News from Eastern North Dakota

T’ai Chi Chih on the Plains has been exciting!

A situation I have been encountering is people garbling the name of T’ai Chi!

One of my students from the tech school was walking with me down the hall. We were approached by the instructor of a computer class, who mentioned hearing that my companion student was taking a typing class and asked how he liked it. The student and I looked at one another and then began laughing. The computer instructor had heard T’ai Chi as typing!

Another time I was giving my nursing students a lecture on Stress Reduction, and mentioned how my clinical student group would do T’ai Chi after an intense group session (Chemical Dependency group work). A few moments later a hand came up from the front row requesting I clarify this “tongue-in-cheek” technique that we practice on the Chemical Dependency Unit. The nurses who had done T’ai Chi Chih and I heartily laughed as we recognize that the ears of people in Fargo, North Dakota are not familiar with T’ai Chi!

We are breaking ground and enjoying the process! My first class was interested in Blood Pressure comparison before and after doing TCC. Thus I’ve been taking Blood Pressures during the last two of 8 classes. The tests show significant drops in both diastolic and systolic readings. I plan to offer this service with my classes and combine my two roles as accredited TCC instructor and Registered Nurse.

In September I talked about Depression to a Parkinson’s Disease support group. I demonstrated T’ai Chi Chih at the end of the discussion, after sharing the information Justin had given me about the woman who has had no progression with this illness since actively and consistently practicing TCC since 1974. One women in the front row was amazed and exclaimed, “I could feel the energy from the Bass Drum when you were doing the demonstration!”

Overall, TCC on the Plains has been an exciting, challenging, and invigorating experience for me. I was truly honored to have the brief yet meaningful encounter with the instructors and Justin at Asilomar and am delighted to be representing TCC!

Loving Chi,

– Christeen McLain-Curran
Fargo, ND