Privileged To Be Recipient Of & Witness At Accreditation

When I signed up to audit the November 2015 Albuquerque teacher accreditation, I had no idea about the incredible teaching and learning about to unfold. My motivation for attending was twofold: 1) I wanted to encourage the students seeking accreditation, and 2) I needed to fine-tune my own T’ai Chi Chih movements to be a better practitioner and teacher.

I was privileged to be present for trainer Dan Pienciak (and top-of-the-line teaching) and for Carmen Brocklehurst and Dora Wiemann. All of them added insights and instruction about movement nuances to maximize the flow of Chi, and spoke of how important it is to be aware of what we are feeling while doing the movements.

I witnessed an exceptionally talented and diverse group of teacher candidates, all of whom passed. I learned something from each one of them during our six days. A common element shone during their presentations and persistent work to improve their movements. It was transformative to recognize that driving force as teh, the inner light of integrity motivating us to find, and be, the very best within us.

Three highlights demonstrate the caliber of the teacher candidates. The first and most touching was when one candidate, during his presentation, began to share what TCC meant to him. An emotional nerve was touched, his lip trembled ever so slightly and his jaw clenched. Then he closed his eyes and moved directly into Bass Drum. Without one word spoken and with a minimal recovery time, we experienced the immense value of TCC to calm and re-center. The candidate went on to finish his presentation without pause. It was a powerful lesson about TCC I will not forget.

The second highlight involved a likeable and sincere candidate who, with great enthusiasm, brought up the subject of “random sacks,” and what a great way it was to reach out to others. The problem? Most of us thought he was saying “random sex.” Once he spelled “s-a-c-k-s” and explained it was related to “random acts” of kindness, and involved packing healthy lunches to give to homeless individuals, we aligned with his enthusiasm. And in the process we had a good laugh.

The third highlight involved a candidate reading “Shadows” from Spiritual Odyssey by Justin Stone. We followed the words: “You can chase your shadow all day long and not catch it. Stand still at noon and it will merge with your body … with no effort.” I was inspired. The Chi will come to us by inviting it, not by trying harder through effort. It will come when we get out of our own way and simply allow it to come, with no effort.

Complied by Sharon Sirkis, Columbia, Maryland

1. On the last day of my college class we always play show and tell. I ask students to think about the best thing they got out of the class. Then they bring in an item that represents that and connects the dots to their experiences in class.

One student brought in exercise resistance bands and said she used to be resistant, and now she’s more flexible. Another student brought in a check. He said when he has money in the bank, he’s happy, and when he does his T’ai Chi Chih, it makes him happy.

One student emailed that he wouldn’t be at the last class. I asked him to email me what his show and tell item would have been. “I would’ve brought my fiancée. She is the only thing that keeps me grounded most of the time. My head is always up in the sky and she brings me back down.”

2. At the end of my TCC workshop, I asked the eight women to share the most helpful or most valuable thing they got out of the class. Most said things like, “I was able to relax” … “I feel more calm” … “the grounding.” The last woman said, “I loved watching you.” I thanked her and added, “But how was it for you? I’d like to know how it made you feel.” She smiled, “Well, I really didn’t feel anything because I was too tense.” I was a bit puzzled, and then she continued, “I kept having gas.” The class giggled, and fortunately I was quick enough to say enthusiastically, “You were just letting go!” Everyone was laughing, but one woman was really cracking up, sliding down in her chair, that’s how funny she thought it was. Which made me laugh even more.