Silent Group Practice

During a recent silent group practice led by Antonia in Ringwood, New Jersey, I reached a deeper level of softness and enjoyment during my T’ai Chi Chih practice than usual. Pairing silence with group Chi was special. The quiet both allows and challenges me to stay with the feeling of the movement. Since then, during my individual practices, I’ve drawn upon the feeling and longed to experience it together with all my regular classmates.

My two teachers often ask for student requests, and as a result, the teachers often lead silent group practices with just music. My fellow students and I enjoy an enhanced flow of Chi and ease of movement. When I know verbal instruction will be coming, I maintain more of an outer focus, alert to hear and follow verbal corrections. With only music, I’m more deeply relaxed and centered, and I follow my teachers by simply watching and modeling their movements and timing. Combining the peacefulness of silence and group Chi helps me incorporate the learning even better. It’s also improved my recollection of the order of movements, which aids my home practice. A classmate who is very directionally challenged (and thus was given additional verbal guidance during practice) finds that her practice flows more naturally during the silence. When Phyllis Segal and Dorene Krause lead silent group practices, they give instruction beforehand so that we still benefit from their critique and verbal guidance. I’m elated that co-students (both in my small and large group classes) have requested more silent practice.