News Shorts (December 2001)

Teachers Invited: Conference 2002

COME to the 17th International T’ai Chi Chih Teachers’ Conference to be held August 1-4, 2002 at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas.

The UIW setting, at the head of the San Antonio River, is a beautiful, peaceful space. Its unique facilities will enable us to experience a relaxed, enjoyable conference.

San Antonio is a wonderful city to visit and there will be some free time to tour during the conference. You may wish to spend extra days in the city before or after the Conference. There is the famous river walk with its restaurants and shops, many wonderful art museums and galleries, the Institute of Texan Cultures, and much more. Motel rates are reasonable.

The theme this year is “Return to the Source of the Bubbling Spring.” Besides the fact that the UIW is situated at the source of the San Antonio River, the theme directs our attention to the Source within us, that common power that rises from beneath our feet and surges through the body as we glide effortlessly through the movements.

This Source, common to all humans, is understood and honored in different ways. Let us continue to connect with this Source in our own daily practice until we meet together at the conference.

For questions regarding the conference, contact Alice Holden.

– Sr. Alice Holden

TCC featured in newsletter with an international female audience

Carolyn Hales Perkins, a T’ai Chi Chih teacher in New York City was interviewed by Food & Fitness Advisor, a monthly newsletter put out by The Center for Women’s Healthcare / Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Food & Fitness Advisor has an international subscriber base of approximately 55,000, mostly women in their forties and fifties, according to Andrew Thorne of The Center for Women’s Healthcare.

The article, written by Stephanie Golden, gives a brief overview of TCC, including mention of Originator Justin Stone. It also states, “Perkins has found that T’ai Chi Chih’s weight-bearing impact on the heels helps increase bone density. She says many of her students find that the practice improves or stabilizes their bone density, which can be seen on their own bone density scans.”

Since low bone density is a topic of concern to most women, this was a particularly salient point! Carolyn knows firsthand about how TCC can improve bone density, having witnessed that result in her own body years ago.

To find an accredited teacher, the article refers Food & Fitness Advisor readers to the website listing of teachers on the TCC Community website at www.taichichih.org.

– Noel Altman

TCC movements presented at Shepherd’s Centers conference

Two teachers from Kansas City, MO, Lucy Ann and Ted Fleischman, presented TCC at the national conference of Shepherd’s Center of America (SCA) in Lake Junaluska, NC in late October after being asked to by SCA founder Elbert Cole “because of the success we have had with TCC in Kansas City area Centers,” according to Lucy Ann.

Each morning the Fleischmans taught about 20 directors for 30 minutes and were available during the day to answer questions. The participants decided they wanted to practice each evening as well. Those from the Minneapolis area and throughout the Midwest, South and East copied down names and phone numbers from the TCC Teacher Directory so they can follow up with teachers in their home towns.

Teachers may check for a Shepherd’s Center near them on their national website: www.shepherdcenters.org. SCA plans to hyper-link their website to the official TCC website so that Shepherd’s Centers around the nation can more easily locate accredited teachers, said Lucy Ann. Lucy Ann and Ted are happy to share their experience with any teacher wanting to begin teaching at a Shepherd’s Center (or even those who have already begun). Their e-mail address is

– Lucy Ann Fleischman and Noel Altman

Teaching opportunity available in the high desert of Southern CA

Teacher Athene Mantle of Hayward, CA has arranged an ongoing teaching opportunity with a private Christian resort in the mountain resort town of Idyllwild, CA (about an hour from Palm Springs). She is looking for accredited TCC teachers “with great enthusiasm for T’ai Chi Chih” to present TCC over a weekend in approximately five hours of instruction during the resort’s monthly “Wellness Christian Retreat.”

“Rotating teachers was what I had in mind in exchange for a nice respite at a mountain resort,” Athene explained. Meals and lodging would be covered by the resort for the participating teacher. The teacher would not be paid, but would be able to sell TCC teaching materials.

Athene will be handling the monthly scheduling for the TCC community. Contact her for more details and to find out available upcoming dates

– Athene Mantle and Noel Altman