Minnesota teachers host TCC teachers’ retreat for second year in a row

The retreat was held at the Benedictine Center, all day Friday and Saturday, ending after lunch on Sunday. Twenty teachers attended the weekend which was led by Sandy McAlister. Sandy encouraged the group to go deeper into their T’ai Chi Chih practice and to break away from incorrect habit patterns.

Judy George was the host for the event. We began each day with a practice before breakfast. When we came together again, Judy started our day out with an inspirational reading and a phrase for us to focus on throughout the day. During the retreat, we worked on our individual form, trying to include three complete practices a day. On Friday evening we held our quarterly meeting discussing the goals we wanted to accomplish for our local teachers and students. On Saturday evening, Judy hosted a time for telling our stories about our T’ai Chi Chih practice and then she led a re-dedication ceremony that she developed.

Sandy reviewed each T’ai Chi Chih move by the end of the retreat. Her emphasis was to review the practice below the waist—softening the legs, shifting the weight completely and being aware of the opening and closing up and down the legs that accompanies the weight shift. She also presented how to teach most of the moves, emphasizing how to teach beginner and advanced students and how to encourage both levels of students to practice. We looked at each move; Sandy would answer questions from the group and then give tips on how to teach that move. Many teachers present shared their tips on teaching and how they overcame various obstacles in their classes. Sister Rita Foster told the group that she had [initially] taken a T.C.C. class and did not practice it. Five years later she again took a T.C.C. class and this time knew she needed to be a teacher. Rita encouraged everyone to “plant seeds” in their classes and to know that one might not even see the results. Donna McElhose shared how she teaches beginner students the back and forth step. She had the students walk around in a circle and by slowing down the pace, got their focus into their feet. We tried it and it works.

On Saturday afternoon, we had 17 students join us for two and a half hours. Sandy led a question and answer session. The students shared stories about their practice and then we did a practice with them. One of Laurie Jacobi’s students told us how much her practice had helped her through some difficult times. Several students said they wanted to become teachers.

The weekend was filled with lots of learning and lots of humor. But the highlight came for the group on Sunday as we were closing—a great joy. Sandy made the announcement that a formerly deferred candidate [in attendance at the retreat] was no longer deferred but now a teacher. That person’s teacher was there, along with many of the teachers who had been present at her teacher’s training—it was pure joy for the group to celebrate her accomplishment.

Many of us left the retreat with new insights and are excited about incorporating them into our T.C.C. practice. In one of our discussions, we talked about how T.C.C. practice was a process—we are always learning more and the form, the chi, encourages us to go deeper. At the end of the retreat we were excited to get to the International Conference—we wanted more T’ai Chi Chih practice!

Course Instructor’s Final “Two Cents”:

The ultimate result of doing the T’ai Chi Chih practice is to bring every aspect of our being back to wholeness. Never have I been more aware of that than at this teachers’ retreat. The retreat was not so much about the outer, the movements and doing them correctly, but was more about the inward journey we take when the movements are done clearly (intent) and fully (with feeling, flowing, and letting go).

Moving with clarity of purpose, doing the movements the way they were designed, without ego or desire of outcome, allows the mind to be present and open. Doing T’ai Chi Chih movements fully, by letting go, allows the movements to flow without effort and we can feel the integration of all aspects of this practice—the stillness in moving, the firm supporting the soft, the lightness yet grounded.

Those who prepared this retreat laid the ground work for us to sink deeply into our practice, to go beyond the physical. Judy George, as host, set the tone each time as we came together by reading thought-provoking passages taken from various sources, drawing us inward. I was impressed with the willingness of everyone present to allow themselves to let go and explore the T’ai Chi Chih practice, and their openness when sharing their experiences.

Being with these dedicated teachers, experiencing their love and openness, has allowed me to experience T’ai Chi Chih, Joy Thru Movement in a way I have never felt before, deep, to the core of my being.

– Sandy McAlister