Working Through Resistance to Teaching

How to begin? Where to begin? What to begin with? These questions plagued me after teacher accreditation. T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) is my passion, my lifesaver, as much a part of me as something can be. So why the difficulty sharing it, teaching it to others? Shouldn’t it be a joy to teach joy? 

It’s not so easy, though, to communicate the movements of TCC — using words to explain what I’m moving and how I’m moving my body to achieve that wondrous feeling of Chi circulating throughout my body, bringing peace and serenity to my soul.

I have been blessed to work one-on-one with a breast cancer survivor who had a radical mastectomy, underwent chemotherapy, and is now receiving radiation. I say blessed because she is teaching me how to teach — simply by not knowing anything at all about TCC.

I am forced to become a student/child again. To relive my first days of learning when I was stiff and stilted in my movements, confused about which way my arms were (or should be) going while I lunged forward in my weight shifts and did not complete my back weight shifts.

Simply showing my student the movements had no meaning unless she understood how and why we move our bodies in a certain way. Language, I say again, words are key to teaching. How can I demonstrate soft without using soft words? How can I explain polarity without using words (i.e., describing a magnet’s properties) that my student can visualize even if she doesn’t yet feel it. Imagery and physical props offer students familiarity in demystifying this new practice.

Do I mention the philosophy of yin and yang in the beginning? It depends on the student. This was a sticking point as I studied Eastern philosophies earlier in my life, fond of discussions with anyone who would listen. But it’s all part of being a teacher: being sensitive to student’s needs and challenges and being aware of my own mindset. Through a student’s questions and responses, I can usually discern what they are ready for in terms of physical movement or introducing Justin’s writings.

The answer about teaching was there all along. I just needed a student with physical, mental, and emotional challenges to jolt me to meet her on her terms. Mindfulness was key to reaching a happy medium for both of us. I am proud of how my student is progressing, and I am proud of myself (which is hard to say) for finding a way to teach beginners. And I am always Chi-full, that’s for sure.