Teaching Students With Mental Health Issues

For the last few years, I have taught T’ai Chi Chih classes to people with mental health issues at four locations in Edmonton. Sharing TCC with them can be a challenge; it also gives me great joy. I must remain flexible and positive, and the Chi provides the tools I need, including the calm and patience to teach people with special needs. It allows me to see the smallest miracles and wonders in each and every person.

The original group, which started many years ago, is comprised of clients from the Alberta Hospital, which provides psychiatric care. This group travels from the hospital to a recreation center in our beautiful river valley. I usually see them one day a week, two weeks in a row, two to four times a year. The 10 to 25 participants range in age from their teens to elderly; a few hospital staff members also attend the hour-long sessions. Some people have come to class before and others have never done TCC. With all of these variables, teaching can be challenging. I provide a short explanation of TCC at the beginning but use more of a hands-on approach, as participants are eager to begin. Instead, I teach the basics as we go through the movements.

They learn by following me and I encourage questions. At the beginning, there is a lot of unsettled movement and some people have short attention spans. I continue slowly and with intention, staying calm and making general observations and corrections. My biggest reward is seeing the scene of unsettledness, agitation and talking become a room full of people moving together and in the flow of the Chi. About 15 minutes into the hour, there’s a quiet and unity of spirit. At the end of the session, when I see the calm and content faces in front of me, I sense participants have truly experienced the Chi flowing and it’s giving them a sense of peace and well-being. Staff members say they notice the changes as well.

Another group, Community Linking at Villa Marguerite, includes 10 to 15 people, men and women of all age groups, most of whom live at the Villa or in the community with support. A few come from the local Misericordia Community Hospital Psychiatric Unit. Staff members also attend. The TCC classes are among several day programs scheduled throughout the year to introduce people to different community activities, such as yoga, crafts and walking. Members of this group are more able than those in the first group to learn TCC movements and remember them from session to session. In these classes there’s also an unsettledness in the beginning, but the Chi quickly calms everyone. After Cosmic Consciousness Pose, I see content smiles around the room.

I also share TCC each Thursday morning at a daylong drop-in program for people with mental health issues. They are from all age groups and live nearby, and I never know who will show up. Attendance usually is low and during the single hour of TCC, attendance can change with new people arriving and others leaving. I dim the lights, turn on calming music, and lead a TCC practice with a poster showing the movements and the Six Healing Sounds. Again I see the flow and circulation of the Chi in and around us.

For a six-week period, two to three times a year, I teach another program at the downtown Don Wheaton YMCA to a young, vibrant group of teens and young adults who are in school and have milder mental health issues. They want to know more and can participate to a greater degree. They love certain movements and the calming music. At the end of every class, I see young people feeling good about themselves and happy.

Some also practice TCC at home; many say it makes them feel good. An evaluation conducted by the group’s recreation therapist last April/May 2012 underscored these reports. (See chart.)

I believe that anyone who includes TCC in his or her life will feel better, cope with daily stresses more effectively, and feel more confident and whole. TCC is respectful – it teaches us to respect both ourselves and others. With words not nearly enough but with great gratitude and love, I deeply thank Justin Stone for being the channel through which TCC came to be.

YMCA Group Evaluations

Participants evaluated their experience of the TCC classes on a scale of 1 (not helpful) to 5 (very helpful) for the following questions:

1) Have you increased your knowledge and skills in T’ai Chi Chih? (average: 4.8)

2) Has your motivation increased to participate and understand TCC? (average: 3.8)

3) Has your fitness level improved by participating in TCC? (average: 3.6)

4) Has your weight been better managed by participating in the group exercise program? (average: 3.4)

5) Do you use the TCC program to help you deal with stress? (average: 3.8)

6) Has your ability to have fun in a new healthy activity increased? (average: 4.4)

7) Have you increased your social connection with others in a meaningful way? (average: 4.2)