I Became Accredited! What’s Next?

I am a newly accredited T’ai Chi Chih instructor. Am I relieved that accreditation is over? No! I am amazed! During accreditation, I was going through what I have coined a “Lymes flash.” At the time, I didn’t know it was happening. It was different and less forceful from previous Lymes disease episodes. Could this difference be because of my TCC practice? Who really knows! The fact remains I went to accreditation despite my mental and emotional health being anything but desirable and the joint and muscle pain that was negligible compared to previous Lymes flashes. I hadn’t realized I was holding so much tension. Needless to say, I am still dumbstruck that I became accredited. Ed, I honor and respect your deep insight and unending dedication to TCC Joy thru Movement. Without it, you could not have seen through a body such as mine. I came home from accreditation and was soon diagnosed with clinical Lymes symptoms. There was nothing to do but lie low for awhile and start active treatment. It gave me plenty of time to reflect on what being a TCC teacher means.

Now, it’s a different story! I am letting the CHI do the work for me. A friend suggested I teach a course at her home. She wanted to take a course in how to do TCC practice seated because the regular standing TCC course ended up being too much for her. My parents have taken several courses and were interested in trying the seated variety. All three understood that I have little training in teaching it seated, but were willing to give it a try. A neighbor couple was interested in taking a TCC class. I called them and they were ecstatic because the times fit into their schedule. Kristen, a student of TCC teacher Margie Erickson, and an aspiring teacher, has come when she can and has been a wonderful complement to the class. This is the entire class and we are all learning something new!

During the first class, Kristen and I were able to identify some individual discrepancies. To begin with, one student is three months pregnant. The exercise physiologist came out in Kristen and she suggested to her to widen her stance slightly as she came closer to term. A woman’s hips naturally widen during pregnancy. Both husband and wife are learning the TCC form standing and seated and hope it will help with the pregnancy.

The husband is what Kristen calls a ball walker. When walking, the ball of his foot hits the floor before the heel. Consequently, when yinning and yanging, the heel lifts instead of the toes on his front foot. Kristen suggested he do plenty of Rocking Motions to help lengthen and relax his calf muscles. I can’t wait till the next class because of what Athene Mantle wrote in the January VFJ. I am going to suggest that he bring his heel out instead of his toe in to help correct his front foot alignment. It will be a long struggle for him to correct this. At least, he now understands there are corrective measures he can take that can possibly alleviate his chronic back problems that are caused by his gait.

My mom had a stroke two years ago. She has trouble processing complex information to make her body do what is wanted. Although she has taken several TCC courses, her form still remains that of a very novice beginner. I took the “freeze-frame” approach with her and it seems to be working. With Rocking Motion, this is what I said and did. “From the resting pose, bring your left foot sideways. Now comfortably straighten your legs.” As she did this, her spine stayed upright. “Now watch my feet.” I lifted the toes and balls of my feet ever so slightly and quickly placed them back on the ground. “Now Mom, I want you to try that,” and using my thumb and index finger I showed her how much to lift her foot and said, “Only lift your toes this much.” Her spine still stayed relatively upright. “Okay, now bring your knees forward. Okay, good! Now comfortably straighten your knees. Now bring your heels off the ground just a very little bit and back down.” We did this several times, slowly increasing the pace. Although the movement is a bit choppy, she is now solid on her feet and there is very little, if any, leaning. Mom says she now likes to do Rocking Motion, that it feels comfortable.

Dad is in his element! After doing T’ai Chi Ch’uan for about five years, he thinks the TCC form is a piece of cake. I think Mom would have been as fluid had it not been for the stroke. He actually prefers the TCC form and along with Mom, uses Justin’s tape regularly.

My friend, Pat, is a severe diabetic with feet problems and also has a fused spine caused by an automobile accident. We have found that, because of her fused spine, the hip roll is too painful when the TCC movements are performed in a seated position. When she stands to do the movements, this also has its drawbacks. Many times it is impossible for her to stand squarely and solidly on her feet. We are doing the best we can but to date, there have been no “A-haaas.” If there are any TCC’ers out there who have had an “A-haaa” on something like this, please write in to the VFJ and share your experiences. I, for one, would surely be interested.

The biggest thing I learned is let it all flow from the T’an T’ien! By doing that, the entire teaching experience has become quite enjoyable!