The Lighter Side… (September 2001)

1. One evening before their first TCC class, I asked the students to introduce themselves and briefly tell me why they were there. Glancing at his wife, one of the students said, “My name is Mike, and I’ve been living with a T’ai Chi Chih commercial for the past couple of months!”

After a short burst of laughter from the class, I asked, “Oh…was she the one that dragged your butt in here?”

“Yes,” he replied. “And I brought the rest of me in too.”

* * *

The following week I asked the class how their practice was going. Mike said he was doing the moves about 10 times the normal speed, and then added, “It felt more like T’ai Chi – Cha Cha Cha.”

– Sharon Sirkis

2. This spring I taught T’ai Chi Chih to a group of 15 people who are residents of a retirement community in Toronto. They came very faithfully. A few of the students were in their 90’s. Three comments I received:

Herta: “My body wants to do T’ai Chi Chih even when I don’t, like when I’m waiting for the elevator. If they carry me off to the loony bin, it will be all your fault,” (said with a smile).

Dorothy (who is totally blind): “I really enjoyed learning T’ai Chi Chih. It has helped me with my ballroom dancing,” (in which Dorothy, in her 80’s, still competes).

Ann (age 92) wrote me a note: “Thank you for the handsome diploma.” (I had hand-painted a sumi-e wild orchid for each student with the caption ‘moving softly with feet planted in the earth.’) If the Head of T’ai Chi Chih looked in on me, he might say, ‘What kind of T’ai Chi is that?’….But I continue to do T’ai Chi Chih softly and pleasantly.”

By the way, several of the students from this class still get together on Saturday mornings to practice.

– Nancy Vermond

3. During practice, as I tried to whisper ever so softly, “soft knees – soft hands,” I overheard one of my students quietly say to himself, “I could sure use some hand lotion.”

– Ann Sollars

4. At the end of class, we do a few minutes of sitting quietly and focusing on the soles of our feet to make sure the Chi is thoroughly grounded. During one such instance one student quietly got up and prepared to leave. As I instructed the rest of the class to become more aware of their surroundings and thus opening our eyes, the wayward student, without missing a beat, blurted out in explanation, “I have to take my chi to the grocery store!”

– Debbie Cole

5. As a new student of T’ai Chi Chih, I was enthusiastically telling a colleague of the benefits I have already experienced. Both of us wear splints for nerve damage — her in her wrists and me in my elbows. I told Diana how I now am experiencing less pain, tingling and numbness in my hands. I told her that I was experiencing these benefits after doing T’ai Chi Chih for only eight weeks. I told her a little of the history of Justin Stone going to China and India and coming back to the States and developing T’ai Chi Chih. After patiently listening to me expound for quite some time, Diana finally asked me, “And can I get this in a health food store?”

– Kat York
Student of Donna McElhose