The Vital Force Archive

Justin Stone corrects the common errors in Pulling Taffy: the upturned hand must travel horizontally from the opposite elbow, both feet stay flat, and the weight shifts only with the pulling hand.

Ev Hanson-Florin breaks the Anchor variation of Pulling Taffy into its four parts, then offers a teaching sequence: demonstrate, teach footwork and waist turns alone, then add the arms mirroring and back-to-class.

Linda Braga pairs the CD "Seaside: Solo Piano" with Rocking Motion and Bird Flaps Its Wings, then teaches a visualization of a footprint in wet sand, washed away each time the weight shifts back.

Anna Vaith surveyed her continuing students about which movements and principles to review, and quotes their answers to the final question about what they most enjoy in practice.

Pete Gregory argues that softness, unlike the weight shift or circularity, cannot be directly measured, and that overusing the word in class dilutes it; his image is holding a newborn, hand supporting the neck.

Donna McElhose teaches Pulling Taffy through the motions of making ice cream, scooping left at waist level, circling a topping on with the right hand, wiping the dish and serving it to a friend.

Amy Tyksinski gives a beginner's cue for Pulling Taffy: touch the leg that is about to move with the same-side hand, then keep that hand going, with the hands passing over the first leg.

Pauline Quimson-Tong answers questions raised at the 2009 conference, naming Rocking Motion for grounding, seated practice to feel the t'an t'ien, Justin Stone's music, and demonstrating a movement wrongly before showing it correctly.

Caroline Guillot includes Justin Stone's T'ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement in her class fee, assigning homework from it and quizzing students orally in the final session.

Carmen Brocklehurst plays the Justin Speaks on T'ai Chi Chih CD as beginners arrive, uses its confirming signs of flowing Chi to prompt discussion, and assigns teacher preparation students fifteen minutes of daily listening with a notebook.

Dan Pienciak describes using Justin Stone's essay "The Cumulative Effects of T'ai Chi Chih" from Spiritual Odyssey to motivate senior students, and inviting them to report changes like dropped blood pressure medication and a discarded oxygen tank.

Donna McElhose has her community college students hunt for articles on T'ai Chi Chih benefits at the start of the semester and again at its end, when their choices turn personal and emotional.

Sheryl Adair swapped a week of regular classes for a group practice in her home studio, where a late-arriving student felt the palpable Chi and the circle stayed on afterward to speak about what TCC had changed in their lives.

Ann Rutherford argues the three principles are tools rather than ends, urging teachers to train students to keep the mind in the soles of the feet instead of identifying with passing thoughts.

Carol Nelson-Selby describes running a continuous drop-in class at a health club, arriving early to work with newcomers on weight shift, the t'an t'ien and physical limitations before the regulars arrive.

Lorraine Lepine reports on the open Outreach Coordinator post, guidelines being drafted for teaching seniors, children and seated TCC, and the teacher reference materials project, followed by Justin Stone's letter objecting that T'ai Chi Chih is being made commercial.

Nancy Jo Bleier stands up to practice when her mind chatters, then asks what clarity means in class: short sentences, a full weight shift, daily practice, and a student's note on stress relief.

Sandy McAlister argues against shortening T'ai Chi Chih to TCC, recalling a New Jersey spring intensive where an article's initials were read aloud, and showing how precise wording like "soften the knees" teaches better.

Amy Tyksinski offers two things to try in Push Pull: feeling the 60-40 split inwardly rather than in the hands, and the strength rising from the back heel as palms return to the breastbone.

Donna Aldous describes starting winter classes at the Mesa Spirit RV Resort, growing past 30 participants in two weeks, charging $2, opening seated with Justin Stone's CD and ordering DVDs.

Nancy Lecraw describes five years of team teaching with Bobbie, from Tuesday morning planning sessions over tea to dividing new and review movements, working with seated students, and meeting program directors together.

John Taggart corrects the common habit of swinging arms wide past the core in Carry the Ball to the Side, showing how wrists form the ball softly while elbows stay close.

Lisa Otero's step-by-step approach to teaching the hip turn in Carry the Ball to the Side, from distinguishing hip from shoulder turns to the "six-shooter" trick and the elliptical swivel.

Carol Houtkooper recalls a conference correction revealing she had turned "shift the weight, turn the waist" into two separate moves in Carry the Ball to the Side, and how she now teaches the flowing principle first.

Lynne Roberts teaches Daughter in the Valley alongside Daughter on the Mountaintop as one whole, describes the peace and freedom from stress they bring, and offers an "M" memory trick for students.

Sr. Antonia Cooper describes a three-day retreat near south Philadelphia where the 19 movements were taught in three groupings by direction, up-down, side-to-side and forward-backward, rather than in order.

Vicki Schroeder describes playing Justin Stone's instructional DVD as students arrive, reading from the photo text and The Vital Force in every class, and listing his books in her syllabus.

Sheila Leonard describes showing Justin's 2000 DVD in the second class so students can "meet Justin," using the KNME-TV interviews with returning students, and keeping books and journals on her table to borrow.

Dan Pienciak recounts how reading Justin Stone's books aloud in his own classes motivated students to buy them, and recommends starting with the Photo Text and Spiritual Odyssey.

Elissa Maguire reports on David Schulberg's conference discussion of teaching styles, where instructors agreed teachers must shift a classroom's ambience toward empty mind through silence, softness, flowing music and body-mind scans.