Healing Grief With TCC

My goal in presenting T’ai Chi Chih at two professional conferences was three fold:

• Introduce TCC to people grieving or working in the field of dying and death;

• Show the healing power of the practice of TCC in the grief journey;

• Reflect on my own grief journey during the illness and death of our son and share how TCC was instrumental to my own healing.

The first conference was for The Association for Death Education and Counseling, an annual event attended by 800-1200 people. I led several TCC movements each morning for over 25 attendees, and I gave a presentation on The Healing Power of TCC in Grief (along with a practice component) overlooking Miami’s beautiful Biscayne Bay. The energy in the room was amazing and evaluations have been very positive. The convener of the session told me it changed his life. Not bad for a four day conference.

Participants faced the bay while doing the movements and during Push Pull, dolphins started coming around. Rapture overtook the faces of the participants. I thought, “Wow, these people really get it.” Even during the mid-afternoon presentation, the dolphins surfaced again, putting on a big show during Push Pull. Signs and wonders.

The second conference was for The Bereaved Parents, USA. It was as powerful for the 34 workshop participants grieving the loss of a child as it was for me. A graduate student shared that she is doing a doctoral dissertation on the “Healing Effects of TCC” on those who have lost a spouse. Comment evaluations included:

“The open and easy-going environment was an excellent retreat for my physical body and my mental/emotional one, too.”

“Please make this presentation longer next year so we can enjoy the flow.”

“I relaxed for the first time during the conference.”

“I felt calm and serene; a gentleness settled over me.”

“It would be nice to have CD’s or DVD’s to buy.” (Why didn’t I didn’t think of that!)

“Excellent, beautiful; do it again”

“The practice felt like a loving embrace.”

The work is spreading and the healing is happening. And I have concrete evidence that this practice is healing to someone in grief. I wish I knew how to “graph” a scientific study, but perhaps someone from academia reading this would be interested in helping. As always, I give credit to Justin, Sandy and the practice.