The Vital Force Archive

Marie Dotts traces 17 years of teaching, a six-year pause while caregiving, and building the Northern Colorado community through a retreat with Pam Towne and monthly principle sessions for teacher candidates.

Panelists Deb Bertelsen, Deanna Rasch and Sheila Leonard describe growing TCC communities in Minnesota, Richmond, Virginia and Newfoundland, from quarterly potluck gatherings and mentoring frameworks to Dan Pienciak's nine island visits.

Teresa Lisum recounts her teacher accreditation course, where full, intense days and the support of fellow candidates, auditing teachers and Pam let her feel successful even while embarrassing herself.

Charlie Williams set four objectives on the first day of teacher training, calm, openness, accepting criticism and giving to others, and found he received far more than he gave.

A photo caption naming the group with Jessica Lewis, Charlie Williams and Sister Christa Thompson in front, and Stacey Moore hosting alongside teacher trainer Pam Towne behind them.

Ann Rutherford recounts reading aloud Justin Stone's typed letter at the 2002 San Antonio teacher conference, which led to the intensive and the requirement of a second, impartial teacher signature for candidates.

Daniel Pienciak suggests imagining three dimes under each foot, two at the balls and one at the heel, as a way to test even weight distribution and complete the weight shift.

Judy George marks twenty years as an accredited teacher, describing the worldwide friendships TCC has brought her and how teaching abbreviated movements keeps students who cannot stand nine repetitions coming back weekly.

Dixie Adeniran lists the new beginnings of her first teaching year: training with Lisa Otero, accreditation in Santa Barbara with Pam Towne, first classes in January 2015, and practice turning from physical to energetic.

Anita Vestal, the only accredited teacher in Costa Rica, answers questions on teaching rural villagers in Spanish, loosening their tightened muscles, and leading her construction workers in fifteen morning minutes.

Deb Bertelsen answers questions about why she teaches, describing Minnesota's "Accreditation Journey Framework" for guiding candidates, her reliance on email and phone to stay connected, and the divorce and rheumatoid arthritis that first brought her to T'ai Chi Chih.

Susan Quinn, with no teacher nearby in Florida, prepared for accreditation through Skype lessons with Karen Goran, retreat feedback from Pam Towne and Antonia, twice-daily practice, and coaching from her husband Jerry.

Sandy McAlister reports the conference session on T'ai Chi Chih's future: teacher training fees rising to $525 in 2015, new scholarships for teachers who fully audit, and talks on attracting men, younger students and greater diversity.

Dixie Adeniran describes the five phases of student teaching under Lisa Otero, from awkward unprepared presentations to leading whole classes while Otero was away for a month.

Lisa Otero lays out what to do before an accreditation course: study all of Justin Stone's writings and videos, write out general and movement-specific instructions, learn to mirror, and practice-teach under supervision or by Skype.

Dana Diller calls accreditation week both the greatest and most trying experience of her life, and credits the intensive she attended beforehand, plus the teachers' insights, for preparing her to teach.

Adabelle Rychtarik recounts her November 2013 accreditation week in Albuquerque with trainer Pam Towne, the early morning practices with visiting teachers, and seeing the film of Justin at Folsom Prison.

Sandy McAlister announces a six-month Mentoring Program, with April Leffler and Stacey Moore as the first mentors for May's new teachers, plus a Continuing Education Program awarding 27 hours for intensives.

Deb Bertelsen outlines the recommended path to accreditation, from the website's Overview and Guidelines to workshops, retreats and an intensive, followed by Marie Dotts on Justin Stone's habit energies and Essence.

Pam Towne outlines how students inspired to teach can get accredited, including Skype sessions and video review for those living far from any TCC teacher, plus advice for teachers preparing candidates.

Daniel Pienciak connects Justin Stone's "Love Energy" to the mechanics of the weight shift, noting that candidates who fail to sink fully onto one leg produce little yinning and yanging.

Dan Pienciak, hosting his last accreditation before becoming a teacher trainer, gathers candidates' and auditors' own words from Sandy McAlister's May 2013 week and questions which world is the real one on re-entry.

Lisa M. Otero recounts the first three years of her plan to build a self-sustaining T'ai Chi Chih community in Oxnard and Ventura, from fitness center and church classes to Seijaku and teacher prep.

Judy George, accredited since 1994, describes the "bonus blessings" of teaching and lays out five principles of transformational language: inclusive, action-oriented, affirmative, process-oriented and awareness-oriented cueing.

Linda Braga recaps the roundtable discussions at the 2011 T'ai Chi Chih conference, listing eight teaching strategies from educational research and the classroom problems teachers brought to the table.

Ann Rutherford reports from the Albuquerque Seijaku training, where Pam read from Justin's 1989 notes and trainees named the benefits they found, from softened TCC practice to one-pointed concentration.

Karan Lee compiled closing comments from participants in Pam Towne's November 2011 Seijaku accreditation weekend in Aston, on internal resistance, release, grounding and the unexpected lightness they carried home.

Passages from Justin Stone on gratitude, impermanence and freeing oneself from conditions, followed by memories from Steve Ridley, David Schulberg, Linda Robinson and Mark Harrell of his blunt corrections and lasting teaching.

Short tributes gathered after Justin Stone's death, with Mary J Case quoting Guru Nanak on death as a gateway, Amy Hackenberg recalling his advice that she would teach well once she settled down, and Sr Francis Kay tracing TCC groups from Minnesota to Harare.

Molly Grady hosted Sandy McAlister's November 2011 Albuquerque accreditation course, where ten candidates from a teenager to a 70-something and twenty-one auditing teachers dismantled and rebuilt their practice.