Connecting With Community

How do you connect with the T’ai Chi Chih community? In this day of cyberspace and social media, there are plenty of ways to connect online. Yet my favorite way is still in person.

In addition to local classes, have you attended a weekend workshop or retreat? Being at the annual retreat in Santa Barbara reminded me of how refreshing and renewing it is to be with likeminded people, not only for TCC practice, but personally and as a community. It’s a real gift to yourself, so I invite you to check out upcoming retreats on the community calendar and give yourself this nurturing gift.

If you are a serious student who has practiced TCC regularly for a year or more, another option is to attend an Intensive. It’s a wonderful opportunity for you, as well as teacher candidates and teachers, to immerse yourself in TCC for four days – where you deepen your understanding and experience of how to flow from the center with greater ease, more softness and continuity, and a greater flow of Chi.

If you are a TCC teacher, the biggest event is the annual TCC Teachers’ Conference. Justin often said that this is the most important event for TCC teachers. Imagine being enfolded in a sea of Chi as 100 to 150 teachers practice together. It combines the best of a professional conference with the warmth of a family reunion. I look forward to seeing many of you at the conference in New Jersey this July.

There will be two Seijaku courses post-conference again this year, a Seijaku teacher accreditation for TCC teachers who already know and practice Seijaku, and an introduction to Seijaku for students and teachers. If you have been practicing TCC regularly for at least two years and would like to go to the next level in your practice, check it out.

Although there are no official continuing education requirements for teachers, many teachers consider it a matter of teh (inner sincerity) to attend at least one community event each year. If they can’t make it to conference, they’ll audit a Teacher Accreditation Course or attend an Intensive or retreat. What will be your event(s) this year?