and students organized demonstrations and classes for her in Rice Lake and Turtle Lake.

Justin Stone explains why accreditation candidates give presentations, and how new teachers should use personal experience, two sample movements and definite class plans to win an audience and fill classes.

Marc Heeg, a concert pianist in Boulder, finished his teacher accreditation amid a packed summer, began an October class with eight students, and had ten more waiting without any advertising, plus his brochure's account of yin and yang.

Barbara Riley's piece from the Jan.-Feb. 1995 HEALTH 2000 Newsletter introduces T'ai Chi Chih's twenty movements to newcomers, citing lower blood pressure, easier arthritis pain and better balance, and announcing her eight-week class series.