A Response To Hannah

I am grateful Sandy McAlister demonstrated over the years an attitude of playfulness about our TCC practice. While she is clear about what is and is not TCC, she has always encouraged me to keep it fun, to toss in something new about the moves from time to time. One practice that the men love to do changes the form into a beautiful dance, keeping them very involved as they watch me for transitions. They know that’s not how we do the form, but they love the freshness and playfulness, and the implied permission that they too can experiment and play. 

As an early teacher teaching on the “outside,” I emphasized accuracy until I taught at a Senior Center. Many elders could not perform the movements and became frustrated. I realized that relaxation, which encourages the Chi to flow, was more important than form. If it wasn’t enjoyable and relaxing, there wasn’t much point in doing it. I needed to be flexible and adapt the movements depending on my population. 

This is especially true in the prison class, where the relaxing aspect enables them to feel safe. Only then can they let go enough to trust the flow of Chi, allow themselves to be seen, share from their hearts and heal. 

I make corrections/suggestions about grounding, softening the knees, breathing, shifting the weight and about posture – about things that keep them from harm. But I never give the impression that they have to move a precise way to benefit from the practice. Many of my students are looking forward to sharing the practice with their families and friends after being released, and I encourage them to do so as long as they can do it in a way that won’t cause harm (i.e. to the knees). For inmates who are serious, I offer technical adjustments so that when they attend a class on the outside they will be prepared.

While I understand the importance of keeping the form pure, insuring the ability to drop into a TCC class anywhere and find the form the same, I’ve learned the yang form of T’ai Chi Ch’uan from three different instructors. They all did it a little differently. This taught me patience, flexibility and respect for each teacher’s expression. I concur that the gift of TCC is not in doing a technically accurate Passing Clouds, but in experiencing a unification of body/mind/spirit that fosters connection and healing.