East Coast teachers reconvene for second year at NJ oceanside retreat

On Friday, May 2nd the sun was shining and a cool breeze floated past the waves as I and 20 other T’ai Chi Chih teachers joined together for a weekend of community and sharing at the New Jersey shore. Some might call our weekend a sabbatical, a retreat, a get together, or just ‘fun in the sun,’ but whatever you call it, we all connected on the first practice — done in a large circle around a room that looks out on the ocean.

Neal Giacomelli and Sister Antonia Cooper did a wonderful job of taking care of registration and reservations (at the beach houses) as well as planning this wonderful weekend. Neal came up with our catchy name — “CHI by the SEA ’03” — after some discussion of possibilities from others. The lovely surroundings and wonderful catering by three very talented and loving women — Thank you Lonnie, Diane and Roberta! — added beautifully to the satisfaction of all.

We spent some time the first evening just getting acquainted and reacquainted with each other with the help of Sister Antonia Cooper and Linda Braga’s cards “Images for TCC Practice.” We noticed how the shore had already influenced us as we sat around the room in a spiral, watching the evening unfold. Though most of the teachers were from NJ, we also shared space with teachers from NY, PA and MD.

The sense of community was important to all of us (confirmed by the comment sheets filled out afterwards) as we independently shared different stories of how TCC practice has enhanced our lives or made situations easier to handle. Many of us enjoyed some time to ourselves on the beach, still quiet from lack of tourists. Through the process of the weekend we took some time to share our creative energies by writing some Pyramid Poetry or whatever else came to mind . . .

The sea has spoken
Can we hear the words?
Winds still blowing
Waves . . . birds . . .
Life will whisper in your ear
But one must be quiet enough to hear

Saturday allowed more time for refining our practice and sharing more teaching techniques. Sr. Antonia was especially generous with some wonderful and helpful handouts, even sharing Pam Towne’s video with all of us. Michael Isaacs shared how he has his class start out in a circle with Rocking Motion and Bird Flaps its Wings — the rest of the practice facing the same direction, and then back together for Cosmic Consciousness Pose in the circle again. Others passed along teaching tips learned at previous gatherings, such as April Leffler’s idea about yinning/yanging with one hand on the lower back of the person next to you. (April wasn’t even there!) Terminology, or how we describe the movements, was discussed for its effectiveness in different situations. Things like “bring your knees forward” “your hands should be as if resting on pillows” or “let the ball dissolve (fade — let it go).”

Sr. Antonia facilitated a discussion on how to conduct “intermediate” or on-going classes and we shared what has worked for some of us in the past. After trying our hand at the pyramid poetry, we had some unstructured time for self-reflection. Saturday evening was particularly special because we shared the “famous” rededication ceremony conducted by Sr. Antonia — always a beautiful experience.

Though we enjoyed some serious and thoughtful discussions over the weekend, we also had fun laughing at ourselves, especially when Sr. Antonia was lamenting about what a hard time she was having getting into prison (to teach of course!)

Sunday morning we got back together for a practice and brunch before heading our separate ways. I enjoyed the final practice outside, facing the shore, as I drank in the beauty of the day in ultimate gratitude for this inspirational practice and warm community experience.