The Vital Force Archive

Pam Towne recounts Justin Stone calling his 1986 discovery of Seijaku the most important event of his life and a turning point for his heart after bypass surgery, then points teachers toward the 2012 Portland accreditation course.

Rebecca Laughhunn took a class with Jean Katus in 2010, bought the DVD, practiced daily through the summer, and lost ten pounds along with gaining energy and peace.

Judy Hendricks recounts corrections Justin Stone gave at an Albuquerque teacher practice, covering fingertip placement in Push Pull, the yang hand in the Taffy movements, standing between moves, and fluttering fingers as a sign of Chi.

Pam Towne lays out how to prepare for Seijaku accreditation: daily practice sandwiching three Seijaku movements between TCC repetitions, repeated viewing of Justin's Seijaku DVD, six months of practice, and work with an accredited Seijaku teacher.

Ann Sollars demonstrates tension versus softness in knees, wrists and shoulders to spark beginners' first recognition of held tension, and Chris Norkus describes building TCC community from remote practice, conferences and two weekly sessions.

Lisa Otero describes how returning to her own teacher's classes and retreats, and rewatching Justin Stone's DVD and textbook each year, keeps her from doing empty movements by rote.

TaiChiChih.org announces a social media outreach campaign using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, plus a planned TCC blog and e-newsletter, and asks teachers and students to contribute videos and testimonials.

Diana Reding recounts the group practice at the 2009 conference and how Justin's DVD changed her feeling for Pulling Taffy, where she now senses resistance across the t'an t'ien.

June Engle began T'ai Chi Chih at 85 with a lesson in a parking lot after a hike, then DVDs, tingling hands, and one sleepless night after practising before bed.

Judy Hubbell's impressions of her teacher accreditation week at the University of the Incarnate Word, from Pam Towne's teaching and Alice Holden's hosting to the Folsom Prison DVD and a slowly peeled banana.

Sheila Leonard's account of hosting Dan Pienciak's April 2009 workshop in St. John's, where returning students earned referral signatures for July training and one rediscovered the value of stillness she had dismissed as long pauses on the DVD.

Donna Aldous describes starting winter classes at the Mesa Spirit RV Resort, growing past 30 participants in two weeks, charging $2, opening seated with Justin Stone's CD and ordering DVDs.

Raymond Sharp, a retired consulting actuary, returned to T'ai Chi Chih after gall bladder surgery and prostate cancer, and credits daily practice with teacher Kate Van Frank for restoring his energy, balance and serenity.

Editor KG answers a birthday-party remark questioning whether the journal matters, quoting Jocelyn Sampson practising alone on a Northern Ontario lakeshore and a YouTube viewer, plus news of online subscription renewal.

Vicki Schroeder describes playing Justin Stone's instructional DVD as students arrive, reading from the photo text and The Vital Force in every class, and listing his books in her syllabus.

Sheila Leonard describes showing Justin's 2000 DVD in the second class so students can "meet Justin," using the KNME-TV interviews with returning students, and keeping books and journals on her table to borrow.

Four months into her practice, Kathleen Bente writes to her teacher Dorene about the benefits she passes on to her patients, the new students joining the beginner's class, her newly purchased Seijaku DVD, and the habit energies that have shifted.

Claire Whalen replaced dwindling eight-week beginner classes with weekend and one-day intensive formats at her convent retreat center, paired with a Harvard Health Letter report on UCLA's T cell study.

KG argues against a colleague's Xerox-copy theory of inevitable drift, pointing to Justin Stone's DVD as a way to stay one generation from Source, and urges teachers to keep the full movement names and the "Chih"; with Pyramid Poems.

Sr. Antonia Cooper marks the Year of the Rat with news of Justin Stone's November 17th Life Celebration, the new 17-minute DVD biography and poetry CD, and a planned international teacher training scholarship fund.

Ginny Morgan describes Justin Stone's November 17th Celebration of Life for his 91st birthday, with two group practices, a piano concert of his original songs, his paintings, a potluck dinner, and the new narrated DVD/CD of his life.

Editor KG announces the rebranding of taichichih.org, new Wikipedia entries, a YouTube clip of Justin Stone teaching Bird Flaps Its Wings, Ken Gray's Google Alerts instructions, and reader donations.

A case for teachers staying connected to Justin Stone through his books and instructional DVD, a tour of the new Good Karma Publishing web site, and Sue Bitney's interview with student Kathy Sullivan about Sr. Antonia Cooper's July workshop.