Dancing

By a student of Jane Weiner, Chicago, IL

This student is a young 79 year old who emailed me after her first TCC lesson in a swimming pool.

You are completely correct when you said that T’ai Chi Chih gives us energy. After participating in the pool, I went to the bank and then to Whole Foods where I spent almost two hours (love that store). In the evening my girlfriend wanted to check out a place to dance in the ‘burbs called Wellington’s – good music and good fun. Believe it or not, I danced four long sets with four different guys and my energy never waivered. I love to dance and all this nonsense with my hip and back had stopped me from going to dance places. Furthermore, I was not stiff or in pain the next day. See you in the pool on Friday.

Story Time

By a student of Barbara Dinehart and Mary Cameris, Tulsa, OK

I had been practicing T’ai Chi Chih for a few months when I decided to go on vacation. I didn’t want to take the large poster I’d made to remind me of the movements, and a small one would have required me to stop and put on my reading glasses. So I made up the following story to remind me of the movement order. Now I rarely need any kind of visual aid.

A loving mother arises early to prepare for her day. She bathes in the stream, feeling the water wash through her fingers as she rocks back and forth. She watches the sky as three great blue herons fly overhead and she feels joy and freedom. She prepares a platter of breakfast for each of her two daughters. She blesses the food by gathering the divine energy from each side and placing it gently on the plates. She uses a drum to call the daughters to breakfast. The daughters descend the stairs one at a time. They eat the breakfast and are surprised and grateful for the tasty food. After breakfast the daughters begin to play. They have fun with a ball. They take turns pushing each other in a swing. They ride on a merry-go-round. After playing, the daughters are hungry again. Mother shows them how to make a delicious treat of taffy. They make four different kinds and enjoy eating it. The taffy makes them thirsty. They draw water from the well to drink. After they are no longer hungry or thirsty, Mother reminds the daughters to meditate each day. She leads them to open to divine light. She reminds them to laugh and to spend time in reverie – just watching clouds passing by. She teaches them to heal themselves through sound. At the end of the day the daughters give thanks and draw in the universal energy to their heart spaces.