Softly falling snow mirrors flowing movements of 11 new teachers accredited in Minnesota’s late winter

Eleven teacher candidates checked in at the Benedictine Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nervousness, anticipation, tension filled the room as the weeklong training began. For the teacher candidates, it was all or nothing. There would be no deferrals if someone didn’t quite make the grade.

Trainer Sandy McAlister asked everyone to be clear on this first day what their intent for the week was and then check in with themselves later in the week to see if that intent had been fulfilled. She emphasized the importance of letting go of ego.

Minnesota teachers were there in force as auditors to support the candidates. Bonnie Sokolov and Joe Apt lodged at the center for the week and many other teachers dropped in when they were able or stayed overnight for a day or two to share their experience with the candidates. Teacher Marge Moser came all the way from Denver, Colorado, to be part of the week.

The late winter skies were clear and the ground almost bare of snow the first few days of the training. As the week went on, the candidates’ movements softened, chi broke up stiffness and tension in bodies, and a settling in and deepening of practice evolved. In the last few days, the skies mirrored what the candidates were learning by releasing a soft, gentle, light snow that slowly drifted down — until one morning, the candidates woke to see a beautiful blanket of white covering the grounds, clinging to barren branches, and blessing all their work.

The experience of living through a teacher training is something that every teacher remembers as a peak event in his or her life. And for each person the experience is different. When asked to write down a few thoughts about their week of training, each of the 11 new teachers responded. Their thoughts capture the week in ways no one writer can.

Meet the new T’ai Chi Chih teachers and let their own words tell you who they are:

Entering tentative, awkward
Feet unsure, body unbalanced.
Many strangers filling a room.

Movements, many corrections
Adjusting, attempting, adjusting again.
Struggling for footing.

Weight shifting, hands rising
Halting, out of sync.
Starting over again.

Eyes watching, voices whispering
Hands touching, adjusting.
Always making changes.

Muscles aching, emotions raw
So tired, so much to do.

Effort of no effort
Easy to say, hard to do.
But beginning.

Everything shifting, flowing
Beginning, balancing.
Coming in to stillness.

Yinning and Yanging, come into
Fullness, and then
Becoming teachers.

– Susan Bitney
Minneapolis, Minnesota

* * *

I come away from this week with awe, joy and blessings. Refinement, refinement and more refinement and finally a sense of accomplishment. I will always keep teachers’ training week in my heart.

– Diana Granlund
Rush City, Minnesota

* * *

The first two days of teacher training are overwhelming. We work on the movements all day, except at lunch and supper. I couldn’t sleep the first night. I had too much “chi” circulating in me, keeping me wide-awake.

Sandy teaches us to go deeper and work on the details of the movements; everybody tries hard to achieve that.

Presentations begin on Wednesday. We all have fun, some ask silly questions, but everyone presents with seriousness.

Sandy is relaxed and funny sometimes. But people get a lot of pressure when she talks seriously. We get plenty of information for teaching that I hope I can digest and use in the future.

I watch Justin Stone’s movie (Folsom Prison) and feel I get to know him better. I laugh when I see him answer the prisoners’ questions with calmness and humor.

It has been quite a week. The experience will remain with me for a long time.

– Yuen Tsui
Columbia Heights, Minnesota

* * *

It was an honor to be in the presence of the T’ai Chi Chih community who were all so supportive. Also the guidance and honesty of all the teachers were greatly appreciated and helpful. Accreditation is not the ending, but the beginning of a new commitment of deepening one’s T’ai Chi Chih practice.

– Jim Campbell
Syracuse, New York

* * *

A big thanks to Sandy, Carol, Rita and Vanjie for all of their time, support and organizational skills. A special thanks to Bonnie, Joe and Marge for their support, laughter and wisdom. I greatly appreciated all the tips and tricks to help move my chi more efficiently. The week has flown by quickly and it is hard for me to believe I will actually be an accredited T’ai Chi Chih instructor. Thanks to everyone who has helped make this dream a reality.

– Anna Gunderson
Racine, Minnesota

* * *

Teacher training has been an experience I will carry with me for the rest of my life. My practice has become so much more to me and has deepened immensely. The presence and wisdom of Sandy McAlister and the auditing teachers was so meaningful. This was a learning and bonding experience unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. Thank you to all of my fellow graduates for your kindness and love and thank you to the sisters for all the prayers and thoughtfulness. I will never forget you.

– Terrie Denisen
Rochester, Minnesota

* * *

Images of T’ai Chi Chih Training at the Benedictine Center of St. Paul’s Monastery

Working so hard on our movements till our knees ached effort of no effort.

Sister Lee Ann appearing from nowhere to see if we were all right.

Right — Left — Right — Left — How do I start to mirror? Help!

A cookie jar on the ground floor that mysteriously refilled each night – no matter how many cookies I ate!

Preparing my presentation — saying enough to excite the audience, while not saying things to confuse them.

What is polarity? — positive, negative, yin, yang, tingling, heat, chi, life force — just relax and you’ll eventually feel it.

Bread, bread, and more bread.

Sandy’s teaching: firm and soft: balanced!

– John Smallwood
Bethesda, Maryland

* * *

My teaching accreditation training was one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. At the end of the third day, I had an “Aha moment” while doing a group practice, When we began Around the Platter, I was so tired I could not hold my arms at the level I usually do. I dropped my arms about two inches lower and suddenly felt a huge release in tension between my shoulders and my back. I realized I had been doing many of the movements at a level that would not allow me to be soft and flowing. This “aha moment” makes the whole accreditation process a joyous time in my life. I am really grateful to all of the teachers that I have had the privilege to work with over the last four years. I hope to be able to do the same for students that I will have the opportunity to teach in the future.

– Judy Jackson
Denver, Colorado

* * *

My T’ai Chi Chih experience has been simply wonderful. It has been a mix of highs and lows, tearing down, and then building back up, evolving in so many ways. The people I have met are phenomenal. Fellow students are my family, auditing teachers are my guides and Sandy has been my wise counselor. I will never forget this week and understand now what Sandy meant when she said, “Let go, you will never be here again.”

– Cindy Dunn
Lubbock, Texas

* * *

I’m torn between WOW! and Oh, Dear. The WOW is because I am actually an accredited T’ai Chi Chih teacher! I made it! Hurrah for the training program and for me! The Oh, Dear is because I can’t believe I actually had the nerve to show up for the teacher training class when I obviously knew very little, but fortunately didn’t know how little I knew. Ignorance is bliss. So my final response to the week is a combination of both reactions: Wow, because I made it, and Oh, Dear, because I still have so much to learn. Thanks to Sandy for her excellent teaching and nurturing, for her compassion and patience, for her obvious dedication to and love of T’ai Chi Chih, and for her wonderful sense of humor.

– Sharon Fruechte
Waseca, MN

* * *

I came to the teachers training with some reflections I had gathered on the practice of T’ai Chi Chih. Some were from the words of Justin, some from the words of my teachers, and some from my own interpretation of T’ai Chi Chih practice. As the week comes to a close, I am adding new learnings (in italics) to some of the reflections.

Things good for you don’t have to be hard unless you want them to be.

Let go and go with the flow. Then go deeper. Really let go. Feel it.

To gain benefit, regular practice is vital. It is a discipline.

Joy is in the process, so trust the process. Too much thinking can interrupt the flow.

Keep your center, core, tan tien as your center. You are who you are and we are all connected.

Nourish and have compassion for your center of strength. Know what you stand for.

Our movements evolve as we evolve. The journey is endless.

– Peg Kellar
Minneapolis, Minnesota