Like Snow Sliding Off A Bamboo Leaf

I fell in love with T’ai Chi Chih in the first class. Its intuitive, repetitive and meditative movements felt simple yet profound. The practice of being mindful of the weight shift when the heel and toes naturally come up so slightly without one’s effort reminded me of Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel, whose master told him he could learn from a bamboo leaf when and how a shot should happen. A bamboo leaf will bend lower and lower under the weight of snow until, at a certain point, the snow suddenly slips to the ground without the effort of the bamboo leaf.

TCC seems more like an art than an exercise. All the benefits to health and healing are by-products through the process of mastering the art through daily mindful practice. I am very grateful to Justin Stone for originating TCC, and for my TCC teachers Judy George and Marlena Vernon for their respect and loyalty to the art of TCC.