The Vital Force Archive

Carol Love makes the case for taking practice outside, from Nature-derived movement names to choosing a spot where uneven ground sharpens balance and birdsong replaces traffic noise.

Lisa Stroyan recounts Marie Dotts leading September and October teacher practices on the t'an t'ien leading the weight shift, level pelvis, locked psoas muscles, and her "Kate Winslet on the Titanic" exercise for beginners.

Lisa Stroyan describes offering suggestions rather than corrections in ongoing classes, from a nervous newcomer discovering effortless rise in Light at the Top of the Head to catching her own unrolled right wrist in Bass Drum.

Shelley Nielsen's letter to her library foundation recounts joining Marie Dotts's weekly class in January 2022, easing arthritis pain and hearing strangers stop their cars to say she looked at peace.

Lisa Stroyan reports on Sandy McAlister's April 2025 teacher discussion on balance, including an exercise of breathing out down through the flattening front foot to notice weight going too far forward.

Lesley Nell answers questions about the new suggested curriculum for preparing teacher candidates, developed with Marie Dotts and Lisa Otero, and the new Teacher Prep Coach designation for experienced referring teachers.

Kate Polk credits her T'ai Chi Chih practice with two reductions in her blood pressure medication, calmer recurring visions of a traumatic experience, and comfort during radiation for a skin cancer on her scalp.

Marie Dotts traces her grounding from the soles of her feet to the t'an t'ien and the vertical core, describing how a level pelvic floor and slower pace deepened her root.

JJ Johnson describes how instructor Marie Dotts located the Bubbling Spring point below the ball of the foot, and how rooting the weighted leg before stepping out changed the start of every movement.

Carol Love recalls the phrases her teacher Marie Dotts repeats in class, including "You can't do bad T'ai Chi Chih" and the advice to move just the arms or just the feet.

Accredited in November 2024, Joan Sheehan describes the intention she set during accreditation week, the absorbed attention she now brings to mashing potatoes, and the clarity of practising at the Poudre River.

Dorian Tippet recounts a boat trip up a snake-like Belizean river to the Maya ruins of Lamanai, past crocodile warnings, herons and Mennonite fishermen, arriving late to two carved stone temples.

Lisa Stroyan recounts a week of twice-daily practice in Corozal, including a session at the Santa Rita Mayan reserve, and Mayor Vellos calling T'ai Chi Chih a healing art.

Lisa Stroyan summarizes a November teachers' Zoom discussion on how referring teachers prepare accreditation candidates, with advice from Marie Dotts, Caroline Guilott and others on one-on-one work, leading practice, weight shifts and when to teach Seijaku.

JJ Johnson, a self-described novice, describes feeling chi flow like honey from the fingertips, carrying it between movements, and noticing a slight finger flutter at the yin-to-yang weight shift.

Lisa Stroyan describes how seated T'ai Chi Chih amplifies awareness of the t'an t'ien and feet, with guidance on soft seated weight shifts, chair choice, and letting students sit, stand or rest as needed.

Lisa Stroyan recounts the October "2nd Saturday" teachers' Zoom gathering led by Ev Hanson-Florin, where about 30 teachers compared Justin's written instructions on the Cosmic Consciousness Pose, the heel placement, arm height, gaze and how long to hold it.

Connie Shaw recounts breakthroughs in seeing her own conditioning fall away, and lists what keeps her practice alive: posture, empty mind, returning to the t'an t'ien, and deliberate uncontrived laughter.

Lisa Stroyan describes a stiff early-morning practice easing into a new grasp of the Effort of No Effort, distinguishing doing from feeling and moving from knowing TCC to learning from it.

JJ Johnson traces Walt Whitman's phrase through Ray Bradbury to the 2024 Teacher Conference, where a group practice of more than 130 teachers seemed to move as one Mind.

Lisa Stroyan gathers her notes from the 2024 50th anniversary conference, quoting April, Sandy, Carmen, Daniel, Tina and Justin, and closes with a pyramid poem built from the daily themes.

Lisa Stroyan collected the praise voiced at Sandy McAlister's August 2024 Second Saturday Zoom practice, from the spheres presentation and Laurie Jacobi's video to scholarships, Karen K's emergency surgery, and a call for future conference committee volunteers.

Rebecca Paulson recounts how her son's London conference on the circular economy led Lesley Nell to lead global economists in T'ai Chi Chih, and meeting Tina Wells and Adam Lacey in Albuquerque.

Lisa Stroyan details how she, Doriane Tippet and Belize-based Zoom anchor Beverly Miles run a simultaneous in-person and online class, from webcam setup and lighting to the surprising arrangement of students standing behind the teachers.

Seven subscribers, among them Sue Bitney, Michelle Crow, April Leffler, Beverly Miles, Carolyn Pogwist and Guy Kent, wrote whatever surfaced after practice, from Passing Clouds and the water cycle to the t'an t'ien's glide in Working the Pulley.

Connie Shaw recounts a class in which teacher Marie Dotts urged students to practice with soft eyes and follow where the Chi led, and Shaw felt the room dissolve into light.

Rebecca Paulson describes the February 24th gathering at the Windsor Recreation Center, where more than 30 people from eight towns, some practicing in person for the first time since the pandemic, completed a full silent practice.

JJ Johnson answers a student's question about Seijaku with the story of practicing at a Texas roadside park on World T'ai Chi Day when a freight train roared past.

Rebecca Paulson recounts April 29th World T'ai Chi and Qigong Day in northern Colorado, where 35 people from seven cities met at a community college while 26 more joined by Zoom from Belize onward.

Connie Shaw describes how her teacher Marie's instruction to keep attention in the feet and belly led, during a weight shift, to the unraveling of her vasanas or habit energies.