TEDx ABQED Talk: Benefits of TCC with High School Students

“I just wrote a paper on Plato in an hour—usually it takes me three days!” That exclamation was made from “Mariah”, one of my high school advanced T’ai Chi Chih students. She couldn’t believe it: “The paper virtually wrote itself!”

It doesn’t surprise me that my student had such creative ease with an assignment that would typically be more challenging. The moving meditation practice of T’ai Chi Chih, soft and effortless, circulates and balances the body’s natural energy or “Chi” and leaves the practitioner in a relaxed but alert state, one that is an ideal brain state for learning.

Admittedly, the high school kids in my T’ai Chi Chih PE [physical educational] class are not thinking about “Plato Power” when they sign up. They don’t have to change into P.E. clothes. They heard it was “chill.”

And then (happily clad in regular clothes), the first day of class arrives. What on earth? What could these silly, excruciatingly slow movements have to do with anything remotely worthwhile?

One high school student, “Jennifer,” writes, “T’ai Chi Chih is great. To be perfectly honest, though, in the beginning I thought it was ridiculous. I enjoyed it, but I really felt I’d rather be doing something else.”

Little do my students know how closely I can relate to their initial reactions to learning something so different from what they are used to. I moved to Albuquerque 13 years ago specifically to meditate with and learn from my teacher, Justin Stone (the originator of T’ai Chi Chih). I had what you might call an existential longing for my entire life, and nothing quite ever filled it. The longing disappeared almost immediately upon my arrival. However, in the early years of those twice-weekly meditation sessions and discussions afterwards, I just couldn’t figure out what was going on. I finally wrote Justin a letter. “Dear Justin: This is so hideously boring I can’t stand it!”

Justin didn’t react in a typical, admonishing way for such a naïve outburst. Instead, he simply asked, “Do you remember what it was like when you were learning Japanese?”

Somehow that simple question shifted my impatience into a different place, one that could tolerate the discomfort of not knowing. My teacher was teaching unity, wholeness, a non-dual way of being that the mind alone could never understand.

So it goes with teaching T’ai Chi Chih to teenagers. They, too, are learning a new language, one of heightened awareness and energy flow. And with the cultivation of heightened awareness, students are naturally led to heightened focus and increased powers of concentration. They are learning to be present within their bodies, not just in their minds. This alertness and engaged presence (of their whole being) then spills over into the rest of their academic day and their lives.

Jennifer goes on to say, “As the school year progressed, I began to look forward to my class each day. It was relaxing, and seemed a time of clarity. I processed a lot while I was practicing. Then, it got to the point where I began to turn my thoughts off and focus on the soles of my feet.”

In T’ai Chi Chih class, the high school students are not taught what to feel or what to experience. And yet, through focused awareness and chi circulation, the students tap into a wordless source, one that is beyond conditioning.

T’ai Chi Chih provides a soothing balm to the students in my P.E. class, an antidote to their stressful academic and emotional lives, almost like a cleansing bath for mind and body. We know, too, of its tremendous health benefits: strengthens the immune system and balances blood pressure just to name a few.

There are many ways to stimulate the learning process. T’ai Chi Chih, whose name literally means “Knowledge of the Way of Energy” teaches students that they have infinite access to this source energy which seems to stimulate the very qualities we know are important in a school setting and in life.

T’ai Chi Chih is easy to learn, the “effort of no effort” and it is joyful. I remember the jubilant face of “Cedric.” We had just finished a practice outside. He came bounding up and said, “I don’t know how to explain it. The sky looks bluer. The trees are brighter. I feel so happy for no reason at all.”

T’ai Chi Chih needs to be made available as a Physical Education option for students in our schools.

Whether it’s joy comes in the form of calm during a test, emotional equanimity, creative ease with an assignment or even discovery of an inner awareness previously unknown, T’ai Chi Chih is a powerfully supportive tool for these high school students as they journey into young adulthood. And, it is my great good fortune to be able to share it with them each and every day.