The Vital Force Archive

Pam Towne asks practitioners to check their circularity in a mirror, movement by movement, from the "D" shaped platter and Bass Drum to wrist circles, Working the Pulley and Passing Clouds.

Linda Braga read a podiatrist's brochure on plantar fasciitis and recognized its lunge and heel-walking exercises in Six Healing Sounds, Anchor Taffy and Rocking Motion, with suggestions for footwear and repetition.

Antonia Cooper recounts asking Justin Stone about the hip swivel and getting the answer "you are doing it already," then traces the imperceptible pelvic oval through Carry the Ball to the Side, Perpetual Motion and Passing Clouds.

Sandy McAlister urges precise cueing, saying "Bass Drum, left foot forward" rather than "on the left side," and describes a class exercise focusing on the downward-moving top arm in Pulling Taffy.

Three short pieces: Sheila Leonard names her snow-shovelling moves Passing Snowflakes and Carry the Shovel to the Side, Linda Braga brings a stuffed cat to teach the taffies, and Kathy Grassel lets a Juvenile Detention Center student keep his beach-ball-sized ball.

Lucia Veteran recounts the June 2004 Intensive at Mt. St. Francis Retreat Center, where Sandy McAlister spotted the bad habit in her Anchor Taffy: complete the wind-up before stepping out.

Lorraine Lepine, accredited in 1999 and rusty, describes Sandy's Houston intensive where onomatopoeic sounds loosened her Anchor Taffy hips and the phrase "soft without sacrificing the form" released her neck tension.

Becky B. Watkins wrote these pyramid poems on the plane home to Louisiana after a November 2003 Teacher Training week, on pulling taffy, sinking from center, chi, and trees rooting into the earth.

Becky B. Watkins records two images from her accreditation course: Dan Pienciak's teaching of Seijaku as serenity in the storm, and Sr. Antonia's gentle giant imagery after Taffy wrist circles.

Ed Altman answers Beverly's questions about rising and sinking during the Taffy moves, recommending conscious relaxation of the substantial leg and a "sweet spot" midway between heel and ball of the foot as a target for the weight shift.

Beverly McFarland writes to Ed Altman about grouping the 19 movements into front-to-back and side-to-side families for beginners, and asks whether to stay sunk through the Taffies and whether weight settles into the heel or the whole sole.

In a letter, Beverly McFarland credits a belly dancer student's tip about shifting from bent leg to bent leg with releasing hidden tension in her Pulling Taffy and improving her alignment.

Kimberly Davis joined a T'ai Chi Chih class expecting intense martial arts training five months after a breakup, and found in Pulling Taffy and Passing Clouds a swirling, protective energy that mended her heart.

Carmen Brocklehurst maps her eight-session Intermediate class week by week, from the opening full practice through stop-action work on the Taffies, with counting repetitions on the fingers and an invitation to Seijaku at the end.

Justin Stone warns against decorative, dance-like gestures, correcting the aimless hand waving he sees in Bird Flaps its Wings, Pulling Taffy Variation #2, Light at the Top of the Head and Daughter in the Valley.

Two participants describe the 70-person Sedona retreat of March 2001, where Sr. Kathy Salewski found an easy rhythm in the high desert and Joanne Lovejoy learned to release the back heel.

Eight classroom jokes and slips collected from Donnis Minx, Sharon Sirkis and Mary Ann Johnson, including a student's misspelled "biginner," a sneeze that turned the Six Healing Sounds into "Ho, Hu, Achoo," and a Pulling Taffy centipede.

Denise M. Clark recounts Ed Altman's Memorial Day workshop in Danville, where fifty-one practitioners let Rocking Motion lift naturally, worked the weight shift flat-footed, and softened the waist for Perpetual Motion Taffy.

Patricia Strand recounts being told at the Berkeley teacher training that nothing about her Pulling Taffy was correct, the warning she might not be accredited, and the night she woke feeling her body on fire.

Sharon Sirkis collects classroom moments, from seniors interlocking fingers during Around the Platter to a student doing Pulling Taffy at red lights, and Nancy Vermond's seated class flows to Frank Sinatra.

Eight classroom mishearings and comebacks collected from Viola Bens, Sharon Sirkis and Pat Huseby, including silly putty mistaken for chewing gum and a student stuck on the two girls on the mountain.

Roberta Taggart reports on the November one-day workshop in Cupertino where Ed Altman led three refinement sessions on flowing from the center, with student notes on Push Pull and the taffys.

Four anecdotes: Sharon Sirkis gets a message from a movie listing, Mark Moloney's student renames Around the Platter "Wiping the Counter," Jean Katus mishears "waste," and Ed Altman slips a quarter under a candidate's heel during Anchor Taffy.

Kathy Vieth describes how eleven St. Louis teachers met repeatedly to reconcile their differences in form, then led a four-hour enhancement for twenty-seven students covering all 19 movements and one pose.

Amy Hackenberg reports on Ed Altman's one-day intensive for forty-three teachers and students, with notes on low back heels, forward/back Rocking Motion and the weight shift in the Taffy variations, plus Mark Moloney's account.

Asked at the summer teacher conference why his movements differ from Justin's, Steve Ridley traces his training, his lower and slower stances, and his spiraling-down revision of Pulling Taffy Variation A.

Brief notes on seven 1996 conference workshops, from Steve Ridley on refining moves and Corinn Coyde's paired Pulling Taffy practice to Carmen Brocklehurst on corporate insurance liability and Lia Ridley's top-rated dance session.

Steve Ridley describes a class so intent on perfecting Pulling Taffy that tension built, prompting his joke that the movement was improving while the chi fled the room.

Justin Stone tells teachers to spot and correct faults by example, using Pulling Taffy to show hands and weight shifting together, and warning against a stiff front or back knee.

Beverly McFarland describes her fourth-class Taffies and silent practice, Diana and Richard Daffner report free beach practice with dolphins and Diana's flute tape, and Hope Ridley balances quick learners with two students who have MS.