TCC retreat draws 40 in Victoria, BC

Forty eager and enthusiastic participants, teachers and students alike, gathered recently in Victoria, the garden city of British Columbia, to celebrate a T’ai Chi Chih weekend with Ed Altman. The setting was Queenswood Retreat Centre, a wooded haven within the limits of this fair city. Canadians, averaging about 1/2 our numbers, gathered from Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. Our American friends travelled from Illinois, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington and, Ed, from Kauai, Hawaii. Laughter and light-hearted fun mixed well with serious practice and spiritual contemplation.

Ed focused on the importance of sensing our weight shift in the soles of the feet. He encouraged us to flow from our centre with softness, ease and continuous awareness. He invited all of us to deepen our practices by exploring our physical alignment, working with the ever changing rhythm of our Chi, and welcoming our internal signs that indicate personal need for re-balancing.

With Japanese plum trees in bloom and daffodils about to burst their heads, this was definitely a cross-border celebration of T’ai Chi Chih practice in a natural, early spring setting. It was, truly, a “west-coast event”! We wish to extend our heart-felt thanks to Jean Katus for her Good Karma representation, Chery Ann Hoffmeyer for her up-date of the 2003 TCC Conference in Banff, to Ed, for his continuous dedication to our growth and development and to Justin Stone for his gift of T’ai Chi Chih Joy Thru Movement.

Practice, Refinement and Joy

As always Ed did a magnificent job in this Retreat! He continues to demonstrate his dedication to TCC Joy Thru Movement and its purity and integrity in his practice. His respect for the form is passed to teachers and students, while encouraging us to improve and purify our own form.

Justin gave us TCC practice as a tool for transformation; Ed is modelling this teaching with great impeccability. He never tells us what to do, but shares what he does in his practice. There is a consistent theme of how to “walk our talk” and integrate TCC principles into our daily lives. In this retreat, I often heard him saying “Let’s not talk about the philosophy of TCC [practice], let’s practice and in that way, let’s incorporate the principles of TCC [practice], such as: joy, softness, continuity, fluidity of movement, proper shift of the weight, balance of tension and release, how TCC practice is done with the legs not with unnecessary arm movements, listening to your body, stillness, silence and………Joy, Joy Thru Movement!”, and Joy it was!

With my deepest gratitude to Justin, the originator of this Form, Ed the impeccable guardian of the Form and community builder, and to the TCC teachers and students practicing and supporting TCC Joy Thru Movement. My gratitude also goes to Lynn Shaw-Ringham for sharing in the organization of this Retreat.

– Guadalupe Buchwald
Course Co-Host
Victoria, BC CANADA

Attendee Feedback

This was my first experience of a TCC Retreat and I know it won’t be my last. Thanks to Lynn and Guadalupe’s planning and organization we had the opportunity to give our full attention to learning and the inward journey. I am leaving here with new insights on softness and continuity, holding and releasing tension and allowing the Chi to direct not only my practise but also every other aspect of life. Thank you Ed for your gentle persistence, for modelling how to teach, for inviting us to explore our own bodies and directing our attention inward and ever deeper. Thankfully,

– Sr. Viola Bens
Christoper Lake, SK
CANADA

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Thanks!

I could hardly wait to get back to my classes to pass on the enthusiasm I brought back from Ed and fellow retreat partisans. A few people wondered how we could do TCC practice for over two and a half days. We told them how quickly time flew. Two of my students who attended were so animated at this week’s class that you knew they had caught the TCC bug. So much Joy and happiness. What a privilege to share it with others. All I can say is “Thank you Justin for giving us a new way of looking at and living life.” And another thanks to you and Lynn for making it possible, Guadalupe.

– Donna Aldous
Meadow Lake, SK CANADA

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I found the workshop so helpful and enjoyable. The setting was delightful, peaceful and warm. Even though I’ve been doing TCC practice for almost 10 years and teaching it for nearly eight years, I discovered that I have much more to learn, and Ed’s teaching was very clear and insightful. It was truly a weekend of “Joy Thru Movement” in a community of kindred spirits.

– Karen Williamson
Sequim, WA