The Vital Force Archive

Jim Shorr collects statements from four Oregon senior students naming the movements that matter most to them, from Ellen H.'s swimmer's affinity for Working the Pulley to Linda L. feeling God's presence in Passing Clouds.

Jim Shorr collects student responses, including Becky F on climbing through clouds in Working the Pulley, Tom O on releasing worries in Passing Clouds, and a palliative care patient's new stability.

Justin Stone's photo text notes on the three Pulling Taffy variations, Working the Pulley, Joyous Breath, Passing Clouds and the Cosmic Consciousness Pose, followed by his account of habit energies, karma and chi.

Fran and Jim Kaib recount the day ten intellectually disabled adults and their aides joined their small public library class unannounced, and how wordless modeling and Joyous Breath brought laughter and calm.

Mary Cerullo recounts a visit by twenty special needs adults aged 21 to 35 to Jim and Fran Kaib's class, where one young woman clapped and demanded Joyous Breath again.

Daniel Pienciak lists practical lessons from years leading two senior memory loss groups: speak loudly, repeat movements six or eight times, walk to each person, and return to favorites like Six Healing Sounds and the Joy Song.

Carmen L. Brocklehurst calls Joyous Breath the Grandmother/Grandfather of Seijaku, reviews its audible breath and cupped palms, explains why Justin kept Seijaku an oral tradition, and adds pyramid poems from her April 2017 retreat.

Justin Stone's booklet excerpt gives the keys to six movements, from the full 180-degree waist turn in Working the Pulley to the ancient Chinese origins of the Six Healing Sounds and the ankle placement in Cosmic Consciousness Pose.

Dixie Adeniran quotes Justin Stone on the joy at the center of our being, then describes feeling joy released through Light at the Top of the Head and Joyous Breath.

Daniel Pienciak traces grounding from his Polish surname, which names where trunk meets roots, to Justin Stone's instruction to keep awareness in the soles of the feet, taught through Joyous Breath from the first class.

Diane Curley, struck by violent motion sickness on a tour bus between Florence and Siena, braced her hip against a seat post and practised Joyous Breath for three minutes until the nausea vanished.

Jeneth Rundle's Easter Sunday 2013 poem follows a single cycle of inhaling rain-scented air and exhaling to a full stop, emptying into joy, gratitude and the Vital Force.

Justin Stone explains mantras, one-pointed mind and a Shinran verse, followed by memories from Pam Towne of her 1984 Santa Barbara accreditation and Donna McElhose of corrections on Daughter in the Valley and Joyous Breath.

Amy Tyksinski's two-line note on Joyous Breath describes bringing the heart fire down and the yin of the kidneys up, calling the resulting mixture the elixir of life.

Larry Bloom, a scuba and free diver of forty years, connects Justin Stone's instruction on forceful inhalation and exhalation in Joyous Breath to vital capacity, tidal breathing and the oxygen that builds ATP.

Hannah Hedrick describes pairing pursed-lip breathing with the weight shift for students with COPD, modifying Light at the Top of the Head, and bringing TCC to Red Hat Society women, cancer and HIV/AIDS groups.

Sr. Meg Costello's account of the January 2003 East Coast teachers workshop at the Dominican Retreat House, where Sandy McAlister worked on alignment, stance, weight shift, Rocking Motion, Joyous Breath and Passing Clouds with 22 teachers.

Noel Altman relays two blood pressure drops: Jo Trautmann's Texas student Chuck L. reached a diastolic of 79 after four lessons, and Kaiser San Francisco student Nancy C. measured 130/68.

Stephanie Winter helped her friend Anne through a long natural labor, and when the midwife asked to change the energy in the room she practised Joyous Breath and Passing Clouds.

Judy Jones recounts a lunchtime practice on the grass at Evergreen Hospital's courtyard where a large black dog galloped through the group into the pond during Joyous Breath.

Richard Brier continues his comic allegory of Chi Lanka, meeting Rip Van Stone in the Taffy Forest, relieving Masters Yink and Yank at the pulley, and posing atop Mt. Chi.

A Teacher Trainer Tips column recommends one to three rounds of Joyous Breath to open the meridians and oxygenate the blood, then reviews the key points of execution and the attitude the movement asks for.

Steve Ridley suggests breaking mechanical, muscle-memory practice with a weekly change of pace: rising an hour early, Hatha Yoga postures, nine Joyous Breaths, slower movements, and Great Circle Meditation.