TCC Feels Like Playing

I began teaching formally last month, and I must say it’s fascinating and wonderful to see new students experiencing T’ai Chi Chih for the first time. In our third class, I was reminding students that tension blocks energy, and that I’ve noticed it cuts off my awareness of my feet. One student’s eyes widened, and I could see a click of understanding.

“When I’m standing here, I can feel my feet, but not when we’re moving!” She said. Her amazement reminded me so much of my first experiences – of knowing there is a physical connection to this mysterious Chi I heard people talking about. I warned the students that not everyone would feel the Chi, and that it was often fleeting and elusive, and suddenly I realized that words cannot convey the joy and depth waiting as someone discovers the Chi.

How can I describe how TCC feels? It feels like playing. It’s running my fingers through damp sand. It’s riding the carousel, feeling the support of being moved without effort. It’s making mud pies with no other thought than the joy of shaping clay. It’s standing against the front rail of a boat, held upright the wind. It’s riding horseback in the sleepy, achy chill of dawn. It’s the timelessness of floating beneath a waterfall on an inner tube. It’s dancing with an invisible partner with whom I can let go of all planning and simply move where I’m lead. 

“If you’ve never eaten chocolate, you cannot imagine the taste of chocolate. You must experience it for yourself,” one teacher recently explained. 

I never studied with Justin in person. I feel incredibly lucky, though, to have had not just one profoundly impactful teacher, but also, exposure to a succession of great teachers, each bringing a deeper understanding of TCC, each giving me a precious element of the bigger picture. Even though I didn’t always know it, a tapestry was forming as I gathered thread after thread from different teachers. I’m honored to be a part of that TCC teacher community. I’m sure I’ve only scratched the surface; I can’t wait to discover more. And I hope to meet and share with many of you at the conference in Colorado next summer.