My First Conference (September 1997)

Like many of you, I did not originally plan on attending this year’s conference. However, after the last day of my teacher’s training, Ed Altman casually said, “I’ll see you next at the conference”. It struck me that YES I, too, can be a part of the conference. The incredible amount of energy that was generated by the first group practice was a wonderful feeling. I had never practiced in such a large group before. The Candlelight Ceremony conducted by Sr. Antonia Cooper made me feel unconditionally accepted into the T’ai Chi Chih family.

I was strongly impressed by my fellow teacher’s openness and willingness to share their teaching as well as life experiences.

Special thanks to:

Ed Altman for his patience and clear presentation of technique refinements.

Justin Stone for his continued caring and sharing.

Timothy Stuetz for his efforts in making our conference effortless for us.

The Talent Show participants who made me laugh, cry, and reflect.

All of the attending teachers for sharing your love with everyone. Justin has often said that he can’t understand why any teacher would not attend conference, After my experiences, I couldn’t agree more. This was too good to pass up for ANY reason.