Last TCC teacher training course led by Ed Altman held in Gurnee, Illinois

How awesome this week was!

This Teacher Training Course was filled with many firsts:

First time a Teacher Training Course was offered where the majority of the candidates had taken the Intensive Course beforehand. First time that a course was offered with the Pass/No Pass—no longer any deferrals. My first time presenting candidates, seven, for certification and my first time hosting a teacher training course. First time a Teacher Training Course was ever held here in Lake County, Illinois. Another first for our area was we held a Teacher Renewal here before the Teacher Training Course. There were 11 teachers in attendance for the Teacher Renewal.

My wish was to make everyone comfortable from first contact, to have a place for each candidate to feel welcomed and comfortable to carry out the inner work they would need to do without the distractions of their outer needs.

Ed Altman then continued with this safe space, and encouraged the candidates to relax. The stage was set. What flowed through the week was the inner work for each candidate.

Day by day, watching the candidates’ transformation was inspiring. Ed guided, encouraged, pushed to the edge, whatever the candidate needed to explore deeper into the T’ai Chi Chih discipline. The candidates worked very hard and made great progress in their own practices. Candidates and auditing teachers had the opportunity to go deeper in understanding their own practice. Alignment, stance, weight shift—the basic building blocks of one’s practice—were emphasized. How to check these elements of one’s practice and bring them into balance each time one does their practice, was covered, teaching each to check their movements and to flow fully.

During the week, Ed announced that a deferred candidate, auditing at the training, had reached the level of full accreditation. Several auditing teachers from the original class were there to welcome another new teacher.

A very special part of this training course was the auditing teachers. It is impossible to express how wonderful the auditors at this training were! They were in abundance, in number, in spirit, in all the gifts they offered to the candidates, to each other, to me, to Ed. They filled the space with their passion for all of what the T’ai Chi Chih practice means to them. A thank you of deep gratitude is given to each and every one of you. You were traveling from Vermont and California, Missouri, Indiana, Wisconsin, Maryland and Florida, all for the love of T’ai Chi Chih Joy Thru Movement.

Head of the TCC Community Ed Altman led our course. He reflected and embodied the essence of the deep sincerity of the T’ai Chi Chih discipline. Everyone was very appreciative they had the opportunity to have their training and renewal with Ed as the teacher trainer. Candidates and auditing teachers alike expressed this appreciation.

Contraction, deeper into the depth of our T’ai Chi Chih practice, and Expansion, outward to all the distant locations: there are now 10 new teachers in our T’ai Chi Chih community. Most are in Lake County, Illinois. But this class produced teachers for Minnesota, Florida, Wisconsin, and Georgia, as well.

Diana Durkin, auditing teacher, expressed it well for each of us. “These few days have been a marvelous experience for me. One which will hopefully spill and flow into all areas of being.”

Candidate Response:

I thought I might tell the community as a newly accredited teacher what helped me get to & through this process. Making a video with small groups of other students & later alone & getting feedback was very valuable. Also, don’t forget that fast forward/backwards were major eye-openers for slippery spots. As students we gathered at the park & took turns leading moves & stating a few points to remember about each move as well as trying to mirror for the first time. My teacher also encouraged us to try the T.C.C. movements in various public places. Much to my surprise, people’s reactions did not cause me to melt & many respected my space. These things helped immensely in going through the process. Thanks to Donna McElhose for starting/supporting a strong local T.C.C. community. What a gift.

– Andrea Skillman

Dear Ed, Donna, auditors, and fellow students,

Thank you for this enriching experience. This was not easy. Each person came to their own precipice, needing to choose whether to play it safe or to leap into the atmosphere, relying on the support of the chi. We really embodied the yin/yang symbol of opposites — much tension and frustration opposed by great releases and laughter; movement and stillness; intense observation outward and inward; learning and the beginning hints of teaching.

We’ve emerged on the other side — trusting a little more, moving tremendously more smoothly. Each person contributed to a life-memorable experience. Thank you, each of you, for your trust, support, friendship, chi and blessings. May those gifts continue to shine through you.

– Jeanné Lohfink

Letting go, letting go of old habits, of trying so hard, of self. The training for me was inspiring, but at the same time, humbling. We worked hard, but laughed a lot, at least after the first few days.

My gratitude to Ed, Donna, and all the auditing teachers that cared so much for T’ai Chi Chih Joy Thru Movement and for us during these five days.

– Nancy Lecraw

What a wonderful experience! This week we became members of the TCC teaching community. More importantly, I feel like I have merged with the flow of TCC Joy Thru Movement itself.

With the help of many terrific auditing teachers, Ed took us all to deeper levels, not only physically, in the movements themselves, but also into new levels of emotional commitment and spiritual connection. He helped us feel the flow and find the places where we were getting in its way. He has empowered us, and equipped us for our journey into the All That Is.

– Vicki Webb

My T’ai Chi Chih teacher training experience was amazing. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from and build relationships with Ed, Donna, the auditing teachers and my fellow candidates. I feel that the experience has greatly enriched the quality of my T’ai Chi Chih practice and of my life. I am very excited to go back home and put the knowledge into practice!

My advice for future teacher candidates — NO FEAR! Be willing to put yourself out there and take some risks. Trust in the sincerity of the instructors and auditors who want to see you succeed. This is truly an experience where you get out of it what you put into it.

– Kate Squire

Thank you to Ed Altman for sharing his understanding of the T’ai Chi Chih movements, for his gentleness in nudging us to go beyond ourselves and to yield to the Chi. Thank you to all the auditing teachers for working with us early mornings, evenings and in between.

And THANK YOU to Donna McElhose for sponsoring and working so hard to have everything so organized. And, last but not least, I want to thank my fellow candidates for their support.

– Bobbie Weichman