The Vital Force Archive

Lisa Stroyan recounts Marie Dotts leading September and October teacher practices on the t'an t'ien leading the weight shift, level pelvis, locked psoas muscles, and her "Kate Winslet on the Titanic" exercise for beginners.

Nine new teachers were accredited by April Leffler in Leavenworth, Kansas, and candidates including Gilbert Pagat, Barbara Starke and Roksan Biktimir recount refinements, presentation nerves, PTSD healing and long delays.

Transcribed from a recorded lecture, Justin Stone answers audience questions on why concentration rests in the soles of the feet, why softness frees the meridian channels, and how karma builds habit energy.

Marie Dotts traces her grounding from the soles of her feet to the t'an t'ien and the vertical core, describing how a level pelvic floor and slower pace deepened her root.

JJ Johnson describes how instructor Marie Dotts located the Bubbling Spring point below the ball of the foot, and how rooting the weighted leg before stepping out changed the start of every movement.

Daniel Pienciak traces how incomplete weight shifts left him wobbling and leaning in Perpetual Motion Taffy, and how finishing the knee bend, hip and heel placement corrected it for him and his students.

Gregory Berg notices how seldom the body moves sideways in daily life, from supermarket aisles to the Pecos River, then follows that thought into Carry the Ball to the Side, where the margin becomes the new center.

Jessica Lewis recounts how a painful condition in three right toes converted her from dismissing seated TCC as "TCC light," and argues for starting all students, especially veterans, in a chair and adding seated training to accreditation week.

Lisa Stroyan describes how seated T'ai Chi Chih amplifies awareness of the t'an t'ien and feet, with guidance on soft seated weight shifts, chair choice, and letting students sit, stand or rest as needed.

Marie Dotts gathers reflections from the fifteen candidates accredited with Sandy McAlister at the Franciscan Retreat Center in Colorado Springs, on inner sincerity, finding the t'an t'ien, and community during a divided pre-election week.

Carmen Brocklehurst breaks down the hip swivel used in the side-to-side movements, from the slight curve of the hips to Justin's reminder "nose to the front" and grounding the Chi.

April Leffler tries ending each movement both ways, palms facing the earth or hands dropped completely, and finds that attention to the four corners of the feet matters more than the choice.

JJ Johnson, a self-described novice, describes feeling chi flow like honey from the fingertips, carrying it between movements, and noticing a slight finger flutter at the yin-to-yang weight shift.

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.

April Leffler describes noticing the aging and homogeneity of the TCC community at the 50th Anniversary Teacher Conference in Albuquerque, and how her alarm gave way to trust when she responded from grounded stillness rather than emotional reaction.

Lorraine Lepine describes moving her attention from the soles of her feet to the t'an t'ien until the Chi seemed to practice itself, and a group meditation on listening to mental clamor rather than pushing it away.

Written before the 50th anniversary teacher conference in Albuquerque, April Leffler finds unity in flowing from the t'an t'ien and in the "Chi-mails" teachers send each other with their thoughts.

Sue Johnson's account of her first TCC teacher conference, from breakout groups where she described how practice helps her play the piano to April's dog walker image for the t'an t'ien and meeting Carmen Brocklehurst.

Barbara Kristoff recounts the 50th teacher conference, from April Leffler's "walking the dog" image for Rocking Motion to small group sharing, and the grounding she carried home.

Comments gathered from small groups at the 2024 conference, responding to session themes of Worthiness, Unity, Courage, Joy, Opening, Giving and Receiving, Trust, Love and Gratitude.

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.

Seven subscribers, among them Sue Bitney, Michelle Crow, April Leffler, Beverly Miles, Carolyn Pogwist and Guy Kent, wrote whatever surfaced after practice, from Passing Clouds and the water cycle to the t'an t'ien's glide in Working the Pulley.

April Leffler traces the "three-part harmony" of soles of the feet, softening knees and t'an t'ien in her practice, then asks how that same sense of connection applies to relationships in life.

Lisa Stroyan describes locating her tan t'ien lower and deeper than expected during April Leffler's online accreditation, and A.B. of Albuquerque finds Bass Drum and Around the Platter blurring the boundary between self and cosmos.

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.

Transcribed from Justin Stone's spoken word CD, tracks 4 and 6 cover bringing heart fire below the navel, Hakuin Zenji's words on the elixir of life, why softness keeps the meridians open, karma and habit energy, and the balance of intellect and emotion.

Tracks three and four of Justin Stone's spoken word CD, in which he links karate board-breaking to accumulated chi, explains effortless effort, and gives three reasons for concentrating in the soles of the feet.

Caroline Guilott recalls skipping into the room to greet Justin in Albuquerque, and describes how words about the movements can trap a practitioner while attention to the t'an t'ien, the weight shift and softness opens the practice.

Dorene Krause describes the tan t'ien as a rounded bowl of stored Chi rather than a dot, with quotes from Justin Stone and Julie Barrier-O'Grady and instructions for breathing into the center in stillness and in movement.

John Lee Marquez, a teacher of nine months, describes his first TCC conference under the theme "Remembering Connection," with videos and stories of Justin Stone and notes on deepening practice.