T’ai Chi Chih Joy Thru Movement: Moving into our Center of Stillness

The T’ai Chi Chih discipline continues to deepen within me the meaning of “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46, vs. 11). In Greek, to know is to experience. T’ai Chi Chih practice, for me, is an experience of stillness, of presence, of letting go, of resting in the present moment.

The T’ai Chi Chih discipline is all about being in the present moment. My early morning practice of the T’ai Chi Chih form has helped me to deepen my experience of stillness and letting go in Centering Prayer. Both are praying without words.

The T’ai Chi Chih form was originated by Justin Stone, a former T’ai Chi Ch’uan instructor. Justin, who recently celebrated his [86th] birthday recognized the difficulty students experienced in learning the 108 movements of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, with many never returning to complete the course. The 19 movements of the T’ai Chi Chih form with one final pose are gentle, take little coordination and can be done by people of any age group. In fact, the T’ai Chi Chih movements can be learned from a book or videotape. Due to a congenital condition, one of my students practiced the movements, while sitting, during all of the sessions.

The T’ai Chi Chih practice is joy through movement! It is translated as “knowledge of the Supreme Ultimate.” The movements and names of movements came intuitively to Justin Stone. The forms of the T’ai Chi Chih discipline are the same all over the world. The purpose of T’ai Chi Chih practice is to circulate and balance the Chi or the Vital Energy in the body. The flow of energy in our bodies can be interfered with by stress, grief, and physical/emotional/spiritual illness. T’ai Chi Chih practice promotes harmony, balance and a sense of well being with the effects being cumulative.

Justin Stone notes:

“The student must not think of T’ai Chi Chih as exercise. In truth, it is the best exercise I know, since it exercises the internal organs and does not tire one but tends to increase energy. However, it is all-important that T’ai Chi Chih be done softly without effort—’The effort of no effort.'” (1)

In 1974, Justin Stone published his first book on the T’ai Chi Chih form with the first Teachers’ Training Class begun in August, 1975. In August, 2001, my week of teacher training in New Jersey was a deeply spiritual experience. The presence of Ed Altman, Head of the TCC Community, with his gentleness, centeredness, sense of humor and humility helped to move me toward completion of the teacher-training course with accreditation to teach the T’ai Chi Chih form. My ministry as a Sr. of St. Joseph of Carondelet has been greatly enhanced and I am deeply grateful to Justin Stone, Ed Altman and to all who have helped me on this phase of my journey!

In addition to teaching at an active Senior Citizen Center, teaching St. Mary’s Hospital Club’s 60 members and offering several community presentations, I have experienced the joy of offering three eight week sessions in our Center for Complementary Therapies, with one [last] session scheduled [in] 2002. A total of 55 participants in the past two eight week sessions reflect the eagerness of people to take time for self-care. The practice of the T’ai Chi Chih form affords the opportunity to minister to oneself and to enjoy some of the beneficial effects of relaxation, serenity, increased energy, self-discovery and strengthening of muscles.

Evaluation questionnaires completed at the conclusion of eight-week sessions offered the following responses to the question: What was of most value to you in this program?

* “Meditative movement”
* “All of it has helped me to learn the art of relaxation.”
* “Getting in touch with myself”
* “Helped with balance”
* “Learning control with relaxation — it is possible for us ‘seniors’ to do it”
* “Toning of thigh muscles”
* “Regaining my center of balance”
* “Simplicity”
* “The serenity I feel after”
* “Learning to relax the hands and arms”
* “Self-control”
* Two students reported the need for less pain medication.

The T’ai Chi Chih discipline is not a religion. Each student brings her/his spiritual self to the practice. Practice for 15-20 minutes in the morning and again in the evening before dinner, becomes a gift to oneself, with T’ai Chi Chih practice causing the circulating, balancing and harmonizing of the energy. In St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians (1:29) he writes “For this I work and struggle, impelled by that Energy of His which is so powerful a force within me.” In practicing the T’ai Chi Chih discipline, this Divine Energy moves within my body and brings me more deeply to my Center of Stillness and Peace. I am grateful to Justin Stone for the gift of the T’ai Chi Chih discipline. I feel privileged to serve as an accredited teacher to help others find greater peace and tranquility in the midst of a chaotic world.

(1) Stone, Justin. “T’ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement.” 1999, 4th Printing.