Community Exploration of One TCC Movement

T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) is offered as part of the fitness program at our retirement community, Friendship Village of Bloomington in Minnesota. We thought it might be fun and interesting to work with just one of our favorite movements for a few weeks to see what we might discover. Our class challenges students to find a way to “play with the Chi” and share what happens with the greater TCC family. Here are some student notes:

Push Pull: Focusing on just one hand helped with concentration; the movement became more natural and easier to do. — M.N.

Six Healing Sounds: The breath, the sounds within my body, the flow of breath pushed out to cleanse; this movement reminds me of Qi Gong. Such a short movement repeated can be so beneficial to my body and soul. – V.O.

Daughter in the Valley: This movement settles my mind and body; I can just relax and forget problems for a while. —P.W.

Push Pull: I liked this movement from the start. It brought joy to my heart. I remembered an old song, “I’ve got that joy, joy, joy down in my heart.” The rhythm of the song’s words seemed to fit with the movement. It became my mantra for the day. — J.L.

Push Pull: I was not very faithful in doing this experiment at first. I was “not in the mood” and, in fact, I uncharacteristically even skipped some of my regular exercise classes. As I began to be more consistent, I noticed a slightly higher level of activity. TCC usually brings me calm and peace, but now I also notice an uplift in mood and interest in activity. – M.W.

Daughter on the Mountain Top: The imagery of the mountain comes to me. When we practice TCC, we are as heavily grounded in the earth as are the mountains, and, at the same time, we are connected to the heavens and the whole of the universe. As the hands come toward the center of the body, a feeling of stroking and soothing the inner organs increase the sense of calm. As the hands lower and expand, the energy moves from the tan t‘ien down the legs and grounds deep in the earth. As the repetitions increase, there is a greater sense of centeredness. Because of the focus on this one movement, I am better able to visualize it and recreate the feeling of calm as I fall asleep at night. This experiment coincided with a time of transition in my life when I really needed to reduce anxiety and keep a positive outlook. — J.S.