Update From San Francisco

Teacher Bianca Lee and I have branched out teaching T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) all over San Francisco. Regina Sabogal is doing great work with the Latino Community just outside the city. The outdoor classes in Qigong and TCC are particularly successful for me. We note the nature around us, stretching and bringing in the ocean air. For my class at City College of San Francisco, we have found a niche for Older Adults in the Mission community. We are teaching at Senior Centers in the Castro, South Sunset, and at Ocean Beach — and students are enjoying the practice of TCC.

San Francisco is very diverse and many of our future teachers and practitioners here speak dual languages. Realizing and feeling the basic Qigong elements of “slowness, softness, continuity, moving through the center, and synchronicity,” we all sense the feeling and energy of the Chi. We meet a need here of slowing down people and reducing their stress level, as well our own. I often start Mind Body Health classes with some yoga breathing, basic stretching, alignment work, and then end 2-hour academic classes with TCC and a basic relaxation. 

My classes are also offered on YouTube and include the basics of weight shifting and accessibility with the use of a chair. For those who are isolated or live in senior housing, often living in one room, the YouTube class provides a weekly outlet for mental and physical health. 

As interest in TCC continues to grow here, future teachers speaking Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Cambodian, and Vietnamese find us outside or in large indoor academic spaces where we teach for free or through a grant. I am always reminded that Justin Stone considered TCC a gift to humanity.

We experience many times weekly that the gift of TCC is real. Lifelong learning is the key. Being a student or teacher maintains our aliveness, growth as a practitioner, and our gratitude, even as we continue to age in place.