The Vital Force Archive

Jessica Lewis pushes back on the claim that only specialists can teach Veterans, giving three reasons T'ai Chi Chih suits students with PTSD and advising class-wide suggestions rather than individual corrections.

Anita Vestal, Jessica Lewis, Adam Lacey and Greg Berg report on their Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale survey of over 400 practitioners, and an abstract submitted to the 2026 Osher Center conference.

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.

Sandy McAlister outlines the volunteer-run pieces of the TCC organization and urges every teacher to pay for a listing on the taichichih.org find-a-teacher page, after a researcher searching for a teacher found no names.

Jessica Lewis recounts how she, Anita Vestal, Adam Lacey and Sokie Lee won a 30-minute experiential slot at Boston's OSHER Whole-Person Health Conference in September 2023, funded partly by grants and T-shirt sales.

Adam Lacey travelled from Oxfordshire to the inaugural Tai Chi and Qigong research conference in Boston, where prominent scientists named T'ai Chi Chih in their trials and attendees sought out the day-two experiential workshop.

Dr. Anita Vestal reports from the inaugural Science of T'ai Chi and Qigong as Whole Person Health Conference, where Dr. Helen Lavretsky could not locate a TCC teacher for a study through the website directory.

Ivonne Begue de Benzo, a Masters student in Positive Psychology, describes planning a qualitative study interviewing TCC teachers to build an awareness intervention for mindful eating and satiety.

Pam Towne cites research on bi-lateral rhythmic movement calming the amygdala and a UCLA study showing raised T cell activity, explaining why TCC practice steadies people during COVID-19.

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.

Pam Towne, accredited in 1984 and present at every conference since 1985, recounts the Minnesota gathering: the Veterans Administration T'ai Chi program, brain research on bilateral rhythmic movement and PTSD, and Sandy McAlister's grounded closing practice.

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.

Psychologist Bruce Eisenmenger draws on Robert Scaer's trauma research to argue that the rhythmic bilateral weight shift and attention to the Bubbling Spring quiet the amygdala and sympathetic nervous system.

Dr. David Parrish summarizes Richard Davidson's brain plasticity research on attention, positive outlook, resilience and generosity, and the Dalai Lama's answer about subtle energy, followed by Lorraine Lepine on adapting TCC to aging.

Dr. David Parrish, a psychologist of forty years, previews his conference talk on research into Qigong and neuroplasticity, and on the evolution of consciousness that Justin addressed in his spiritual talks.

Dr. Janet Oussaty reports from the inaugural International Medical Tai Chi and Qigong Association conference at Massachusetts General Hospital, where researchers proposed grandfathering accredited T'ai Chi Chih instructors into new standards.

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.

Andrea Skillman's biweekly class for in-patient PTSD veterans in North Chicago pairs tapping and guided meditation with TCC; 67 participants reported drops in pain, racing thoughts, anger, anxiety and agitation.

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.

Dr. David Parrish draws on Richard Davidson's neuroplasticity research to argue that T'ai Chi Chih, as an evidence based moving meditation practicing attention and letting go, trains the brain for well-being.

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.

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.

Anita Vestal summarizes twelve controlled trials of T'ai Chi Chih, covering sleep quality, shingles immunity, inflammation, physical performance in older adults, stress and depression, with recommendations for future studies.

Carol Nelson-Selby draws on neuroscience findings about body movement changing the brain to argue that TCC hand gestures, from Pulling Taffy's welcoming palm to the rising hand of Daughter in the Valley, are universally self-affirming.

A note on Analysis of Variance results from 610 T'ai Chi Chih students who self assessed at their first class and again weeks later at the last, with contact details for Dr. Anita Vestal.

Kathy Starrick recounts her talk at a holistic nursing conference on building resilience, covering stress management, the Lavretsky depression and Irwin sleep studies, and grounding through the soles of the feet.

Linda Braga describes how the WASC accreditation process at San Leandro adult school pushed her to survey students, analyze the data, and draft a revised "Levels of TCC" skills list with Northern California teachers.

April Leffler replaced two cancelled university classes with an assignment to research T'ai Chi Chih on social media, and three students report what they found on Facebook and Twitter, from the bubbling spring and trembling fingers to studies on depression in the elderly.

Social work student Lauren Robson and a classmate review the TCC health benefits page and Twitter feed, noting claims about migraines, chi flow, depression and the discovery of seated practice for wheelchair users.

Two social work students report on the TCC health benefits page and Twitter feed, with Lauren Robson noting migraine and blood pressure claims and another discovering seated practice for wheelchair users.