Anxiety Overcome

I passed my exam. I started feeling anxious on Saturday; my heart was racing and I was feeling short of breath. I listened to some relaxing music and did T’ai Chi Chih. Immediately I felt my heart rate decrease; respiration returned to normal. How amazing is that. I started feeling that anxiety again when we arrived at the exam. So I found a quiet corner outside the gym and did Rocking Motion, Around The Platter, Bass Drum, Around The Platter Variation, and Cosmic Consciousness Pose. (Those were the only ones I could remember.) During the exam I felt my heart racing again, and so I placed my feet on the floor to find my grounding. I began breathing and smelled the lavender scent on my wrist. I stayed relaxed, totally clear and focused, during the Four Corner Jujitsu. This is the first performance where I’ve not had an anxiety attack, or vomiting, or diarrhea before or during the exam. If I had failed the exam it wouldn’t have mattered. My major accomplishment is not the karate belt but my victory over a lifetime struggle with anxiety. Thank you for teaching me this wonderful practice of TCC. Your encouraging, kind gentle spirit is inspirational to your students. Words can’t express my eternal gratitude.

Grateful For Classes

By Andrea Bork, Minneapolis, MN

I have a friend whom I think would benefit from TCC. He lives in Boston but I see that there are no teachers in Boston. So I purchased the DVD for him and suggested he attend a workshop or retreat. Before searching on his behalf, I didn’t realize how fortunate I am to live in a state where I have so many instructors and classes available to me. In the summertime, I can ride my bike less than two miles to a city park where practitioners of T’ai Chi Chih meet beneath a large tree near a fountain at 9am to practice together. Our local instructors take turns leading the group, and it’s an amazing way to begin a summer weekend. It’s a blessed time in Minnesota. And I shall never take it for granted.

Pyramid Poems

why

do we

take things so

seriously?

please stop and

smell the

rose

–Tiffany Lyewsang (student of Sharon Sirkis)

rain

release

be there now

in the moment

all is one

not two

zen

– Jami Morgan (student of Lisa Otero)

no

complaints

from these small

messengers of

synchronized

focused

Chi

– Laura Schreiber (Student of Hope Spangler)

they

come alone

or in groups

to feed and grow

then move on

I feel joy

be

– Rosa Catterall (Student of Hope Spangler)

a

drum beat

in my head

the countless things

they call me

I am

deaf

– Lonn Hess (Student of Hope Spangler)

I

see the

changes come

slowly and strong

giving me

a new

life

– Barbara Hammond (Student of Dick Detert)

love

forgive

compassion

feel the joyful

spirit come

within

you

– Kathleen Zutz (Student of Dick Detert)

life

often

has courses

where it takes us

is a charm

where to

guess

– Ruth Zacharias

me

learning

sharing our

chi with another

smiling from

within

all

– Mary White

life

is like

a long run

with others on

the same road

to keep

care

– Susan Skidmore