The Vital Force Archive

Four written assignments collected by Donna McElhose: students describe emerging from bipolar isolation, easing fibromyalgia fatigue, practising anywhere after 2005 cancer surgery, and discussing Justin's Climb the Joyous Mountain chapter by chapter.

Carol Love recalls the phrases her teacher Marie Dotts repeats in class, including "You can't do bad T'ai Chi Chih" and the advice to move just the arms or just the feet.

A letter to future students from one of Donna McElhose's students, K. L., who began T'ai Chi Chih in 2005 after a breast cancer scare and urges beginners to persevere through the awkward first weeks.

Three of Donna McElhose's College of Lake County students write letters to future beginners, describing bad knees, ankle and wrist ligament injuries, the switch to a seated class, and the fear of being the only man in the room.

Jim Shorr collects comments from four practitioners at Creekside Village in Beaverton, finishing their sixth year of Saturday morning sessions, on balance, joint tension, new friendships and Qigong warm-ups.

Two student assignments collected by Donna McElhose: Nancy L. maps the electrical, magnetic and heat sensations she feels movement by movement, and Bryan F. describes chi radiating from the t'an t'ien like ripples in a pond.

Lorry Marcketta recounts Janet Oussaty's afternoon workshop on teaching beginners, with five points including ocean-wave imagery for Rocking Motion, energy balls held between the hands, and avoiding analysis paralysis.

Ana Royal describes injuring her left knee reaching for a carry-on bag in Boston, the years of injections and medicated gel that followed, and how a year of daily TCC practice ended both.

Diana Daffner mistook Bass Drum for a drum beaten on top, substituted the image of caressing a tree trunk, and later told beginners the story when teaching the movement.

Wilma Kuhns took up T'ai Chi Chih to protect her balance, then during her second class the last joints of her right fingers clicked into place, letting her close a painless fist.

Kay Rydeen describes "set induction," the teaching trick of opening a class with a prop or placard, from a French professor's bulging pockets to dimes taped on a cardboard foot outline.

Donna McElhose collected thank-you letters her Illinois students wrote to Justin Stone, describing asthma-friendly movement, circle meditation, a Folsom Prison video, and the struggle to practice alone at home.

Rosemarie Berezin signed up at the Clarkstown Community Learning Center thinking T'ai Chi Chih was formal T'ai Chi, and found in Oreann's class a practice that feels like floating in the Caribbean.

Kathy Plachy describes a year in Oreann's class at the Clarkstown Community Learning Center, where slow repetitive movement eased her arthritic hands and steadied her enough to enjoy a steep rocky trail without fear.

Joyce Kanyuk credits her teacher Oreann with bringing students into peace and calm, and describes looking forward to the camaraderie of Monday morning class and feeling the energy of the movements; Pyramid Poems by Johnnie Lee Marquez follow.

Pat Hill of Golden, Colorado recounts finding a T'ai Chi Chih class taught by Steve Ridley in 1985 after her marriage ended, her 1986 accreditation in Santa Clara, and the backyard training sessions she later ran for candidates.

Donna McElhose asked her current students to write welcome letters to future beginners, and they describe bad knees and a seated class, being the only male in the room, and the daily practice that finally made the movements make sense.

Lisa Stroyan's notes from Sandy McAlister's monthly Zoom teacher practice cover December's discussion of movement order and January's on drop-in classes, with Zoom tips and handout suggestions.

Donna McElhose asked her current students to write to future beginners, and their mostly anonymous letters report a hip that stopped cracking, better balance, new friendships, and calm found in fifteen minutes of daily practice.

Dorene Krause gathers New Jersey students' accounts, including Carolyn Pogwist's story of leaving her first class convinced she could not do it, then feeling the chi shake her until grounding and the tan t'ien settled her practice.

Glenn and Mary Laudenslager began TCC in spring 2000 after Mary saw it on PBS, taking an eight-week class with Lou and Joyce DeGidio that led to twenty-one years of daily practice.

Loretta and Gil Weimer began T'ai Chi Chih on her 68th birthday in Donna's class, then learned the rest at home with handouts and a DVD, gaining better balance, deeper sleep and less aching.

Bryan Fain traces his first months as a beginner, from imitating his teacher and memorizing sequence to Marie Dotts' weekly group practice and a workshop with Bill Moore.

Seven letters of thanks addressed to Justin Stone by new students, reporting reduced stress, restful sleep despite sleep apnea, stronger ankles, painless stair climbing, and relief from allergy-related asthma.

Judy Kistler-Robinson learned Tai Chi Chih from Justin's photo textbook, DVDs and FaceTime sessions with Lubbock teachers, then found that Sandy's Zoom practices supplied the angles and words she had missed.

Linda Raye, who has had mobility issues since her teens, took up T'ai Chi Chih 25 years ago as a substitute for dancing, followed by beginners' letters thanking Justin Stone.

Writing during the social distancing of 2020, Dorene Krause reminds her students that T'ai Chi Chih cannot be learned overnight, that movements soften with time, and that it is practice, not perfect.

Nan Nelson recalls the evening her community education teacher described meeting a raging driver with compassion, the moment that turned a casual TCC class into a serious commitment, and cites Shantideva on repaying teachers.

Cristina R. Fridenstine recounts joining a beginner class at Senior Amigos in Las Cruces in 2018, drawn by memories of T'ai Chi along Hong Kong's harbor, and her growing wish to teach young people.

Carmela Beck recalls watching Justin Stone demonstrate at an Albuquerque bookstore while her toddler roamed unsupervised, then finding his photo online a decade later when back pain sent her looking for something gentler than yoga.