TCC, Awareness, Balance & Life Itself

When I decided to pursue teacher training in T’ai Chi Chih, I was driven to embrace heightened awareness, not just in the movements but also in my life. I was consumed by being more present moment-by-moment in my daily life.

After becoming a teacher, working with a mentor, teaching and practicing regularly, I came to a realization: it is hard to embrace the heightened awareness of TCC in daily life. Balance has to come in the context of the flow of daily life; it is messy and challenging.

I am a graduate student in a Masters of Positive Psychology program and as part of my program, I have to conduct a research study. I challenged myself again: I want to explore the impact of TCC on eating awareness. Losing weight or/and maintaining a healthy weight is extremely hard.

Mindless eating is one of the main factors reported by science to explain the growing epidemic of obesity. It’s been an unhealthy coping strategy during stressful periods: reacting to events and looking for comfort in food. Being in school, studying Positive Psychology and disseminating helpful ways to process emotions also informs my experience.

There is a knowledge gap about interventions to increase awareness, and I am persuaded that TCC is a great candidate for awareness of satiety and mindful eating. I welcome the opportunity to use TCC principles in daily life, including simple stuff like the way I eat.

I plan to do a qualitative study interviewing TCC teachers to craft an awareness intervention for mindful eating. I hope to find greater understanding of the TCC practice too. Utilizing TCC to help cope with daily life’s challenges will bring even more joy and fulfillment in the practice. I hope this new adventure will raise my own awareness in my relationship with the food and life itself.