The Vital Force Archive

Daniel Pienciak recounts studying Seijaku with Justin Stone in Albuquerque in 1997, the last course Justin taught, and argues that the Seijaku principle is the entree of a seven-course meal.

Kathy Grassel tells her Albuquerque class about ospreys diving at the Tingley Fishing Ponds, and her student Peg likens an osprey beaten under by a wave to the power of softness in Seijaku.

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.

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.

Pam Towne, after 38 years of Seijaku practice, describes the yin-yang alternation of softness and resistance, lists its massages, tonings, Jing and Joy Song, and quotes Justin Stone calling its discovery the most important event of his life.

Beverly J. Miles describes a year of practising Seijaku and the questions it raised for her, including whether to hold the breath while holding fast and how to dance the Joy Song.

Mary Wichmann, who teaches just four one-hour classes a year for Survivors of the Fallen in Minnesota, questioned whether she belonged at the 50th anniversary conference in Albuquerque, then found connection and renewed interest in Seijaku.

Pam Towne led seven teachers through a Zoom Seijaku accreditation in February, with participants Yuko Voss, Patty Stupca, Michelle Sarubbi and Sally Sherwin describing grounding, healing and beginner's mind.

Jessica Lewis passes on a disabled Army veteran's account of going medication-free since 2018 and keeping his temper with his teenage son, then records her own sensations after their one-on-one Seijaku session.

Beverly J. Miles describes a year of practising Seijaku and arrives at the questions she still cannot answer, about holding the breath during hold fast, alternating sides in the Joy Song, and which movements are omitted.

A sequence of pyramid poems by Beverly Miles, moving from passing clouds and softness that beckons chi to an ode to Seijaku and a closing poem on conference connection and flowing gratitude.

Laurin McDonald recounts the first 800 hours of teaching after her 2018 accreditation, from a chance encounter at a business showcase to classes in wheelchairs, a mosque, and her Seijaku accreditation in 2021.

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.

Daniel Pienciak recalls Pam Towne relaying, at a 2009 Seijaku accreditation, that Justin Stone prized expansion and contraction, and describes feeling that dynamic in the t'an t'ien during every weight shift.

Lorraine Lepine describes the resting position, or graceful conclusion, that punctuates the nineteen movements, and the grounded empty fullness of Chi settling when the body comes to stillness.

Patty Stupca asks what comes after regular T'ai Chi Chih and Seijaku practice brings peace, and answers that the goal is nothing: return to the present and find gratitude.

Nancy Jo Bleier recounts her 1997 accreditation in Albuquerque under Ed Altman with Justin visiting daily, teaching seated sessions to stroke and mental health patients, and starting monthly Practice by the Sea in Sitka.

Lisa Stroyan admits she has never practised steadfastly alone, and describes how Zoom group practice and a Seijaku class question from Carmen gave her the phrase "supportive cohesiveness."

Judy Chancey and Sky Young-Wick outline the 2022 International Teachers' Conference on Zoom, themed Cultivating Wisdom, from the Friday Around the World Practice to Sandy McAlister's opening words, Seijaku mornings and breakout rooms.

Terry Gay Puckett's Shih Tzu puppy chewed open a tube of toxic acrylic flow, and the two hours stranded in a vet's exam room became a slow practice of T'ai Chi Chih and Seijaku.

Daniel Pienciak takes Justin Stone's reminder that softness means lack of tension into the weight shift, suggesting practitioners feel the receiving knee lead and release rather than stiffen.

After an exhausting three-hour Seijaku teaching practice, John Marquez walks to a nearby park, lies barefoot under a tree, and finds Justin Stone's phrase about serenity amid activity coming true.

Ann Rutherford gathers memories of Michael O'Connor, an Albuquerque teacher and physical therapist who died after relapsing, from Bruce Childs, Molly Grady, Beth Cameron, Kathy Grassel and Sr. Antonia.

Susan A. Corey describes taking up Seijaku and Fast Track at the Zoom conference Continuing the Connection, likening her first Seijaku practice to falling gracefully into cool water.

Pam Towne recounts the conference's renewed interest in Seijaku, describing Prajna as the wisdom aspect of Chi and the four formats presented by Carmen Brocklehurst, Ann Rutherford, Dan Pienciak and herself.

Anne Rutherford recounts asking Justin Stone whether Turiya meditation alone sustains awareness, then embedding a chosen ego fixation as a felt sense in Seijaku's resistance section, with self-inquiry questions for students.

Carmen Brocklehurst introduces Fast Track as Justin Stone taught it, the third speed after T'ai Chi Chih and Seijaku, naming which movements use the hop and which are left out.

Paul E. Ciske follows up his conference talk on grounding, describing the equal and opposite forces felt at the soles and the t'an t'ien, and how Seijaku with Fast Track worked as a neurologic stimulus akin to Z-Health drills.

Lynne Roberts recounts saying yes to being master of ceremonies for the 2021 Zoom conference, which grew out of Lisa Stroyan's September 2020 email to an informal online practice group.

Sharon Sirkis logs a fretful morning minute by minute until an insistent hunch sends her to the cable guide, where the 8:00 film is "Excess Baggage," followed by student accounts of Daniel Pienciak's June 2021 Seijaku weekend.