First TCC workshop offered in Georgia

Course Host

On October 5th and 6th 2002 the first statewide T’ai Chi Chih workshop was held in Georgia. Sandy McAlister led the event that was considered a huge success by everyone in attendance. This was the first time I met Sandy and I was immediately impressed for instead of seeing the city sights of Atlanta, she headed out to the North Georgia mountains and our beautiful waterfalls and small rural craft towns! When I picked her up in Norcross after her excursion I was struck by how much she seemed to embody the principles of T’ai Chi Chih Joy Thru Movement. She was quiet, soft-spoken, simple — not elaborate in dress or word, quietly confident and serene. Like the T’ai Chi Chih form, simple, effective, easy.

The morning of the workshop arrived and I for one was a little bit nervous, but I needn’t have worried. The participants didn’t come for the wonderful lunch we served or to view scenic Roswell. They came to be with a teacher trainer and to deepen their practice of the T’ai Chi Chih discipline. Teachers and students alike came with open hearts and open minds and were richly rewarded with Sandy’s gentle guidance and practical wisdom regarding the movements of this astounding practice.

One thing I know for certain about the T’ai Chi Chih discipline is that there is always something I don’t know, always a layer deeper than the one I’m on. This deeper layer is almost always revealed when I can let go of something extraneous and get simpler and cleaner in my practice.

When I spoke with teacher Amy Hackenberg of Athens, GA about her experience of Sandy, she said, “It was great to have Sandy’s energy here. She’s very calming and there are no frills, no ego.” Indeed the beauty of the T’ai Chi Chih form’s simplicity was evident throughout Sandy’s teaching. I would marvel again and again at the depth of the teaching and yet the utter simplicity of it at the same time. There is such richness in Justin’s gift of T’ai Chi Chih Joy Thru Movement that is very humbling and very inspiring.

The teacher’s prep workshop on Sunday was intense, rewarding, and very practical at the same time. My student, Sheryl Adair, said of her experience: “Sandy McAlister was a wonderful instructor and suggested subtle (and not so subtle) changes that significantly improved my practice. Getting to know her, other teachers and students was an added bonus. There is something special about those who are drawn to the practice of T’ai Chi Chih [Joy Thru Movement]. After this experience, I feel more confident and committed to going forward with my teacher training.”

Amy Hackenberg’s student, Christian, also spoke of feeling at ease with the group and gaining confidence. Additionally he gained a “new appreciation for the connection between the arms and the hands.”

As a teacher I know I gained much from this experience that will aid me in my classes. I don’t think I ever really got the power behind “Working the Pulley” before the workshop. The way Sandy broke down that movement really opened up something for me in my own practice as well as being incredibly instructive for me as a teacher.

Amy said, “I appreciated Sandy’s attention to the upper body as well as the stance. She was able to articulate the connectedness in a way that I know will be useful for me in my teaching.”

And finally ending on a poetic note, teacher Linda Olney from Lilburn wrote: “There was a time during the class that I was standing in the back & I got the sense of a huge, ancient tree with thousands of branches extending from it, with ROOTS that ran for an eternity. I saw on both sides of me a few very special people that have been students of mine for several years, and are now branching out with intentions of becoming teachers themselves. This brought to mind some words of the French philosopher, Simone Weil — ‘To be ROOTED is perhaps the most important and least recognized need of the human soul.’ With many years of practice & five years teaching, my roots run very deep in the Tai Chi tree of life. It was uplifting to see that the same thing that had touched my soul and has given me a sense of belonging had inspired others. . . . Whether any of us go on to become teachers or not, being a part of a force of nature, like T’ai Chi Chih [Joy Thru Movement] & it’s workshops, is an intensified, vibrant & recharging experience. . . . The Atlanta workshop gave my students and me that opportunity.”