TCC & Justin

Dora Wiemann | Accredited 1989

What changes have I noticed in myself because I’ve been teaching? The most obvious is that I grew from someone afraid of public speaking to a much more confident speaker — in all aspects of my life. The not-so-obvious changes have been many. Questioning students have a way of spurring on the drive to go deeper with T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) practice. Showing students a way to bring their lives into more balance and harmony by teaching them TCC has been incredibly rewarding.

When I first started teaching TCC I always worried that I was going to teach beginner students the wrong way to do the movements. I didn’t feel like I knew much of anything about TCC. During the first lesson of my 3rd beginners class, I had the realization that I actually knew more about TCC than my brand-new students, and I really did have something valuable to offer them. I never had that worry again.

Share a first-person story about Justin.

I remember practicing TCC with Justin in a large group. He would take a look around the room filled with people and notice someone doing TCC mechanically — using physical effort. He’d say to them, “You’re doing arm exercises, dear” or “I don’t know what you’re doing, but it’s not T’ai Chi Chih.” At other times he might bellow, “No, no, no! You’re doing it all wrong!” And Justin would hurry over to that person and show them the movement. He wanted that person to move correctly and get the maximum benefits. Justin was clear and definitive on how TCC was to be practiced.

I’m so grateful that I was able to spend time with Justin and practice and learn from him. I remember him telling stories, many of which are available in the recordings Spiritual Stories of the East (Volumes I and II). He told the stories exactly the same over and over again so that we could glean the lessons as we grew in awareness. It was so comforting to hear these lessons/stories exactly the same, every time. Justin was always teaching and nurturing our interest to know more fully who and what we are.

How do you incorporate instruction/lessons learned from Justin? 

Watching Justin demonstrate and do the movements was amazing. The way the energy flowed when Justin did TCC was a delight to watch. There was that incredibly special “something” that went on, something beyond words. The video Interviews with Justin Stone and Carmen produced by KNME-TV in 1995, compiled from the 13-part series “T’ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement,” captures Justin in expressing that incredibly special “something” throughout the entire interview series.

We can still practice with Justin and be a part of the incredibly special “something” by watching one of his instructional videos. In one of my Teacher Prep classes, we all watched the instructional part of his video and practiced with Justin. It was amazing how much we learned from him! Even though we didn’t go through all the movements, we had a very deep and powerful practice. It was hard to put into words. All of the students were so grateful to have had this experience.

To see Justin in his instructional videos and to hear him in Justin Stone Speaks on T’ai Chi Chih helps me to feel more grounded and more aware of who and what I am. Like when I was at his house, listening to Justin Stone Speaks over and over again and hearing him repeat exactly the same information and stories allows me to hear it with a new awareness each time.

What lasting lesson(s) have you learned from Justin and his teachings?

One Saturday evening I was at his house for meditation and teisho. I was sitting in front of his bookshelf before meditation and decided to pick a book from his bookshelf to read for a couple of minutes. Justin saw me pull the book out and shot me the question, “Do you know where you pulled that book from?” I didn’t know. To me, this was a lesson in awareness and paying attention. It has always stuck with me.