The Vital Force Archive

Sue Bitney recounts auditing the final days of a teacher accreditation course, describing the candidates' vulnerability and courage and the welcome she offered them in their last conversation together.

Carmen Brocklehurst recalls her 1980 Albuquerque accreditation on Justin Stone's birthday, Justin correcting her Carry the Ball hip swivel, and learning TCC from Rev. Helen Brungardt Pope.

Lynne Roberts recounts moving from a dancing career and USO shows into TCC, her one-on-one preparation with Corinn Codye, and the 1988 Morro Bay accreditation where Justin interrupted her presentation.

Lisa Otero, who sought accreditation only to have people to practice with, describes returning to teaching in summer 2021 after COVID and argues that group practice requires everyone to sync up, like musicians following a conductor.

Ann Rutherford recalls being invited to a class combining soul travel with T'ai Chi Chih, and Justin Stone's dismay at a mechanical accreditation checklist he said pulled the wings off the butterfly.

Dorene Krause traces her 2003 path from the first East Coast intensive to Sandy McAlister's first accreditation course, and explains why she refuses to sign for any candidate who has not attended an intensive.

Mission statements from twelve teachers accredited in Daniel Pienciak's Zoom course hosted by April Leffler, plus Barbara McAnamy's account of finally understanding her front weight shift with Marie Dotts.

Sandy McAlister announces that intensives become a prerequisite for accreditation, recalls Justin's change of mind about conference breakout sessions, and moves the Tuesday Zoom teacher practice to monthly Saturday discussions.

Marcella Levie, Vanessa Petterson and Adam Lacey, all training with Lesley Nell in Europe, describe what the online student day gave them, from transition advice to seated practice during back injury recovery.

Kristin Clark Taylor describes completing one of the first accreditation courses held entirely on Zoom, with Daniel Pienciak and April Leffler, and insists the Chi she felt alone in her living room was not virtual.

Sharon Sirkis collects five teaching mishaps from her early years, including a senior center student who wanted to push away his wife and a chat attempted with a man on silent retreat.

Sandy McAlister traces the Intensive from Ed Altman's 3 1/2-day prep course to the first Zoom Intensive she led in August, and announces that from 2021 teacher candidates must attend one.

Pam Towne recounts the August Zoom TCC Intensive she led with Sandy, where participants from both coasts and the United Kingdom felt strong Chi flow, and offers practical tips on breaks and breakout rooms.

KG reports on the 350+ teacher webpages now live at taichichih.org, how to get listed or edit one, and asks readers what they need The Vital Force to be.

Mary Kay Chavez, who lives three hours from her teacher Lorraine Lepine, describes how Zoom practice gave her the frequency, control and versatility that Facetime sessions could not.

Terry Johnson's first T'ai Chi Chih class, set for April Fool's Day 2020, was cancelled by COVID-19, so she worked her local food bank instead and now practices in the park with a staff member who would have been her student.

Lesley Nell describes how she and Laurin McDonald, accredited in 2018, ran a Discovery Workshop in Banbury for wellbeing coaches and therapists in March 2020, just before lockdown.

Sandy McAlister describes her own holding pattern during the COVID-19 shutdown, the nudge from Pam Towne that ended it, and how teachers turned to parks, mailed lesson plans and Zoom.

Janet Knapp Starr invites accredited teachers to the T'ai Chi Chih Teacher Circle Facebook group, where members have traded advice on Zoom teaching and pandemic class agreements.

Nancy Hebert describes practicing TCC in a hospital family lounge while her mother-in-law was institutionalized for depression, her mother-in-law's suicide, and her 2019 accreditation to bring TCC to mental health facilities.

Cathe Powers traces her path from finding T'ai Chi Chih after a marital separation to accreditation, including a Santa Barbara intensive, two signature teachers, and leading Lisa's classes during her trip to India.

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.

Margery Erickson walks teachers through the TaijiFit veterans application at taijifit.net/vets, from the 150-hour training requirement and new acronyms like Vairkko and CANVAS to networking locally and teaching free, volunteer classes.

Asked at a Pennsylvania teacher accreditation how T'ai Chi Chih brings her joy, Kathleen McAllister recalls the angel card reading JOY that she wrote on her hand during her own accreditation week.

Carmen Brocklehurst recounts how a tape of Justin Stone's 1990 teacher conference talk, recorded without permission, was transcribed and made into the booklet Evolution Through Chi, now given free to new teachers.

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.

Pam Towne lays out the practical differences between a three or four day TCC retreat, open to anyone, and the four and a half day intensive for teachers, candidates and year-long practitioners.

Anna Vaith honors her student Karen, who cared for her husband through cancer, and recounts how grief over her grandmother's sudden death led her to accreditation in 2005 and to teaching.

Marie Dotts introduces reflections from the April 2019 accreditation week, with new teachers Rick Davis, Robert Poland, Debby McLister, Stephanie Copeland, Kyung Sook Lee and Becky Shinas describing transformation, community and moving well.