https://www.amytyksinski.com/artists daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d73dbac2ea51af9150258f/1456949622835-MZ9S5K990OJWXEXK6OMQ/2.jpg Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d73dbac2ea51af9150258f/1456949782431-974GWDAP4ZLPU8LGQVU6/2.jpg Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d73dbac2ea51af9150258f/1456949861984-D422UDQ75DFRGW99N1PK/1.jpg Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d73dbac2ea51af9150258f/1456950111235-8CM0LIL0K96OK07GMZMM/1.jpg Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d73dbac2ea51af9150258f/1456949737009-IQVTJ3PFH9TA1YDUOE8J/1.jpg Writing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d73dbac2ea51af9150258f/1456949681777-4Z2O93I7MYVB7WU8QQZQ/thumb.png Writing https://www.amytyksinski.com/videos daily 0.75 2019-03-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1551826354582-W0BHW59C873FVMTFNDT1/Waterlogue-2019-03-05-11-27-12.jpg Videos https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1551826598572-738J8UJDRT8JCU7JXOTM/Waterlogue-2019-03-05-11-21-00.jpg Videos https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1551826837249-FHUMZD2FTSC8BTHEITAO/Waterlogue-2019-03-05-11-21-29.jpg Videos https://www.amytyksinski.com/blog-montauk daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://www.amytyksinski.com/blog-montauk/2016/3/2/on-the-water-syczh monthly 0.5 2016-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d73dbac2ea51af9150258f/1456951320242-JJ3BUYF8IVJAHQ019JZ0/image-asset.jpeg Blog - On The Water https://www.amytyksinski.com/blog-montauk/2016/3/2/aliquam-ac-turpis-sollicitudin-a3tpf monthly 0.5 2016-03-02 https://www.amytyksinski.com/blog-montauk/2016/3/2/maecenas-ef5rh monthly 0.5 2016-03-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56d73dbac2ea51af9150258f/1456951832176-4PCVHIBWFA8T4Z1S8AP9/image-asset.jpeg Blog - Maecenas https://www.amytyksinski.com/new-cover-page daily 0.75 2019-03-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1551467432367-TLMHK2NT27N3TPXUKVFU/IMG_1747.JPG New Cover Page https://www.amytyksinski.com/read-me daily 0.75 2014-01-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/52a74d9ae4b0253945d2aee9/1390928870858-4D9B6T9WGP8017NSS9W3/topography.jpg Read Me https://www.amytyksinski.com/classes daily 0.75 2026-04-03 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556994423576-L0JL7ZOZVZD939IFTLYF/IMG_2507.JPG Classes / Retreats https://www.amytyksinski.com/about daily 0.75 2026-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/0e7caf40-ff2b-4de6-aede-9d8f1e5c140a/IMG_0846.jpg About © 2023 Amy Tyksinski https://www.amytyksinski.com/home daily 1.0 2024-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1553111629301-PEX320OT45NQVCS6NDEW/Waterlogue-2019-03-20-14-47-12.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1553111550722-P4J96IRVPKSMPVLU4B6J/Waterlogue-2019-03-20-14-51-02.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/67ebb728-4f23-47c6-b275-dcec26f3d2bd/IMG_3774.jpg Home - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1553111594340-XA339RTT0PK4EHBCRX12/image-2.jpg Home https://www.amytyksinski.com/writing daily 0.75 2026-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/6a7cbdb7-871e-45f2-bd60-5b20392d7412/IMG_3619.jpg Writing - T’ai Chi Chih – The Large and the Tiny – Featuring the T’ai Chi Chih Principle “Continuity” – Transcription from Video This process is trustworthy. This energy, this “Knowledge of the Supreme Ultimate” that we are learning we ARE is trustworthy. You are trustworthy. Read more. YouTube video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/22e9f77c-fc8b-4ee7-bb44-36c66a7159be/IMG_3322.jpg Writing - “Ushering in the Silence” - a T’ai Chi Chih Retreat - January 2024 - Participants Reflect: What did you learn or enjoy exploring in our time together? “Having teachers and students at the retreat was/is encouraging and expanding. For the student (me) it’s a wonderful sharing of knowledge, experience and insight. Moreover, there’s a humble, warm environment we are all embraced by. The gentle openness of the process and the instruction so matched the gentleness and openness (expansiveness) of TCC practice. What a fine atmosphere to learn in!” Read more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/7166d9ed-53d5-4bd1-af46-437c6c1d6d29/Waterlogue-2024-02-15-07-25-08.jpg Writing - “Joy Through Movement” – a T’ai Chi Chih Workshop - October 2023 - Participants Reflect: Please share something you learned during our time together (about T’ai Chi Cih, Awareness, Joy, Receiving, Allowing, Yourself, Life, or anything else!): “I’ve discovered that T’ai Chi Chih seems to attract people that express real caring, joy and love. I was surprised that just a little change in my hands made a huge difference. It is so refreshing to be with a group that is so interested in doing something so good for all of us.” Read more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/72d424f7-e0a6-4eea-807b-9820528a4195/IMG_3326.jpg Writing - “Joy Through Movement” – a T’ai Chi Chih Workshop - October 2023 - Participants write Pyramid Poetry: – Pyramid Poetry is a form of poetry originated by Justin Stone which helps bypass the intellect and intuitively gets us in touch with our inner Knowing. Snow Winter Slumber Deep Awake Stretch Rise Calm Still Peace Go Forth Hope Read more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/4e4fe7ed-5566-4a06-8162-3a5243aefddf/High+School+Students+Respond.jpg Writing - High School Students Respond – December 2022 “It’s odd and never explicitly clear to me why, but I find much of my vehement dislike or dissatisfaction for myself dissolves when I practice T’ai Chi Chih. I am kinder to myself – patient and understanding of my body; the weight it carries lifts from me and I feel whole, unburdened (or, at the very least, untroubled by my burdens).” … Read more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/3d4d942b-6b2c-41b9-9a44-166e82f1c105/Dyeing+the+Cloth.jpg Writing - Dyeing the Cloth – The Experiential Heart of T’ai Chi Chih® TCC Teachers’ Conference July 2022 - featuring “Daughter on the Mountaintop & Daughter in the Valley” (YouTube Video transcript) I have been drawn lately to how important the heart is in T’ai Chi Chih, and its connection to what it is that we are cultivating. … Read more. YouTube video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/f0007b7f-877b-4b50-869e-69b1af605e58/Sounds+of+Winter+and+Light.jpg Writing - Sounds of Winter – Light and Dark – Featuring “Bass Drum” (YouTube Video transcript) Cavernously silent heart soundings whisper in a way I’m only beginning to receive. You’re here. You’re here. It is such an elusive and delicate language it disappears when I try to grasp it. … Read more. YouTube Video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/bf55bde4-1696-4fe2-a4bc-42eebeb586f6/Circularity.jpg Writing - Circularity – featuring “Around the Platter - Variation” (YouTube Video transcript) “T’ai Chi Chih is a physical cultivation, which is cultivating the Ultimate,” said Justin Stone, “If more people realized what was going on with T’ai Chi Chih, I think they would take it more seriously.”… Read more. YouTube Video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/e3d609c0-d3fb-40ff-8af5-a556ddd359c1/Being+Here.jpg Writing - Being HERE! – Helpful Encouragement for Just Prior to Starting a T’ai Chi Chih Practice - featuring “Around the Platter” (YouTube Video transcript) “The attitude with which you start T’ai Chi Chih practice is all important,” Justin used to say often. He talked frequently about “attitude.” Prior to beginning my T’ai Chi Chih practice, now, instead of outer-directed ambition, I’ve learned to stand more reverently, open to a gentle receiving. … Read more. YouTube video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1e0088de-a692-4514-9f7f-315f163c9a8f/Reluctance+Shifting.jpg Writing - Reluctance Shifting I settled in and my (inner) gaze steadied itself on the T’an T’ien. I felt a gentle eagerness to stay, to experience this new territory, joyous with no opposite, eyes open, awareness comfortably at ease in what is also called the Wisdom Center. … Read more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/c3def7c6-79d8-4ea6-ae9f-6ac09e67cac8/Flying+Blind.jpg Writing - Flying Blind – ZOOM T’ai Chi Chih Classes in the time of COVID 19 What I have discovered so far in these early days (teaching on Zoom) is that the most important aspect is feeling my own groundedness during the practice. I need to not be afraid to “listen” and “receive” information as it comes internally rather than through other senses. … Read more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556565542402-GR5QIG1X000LTGFGWDVC/1+Testing+Pose.JPG Writing - Polarity in T’ai Chi Chih – We are the Form & the Formless The connection we feel when the palms face one another encourages a deeper embodiment of what we come to Know. We are Connection. We are the Substance we feel and shape between the palms. We are THAT. … Read more. Image pose “Graceful Conclusion” or “Resting Pose” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556565537857-50NU9MZEVR4380J6QJDO/2+Rocking+Motion.JPG Writing - Hello, Old Friends … something prompted me to venture outside, sit on the porch swing and drink a cup of coffee with no other motive. I listened to the birds and bore witness to the aliveness in front of me. Almost imperceptively, a relational exchange began to awaken within and without. … Read more. Image Pose: Rocking Motion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556565552728-C4LHCQDN5SB2GD1Z4VYZ/3+Bird+flaps+its+wings.JPG Writing - The Gift of Paradox Whenever movement discernment questions arise, I know that an awareness of paradox is being asked to expand in me. … Read more. Image Pose: Bird Flaps Its Wings https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556371650573-4120IINO07XI9GLZDF3H/4+Around+the+Platter.JPG Writing - The Nei Kung: Snippets from Saturday Night Each semester, I introduce the safe and gentle Nei Kung practice (as presented in Justin Stone’s Meditation for Healing) to my beginning T’ai Chi Chih students about halfway through their semester-long class. In so doing, the Nei Kung has proven to be very helpful … Read more. Image pose: Around the Platter https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556372554655-PN9LSZBSLTDYDDTZ0GLZ/5+Walking+around+the+taffy.JPG Writing - We Need Each Other After presenting Justin’s form of Turiya meditation in two early morning optional sessions at the recent T’ai Chi Chih Teachers’ Conference in Philadelphia, I found myself sobbing in gratitude and appreciation for the support I had received from so many directions. Leading up to the Conference, … Read more. Image pose: Around the Platter - Variation https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556379730943-6XIJYUGUI7COLCJ2M2Y8/6+Bass+Drum.JPG Writing - Continuity - "Push Pull" and "Rocking Motion" Through the Lens of Expansion and Contraction Another aspect of feeling the chi more strongly in Push Pull has to do with the palms at the backward flowing transition point of the movement. What I have observed is that practitioners loose out on the full power of both this movement and Rocking Motion by … Read more. Image pose: Bass Drum https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556547431901-UYB03HFQMQF72JEZ19O4/7+Daughter+on+the+mountain+top.JPG Writing - Wrist Vitality - Feeling the Chi When practicing TCC, one of the essential elements to enhanced "chi" circulation in my experience is found within the wrists and knowing how to engage them in various movements. For example, while practicing "Around the Platter", take a look at the hand position when the hands are closest to the body at the center of the chest. Do the fingers droop downward? If so, lift them to neutral,… Read more. Image pose: Daughter on the Mountain Top https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556547494385-FEC268Q2AWIA1PGWO8RE/8+Daoughter+in+the+Valley.JPG Writing - 10th Graders Speak on T’ai Chi Chih “T’ai Chi Chih has been my form of stress relief, anxiety relief and safe haven for about a year. Coming into it, I thought it would be ridiculous, but it proved me wrong. In a competitive school, … Read more. Image pose: Daughter in the Valley https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556547523523-T08C03YFE2IS9XPKPTEC/9+Carry+the+Ball.JPG Writing - "Interview" Questions 1. Why do you teach TCC? What personal, spiritual, political or other reasons compel you? … Read more. Image pose: Carry the Ball to the Side https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556547566719-X35XS44TX0YD81RDR5HU/10+Push+Pull.JPG Writing - “Dear New T’ai Chi Chih Student”: More Advice from High School Students to their Peers Dear New T’ai Chi Chih Student, Welcome to T’ai Chi Chih! If you were looking for a P.E. class that will help you calm your mind, then you have chosen the right class. The movements you will learn may seem hard to you at first but don’t fret! Don’t try learning the movement and focusing on the soles of your feet at the same time! You’ll only stress yourself out even more (believe me, having a headache while doing this is hard!) Focus mainly on the movement itself, then your body will get attuned to it more as you continue … Read more. Image pose: Push Pull https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556547760780-CX76ZUXXJ3WVLW6400EL/11+Pulling+in+the+energy.JPG Writing - TEDx: The Growth of Certainty – Including it All TCC Conference 2013 – St. John’s College, Minnesota An innocuous email from a technology colleague at my school arrived in my “In Box” last October. The email informed us of the upcoming TEDxABQ Symposium on “Innovations in Education” and that they were accepting proposals. … Read more. Image pose: Pulling in the Energy https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556547830845-TJP1CAKHL1ABGMIBRACH/12+Basic+Pulling+Taffy.JPG Writing - The Popping, The Fluttering (And Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My) I have been thinking a lot lately about the “concepts” that we bring to T’ai Chi Chih practice. From a certain perspective, every single word we say not only passes through our own level of understanding and layers of conditioning in a given moment but can only be digested by another through a lens of his/her current level of understanding and layers of conditioning. … Read more. Image pose: Basic Pulling Taffy (a) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556547895753-YHG7YIOSE99FU28ZA8YT/13+Pulling+Taffy.JPG Writing - One Breath, One Movement, One Life While I happened to be the only one in the room at the moment when Justin died, I don’t feel that moment belongs to me. In my experience, Justin was teaching and aware up until the very end, continuing to share ineffable gifts with us all. … Read more. Image pose: Basic Pulling Taffy (b) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556548041845-6VZNQF6VGMPWUWYOMISK/14+Working+the+pulley.JPG Writing - What is T’ai Chi Chih to you? While practicing T’ai Chi Chih facilitates a wordless connection, it can also be helpful to notice on a given day, in a particular moment, an answer to the question, “What is T’ai Chi Chih?” I asked my high school students this question at the end of our semester together. Below are some of their responses. … Read more. Image pose: Working the Pulley https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556548137820-PV2TCJWUDAN8RGC09OAP/15+Light+Head+Temple.JPG Writing - Tension vs. Form: How do we distinguish between the two via the forward-backward weight shift? Recently a senior T’ai Chi Chih practitioner mentioned that she was no longer lifting up the front foot completely via the backward weight shift, as this seemed to be more relaxing for the foot. Her approach provoked an exciting internal exploration. … Read more. Image pose: Light at the top of the Head - Light at the Temple (a) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556550371247-7CUF6ANAUEBNLRFBP8AM/16+Light+head+temple.JPG Writing - Suffer the Leaves to Fall Justin has often reminded us that while the leaves fall way, the tree remains the source. With which do we choose to identify? It has been a particularly beautiful fall season in Albuquerque. Today is November 20, Justin’s birthday. A friend and I decided to go to the Bosque by the Rio Grande to celebrate this day, this teacher, this life. … Read more. Image pose: Light at the top of the Head - Light at the Temple (b) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556550404030-HLJ724CRWX7PBPPR10MR/17+Joyous+breath.JPG Writing - TEDxABQED Talk: Effects of T’ai Chi Chih on 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!” … Read more. Image pose: Joyous Breath https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556550452340-TSUWSVQR61R6V63N31O0/18+Passing+Clouds.JPG Writing - Teaching Rocking Motion For beginning students who have never been exposed to T'ai Chi Chih before, Rocking Motion is one of the most difficult movements in the series for them in which to experience "softness and continuity" early on. Instead, they frequently experience balance problems, momentum challenges and locked knees. … Read more. Image pose: Passing Clouds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556548410396-X8ZZ6YQRGFLVYQKGVARK/19+Six+Healing+Sounds.JPG Writing - Adjustments and Jellyfish Last year I taught a particularly challenging T’ai Chi Chih class. I suppose one could equate the discomfort I experienced with my rowdy students to a notion of form and formlessness and raise the question again (an ongoing one for me): Where is the form in the formless? Where is the formless in the form? … Read more. Image pose: Six Healing Sounds https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556548506003-GY6YE3ASDIYXYMJHFTE1/20+Pose+of+CC.JPG Writing - Swimming through Very Heavy Air What does it mean to “swim through very heavy air?” We all had the opportunity to do some swimming at this year’s 2002 T’ai Chi Chih conference. … Read more. Image pose: Pose of Cosmic Consciousness https://www.amytyksinski.com/videos-1 daily 0.75 2024-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1df1b6e5-2fa0-4518-b262-70cefbb9e5c3/Music+for+TCC.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - T’ai Chi Chih Full Practice — Accompanied by “Music for T’ai Chi Chih and Restful Listening” Composed and performed by Justin Stone (the originator of T’ai Chi Chih). Can also be done as a silent practice by turning the sound down as movement reminders are written at the bottom of the screen. 6 repetitions on a side. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1324b586-8d39-4ba9-beb9-4c5c441fcf6a/Tuesday+Morning.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - T’ai Chi Chih Full Practice – Tuesday Morning with Justin This full practice reflects how we used to practice T’ai Chi Chih with Justin Stone on Tuesday Mornings. We started with 36 Rocking Motion and continued from there with 9 repetitions of the forward-backward movements and 3 sets of the side-to-side movements. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556903768545-9XT3TKQKFGL1LEVBC5NX/IMG_2511.JPG T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Introduction “’I don’t know now but it will come to me. I will know,’ is a good attitude to take in practicing T’ai Chi Chih to counteract a lack of confidence. You must have confidence in yourself.” — Justin Stone Click to watch video Related Article: Interview Questions https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556562630031-I61FWDAEE5OZ1FPO9ZVW/Waterlogue-2019-04-29-13-25-12.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Yinning and Yanging of the Legs “What is the difference between releasing tension and actions which express a combination of form within the formless and hence, are more powerful?” (From Tension vs. Form by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video Related Articles: Adjustments & Jellyfish & Tension vs. Form https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556556477963-277YGDY3TARPOFSV2SMN/Waterlogue-2019-03-05-11-22-23.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Rocking Motion & Bird Flaps Its Wings “Softly, evenly the heels return to the floor and the essential, subtle but important release occurs: that of the knees. The instant the heels touch down, the backs of the knees must soften to absorb the weight shift backwards, to allow the balance to remain centered, to ground the movement.” (From Teaching Rocking Motion by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video Related Articles: Teaching Rocking Motion https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556563633756-E21AZCQ38RPZUY9CFBF4/Waterlogue-2019-04-29-13-44-46.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Consolidation Practice: Rocking Motion & Bird Flaps its Wings “…as the weight comes forward enough, the heels may rise, more as a response to the weight shift (and the chi) rather than a self-propelled pushing with the toes…Softly, evenly, the heels return to the floor and the essential, subtle but important release occurs: that of the knees….” (From Teaching Rocking Motion by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video Related Articles: Teaching Rocking Motion & Continuity – Push Pull & Rocking Motion Through the Lens of Expansion and Contraction https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556561641750-I47SQYMK9DZN23D7HO0L/Waterlogue-2019-03-05-11-27-53.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Around the Platter “The opening in the wrists cultivated by lifting the hands slightly is what I like to refer to as ‘vitality’ in the wrists. This slight muscular engagement opens the meridian channels in the wrists and invites the chi to flow much more strongly through the system.” (From Wrist Vitality: Feeling the Chi by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video Related article: Wrist Vitality: Feeling the Chi https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556561042625-79SGKROSJNEHWGUJDSSA/Waterlogue-2019-03-05-11-21-00.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Around the Platter – Variation & Bass Drum “Most beginners do not use the wrists and hands enough, preferring to make cumbersome arm movements…. Fingers are slightly spread apart, the hands slightly cupped as though around the sides of a ball, and there is complete relaxation from the waist up. Conversely, the foot that is flat on the floor is firm, as though gripping the ground with the sole of the foot” (17). (From T’ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement Photo Text by Justin Stone) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556561207911-8PEO3Z38EXGGMKUKGHN2/Waterlogue-2019-03-05-11-21-29.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Daughter on the Mountaintop & Daughter in the Valley “In T’ai Chi Chih, most movements are circular….This circularity is one of the secrets of the energy generated, and is part of the ‘continuity’ I so often speak of” (17). (From T’ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement Photo Text by Justin Stone) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556561315565-PPWBKIYASR8K1Y4SOAO8/Waterlogue-2019-03-05-11-19-14.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Consolidation Practice: Around the Platter, Around the Platter – Variation, Bass Drum, Daughter on the Mountaintop, Daughter in the Valley “This feeling of swimming through very heavy air, with the resultant surge of energy and tingling in the fingers, will eventually bring us the firm conviction that this seemingly ‘empty’ universe is actually a vast continuum of intelligence and energy” (16). (From T’ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement Photo Text by Justin Stone) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556563273802-9Y48S1KOPBFTF2QLB5OS/Waterlogue-2019-04-10-15-26-57.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Carry the Ball to the Side – Part 1 “How can we love ourselves exactly where we are, regardless of what is going on around us, yet still remain open and receptive?” (From The Popping, The Fluttering (And Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My) by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1561984457921-832WYNRE7TCBSCPX3P03/IMG_2556.JPG T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - 15. Carry the Ball to the Side – Part 2 – Hip Swivel (mirrored) “Turn now to the t’an t’ien. Are we not expanding and contracting in accord with nature, like the Jelly, whether we know it or not?! (But how exciting that it can be consciously felt….) (From Adjustments and Jellyfish by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556649448537-KBAW53T49SJMIY8G0JDZ/Waterlogue-2019-04-29-14-02-46.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Push Pull “As the T’an T’ien shifted the body forward, I paid particular attention to the slightly downward-pointing curve of the ellipse that the wrists traced, the subtle tug in the wrists as the finger tips pointed upward. An exquisite awareness began to infuse each millisecond of Push Pull as a fuller embodiment coaxed the vital energy to circulate more strongly and teach me about itself.” (From We Need Each Other by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video Related article: Continuity – Push Pull and Rocking Motion Through the Lens of Expansion and Contraction and We Need Each Other https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556649524853-RCI5LNHB1PIJEQR9PYC8/Waterlogue-2019-04-29-14-02-21.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Pulling in the Energy “As we circle the hands…we visiualize the energy from the most distant star coming in through the fingertips. This visualization is very important” (56). (From T’ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement Photo Text by Justin Stone) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556650833670-5DEJVUJXK7F0EKOI8UTG/Waterlogue-2019-04-30-13-55-27.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Basic Pulling Taffy “I learned to feel and rest into the impersonal stream which was guiding me and supporting me more than I realized, this stream that we all ARE. There is something bigger going on and gradually it is joined with and includes all of our humanness.” (From TEDx: The Growth of Certainty – Including it All TCC Teachers’ Conference 2013 – St. John’s College, Minnesota by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556903887592-9UDOZL1XAT9KYJVY9ZHL/IMG_2141.JPG T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Pulling Taffy Variations: #1 Anchor Step; #2 Wrist Circles; #3 Perpetual Motion The high school students “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!” (From the TEDxABQED Talk: The Effects of T’ai Chi Chih on High School Students by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video / Click to watch TEDxABQED Talk https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556903834585-5ACSIRLNJJ0VFDD739X7/IMG_2142.JPG T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Consolidation Practice: Carry the Ball to the Side, Push Pull, Pulling in the Energy Basic Pulling Taffy, Variation #1 – Anchor Step, Variation #2 Wrist Circles, Variation #3 Perpetual Motion “’T’ai Chi Chih is calming for me and helps create a moment of peace. It has helped me in situations of stress or anger to become more cool-headed and handle these emotions better in that moment. I feel the ground below me and the air touching my skin while I practice and the sounds of people and buildings fade away and the white noise of the area comes forward. T’ai Chi Chih has helped me in many ways and is beneficial in helping me become a better version of myself in this world.’ – I.M.” (From 10th Graders Speak on T’ai Chi Chih) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556649955307-GNMJU5LDDH0BWMY1QJJW/Waterlogue-2019-04-29-13-26-04.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Working the Pulley “T’ai Chi Chih becomes a way of life. It is true that the gentle movements of T’ai Chi Chih form a moving meditation and an exercise of great efficiency – exercising the inner organs and promoting healing – but eventually it goes beyond these and permeates the life-style of the practitioner” (23). (From Spiritual Odyssey by Justin Stone) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556650080113-K7CGNH04DSDQWHY6RP3M/Waterlogue-2019-04-29-13-26-49.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Light at the Top of the Head; Light at the Temple In T’ai Chi Chih, we place our attention in the soles of the feet. Justin comments, “The soles of the feet are very important in the study of T’ai Chi Chih. They are called the ‘Hsueh’ (‘Bubbling Spring’). I think of them as the ‘Fountain of Youth’” (52) (From T’ai Chi Chih Teachers’ Training Manual by Justin Stone) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556842794471-I86075BSSK8HNRV76RD5/Waterlogue-2019-04-30-13-56-09.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Joyous Breath “Joyous Breath requires some pressure from the muscles, the only movement that does. We push vigorously down to the ground, breathing out deeply as we do so, and then pull up vigorously to the top of the chest as we breathe in deeply” (91). (From T’ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement Photo Text by Justin Stone) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556650185221-F8Q79228ZG40TGB8RX4P/Waterlogue-2019-04-29-13-26-26.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Passing Clouds “With the gentle movements of T’ai Chi Chih, even if we do only a few of them repetitively, comes a quieting of the emotions as the Chi (Vital Force) circulates and is then balanced” (25). (From Spiritual Odyssey by Justin Stone) Click to watch video Related articles: 10th Graders Speak on T’ai Chi Chih & Dear New T’ai Chi Chih Student https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556904550812-X4UMRW40049SBZF325J5/IMG_2187.JPG T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Six Healing Sounds “For Full integration of mind and body, it is best to practice both function and essence, or movement followed by stillness. The ‘Cosmic Consciousness Pose’ will help effect this balance…” (19). (From T’ai Chi Chih: Joy Thru Movement Photo Text by Justin Stone) Click to watch video Related Article: The Nei Kung: Snippets from Saturday Night https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556904643141-3QPQEJ1RAG17QNDQ6BM2/IMG_2508.JPG T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - Consolidation Practice: Working the Pulley, Light at the Top of the Head – Light at the Temple, Joyous Breath, Passing Clouds, Six Healing Sounds “Have Patience & Courage (the courage to doubt your own doubts!)…How you learn depends on what you give to it. In learning something, motivation is everything. Put that in your minds: motivation. The opposite of motivation: impatience. The thing that keeps you from being motivated is impatience. If people doing T’ai Chi Chih would realize what the real meaning of it is, I think they would be more motivated.” - Justin Stone (From The Nei Kung – Snippets from Saturday Night by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556904603763-FNIEC4BWSBXOBDJWTTE2/Waterlogue-2019-04-30-13-56-34.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements – Instruction - T’ai Chi Chih: Full T’ai Chi Chih – Joy Thru Movement practice – 19 Movements & 1 Pose “So often it is easy to forget that T’ai Chi Chih is more than 19 movements and 1 pose. It is more than 9 (or 6) repetitions on a side. It is more than Graceful Conclusion pauses in between movements. T’ai Chi Chih is one whole. It is, in effect, One Movement.” (From One Breath, One Movement, One Life by Amy Tyksinski) Click to watch video Related article: One Breath, One Movement, One Life https://www.amytyksinski.com/tcc-tedx daily 0.75 2019-05-03 https://www.amytyksinski.com/quick-links daily 0.75 2024-02-21 https://www.amytyksinski.com/contact daily 0.75 2024-09-18 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556995616885-KWJCH4BX7KI4SJJJPKY8/IMG_2154.jpg Contact / Subscribe https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1556994574900-087YZBRI1OVDZJ0UEXYJ/IMG_2407.JPG Contact / Subscribe https://www.amytyksinski.com/tai-chi-chih-exploration daily 0.75 2024-02-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/a4c26e78-645e-4290-82f8-f0bd3d83f54e/Sunrise.jpg T'ai Chi Chih Exploration - T’ai Chi Chih - Sunrise in the Sandias Featuring the movement “Rocking Motion” (36 repetitions) Come stroll with me in the high desert at sunrise. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/d167c82b-55f3-427b-bf62-c8862b9e6739/Birds.jpg T'ai Chi Chih Exploration - T’ai Chi Chih - Birds, Balloons & the Bosque Featuring the movement “Bird Flaps its Wings” (3 sets) A visit to the Bosque…can you spot what animal surprisingly showed up? Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1f22ca65-9904-409e-874a-90c2526764e5/Being+Here.jpg T'ai Chi Chih Exploration - T’ai Chi Chih - Being HERE! – Helpful encouragement for just prior to starting a T’ai Chi Chih Practice Featuring the movement “Around the Platter” So what have I learned are the ingredients in the “attitude” Justin sought to foster in us when starting our T’ai Chi Chih practice? Faith in the Self, inner sincerity, receptivity, not needing to strive externally towards that which is already within, letting go into a graced wholeness which needs only to be uncovered, with a dollop of patience thrown in for good measure. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/2a6aac75-15ee-4c8d-8561-8eccfbe11000/Circularity.jpg T'ai Chi Chih Exploration - T’ai Chi Chih – Circularity Featuring the movement “Around the Platter – Variation” When I delve into one of the T’ai Chi Chih principles, “Circularity,” I begin to experience more richly the curved patterns of our T’ai Chi Chih movements when directly aided by the felt sensation in the wrists and waist via the hip swivel as these curves are traced with ever-more exquisite and refined attention. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/dccae44a-4eca-4a97-bf00-7da6d98dba42/Sounds+of+Winter.jpg T'ai Chi Chih Exploration - T’ai Chi Chih - Sounds of Winter Light and Dark Featuring the movement “Bass Drum” In Spiritual Odyssey Justin Stone says, “Properly seen, every incident in life points to the unseen Essence. Right in the midst of the turmoil one must rest in the Essence, making the effortless effort while shouting, crying, and feeling biter and joyous in alternate periods. In our freedom there are rules we follow, and in our anguish we are still aware of the empty desireless state. To not know, and to know we don’t know – that is real Knowing.” Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/1083ee74-1388-43cb-b46a-14b2cd7dc378/Dyeing+the+Cloth.jpg T'ai Chi Chih Exploration - Dyeing the Cloth – The Experiential Heart of T’ai Chi Chih Featuring the movements “Daughter on the Mountaintop & Daughter in the Valley” (A 45-minute mini-retreat which invites the practitioner into the heart.) Justin used to talk about Dyeing the Cloth as a metaphor to illustrate the process of how we come to join this human Cosmic heart. He explained that the first time the cloth is dipped into the dye, much of it runs off. But with patience and faith in knowing what we ARE, eventually, “Mind takes on the aspects of Reality like a cloth gradually being dyed.” Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/58e0b563-6c8c-4217-851d-e20134b20354/IMG_3629.JPG T'ai Chi Chih Exploration - T’ai Chi Chih – The Large and the Tiny – Featuring the T’ai Chi Chih Principle ‘Continuity T’ai Chi Chih’s gentleness unwinds us. Separating tendencies and patterns come up for sweet (and not always so sweet) release. We persist. The Cosmic Rhythm holds us all along in her tender embrace even when we do not believe it to be so. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/3c6171b7-022b-4ade-a37f-f095d93d8341/Reflection.jpg T'ai Chi Chih Exploration - Reflection – A short film dedicated to my school Oftentimes when we enter into a community, we have no idea what gifts we will receive. We are blanketed by a mysterious call. The sun beckons to us as it peaks shyly above the horizon. Suddenly we are carried along, swept into something larger, not knowing how we might be seasoned. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/dab1bb87-5d2b-4c78-a512-a32a1183288e/Regatta.jpg T'ai Chi Chih Exploration - The Reynolds’ Regatta – A short film highlighting a boat race at my school. Students design and build boats created from only cardboard and duct tape and then race them in the pool – pure JOY! Click to watch video https://www.amytyksinski.com/tai-chi-chih-movements-feeling-the-chi daily 0.75 2024-03-01 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/924fc5ba-b84d-4389-be3f-5536903ebc2f/IMG_3660.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Introduction Justin Stone, the originator of T’ai Chi Chih, said, “As awareness grows, so does Joy. As we approach Joy, we approach divinity.” May we continue to uncover the inherent Joy within us all through our T’ai Chi Chih practice. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/ffaf8d49-a703-4ae6-80f6-e24b562d4276/IMG_3685.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – The Yinning and Yanging of the Legs (weight shift) Don’t miss luxuriating in the “double-weighted” phase in the weight shift for greater stability and joyous flow. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/689d1024-9b86-4eb6-8415-55fa1a491a36/IMG_3696.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – The Graceful Conclusion or Resting Pose Bring greater awareness to the aliveness present in this "pose," the inner movement of the energy and the places to let go in the body to invite greater energy flow. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/e0255f2d-2bdc-47a0-ab32-8431c380f2a7/IMG_3737.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Rocking Motion Lead with the T’an T’ien – the motivator of the whole ball game! Feel with the wrists the curve over the top, the delicious release in the wrists at the bottom and the subsequent curve around the back. Receive! Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/5c852984-d27b-4124-8210-53c8d5eb3bb2/Waterlogue-2024-02-15-08-24-22.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Bird Flaps its Wings The palms experience going around a Sphere. The roundness is dimensional. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/b3f5207f-9132-47f2-8e58-42d29f23ad8b/IMG_3652.JPG T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Around the Platter We trace the curves with the wrists and thus invite a more sensitive and exquisite awareness of the circularity to be experienced within the body. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/95eb557f-8f8d-4717-9f33-3973eab82ebf/IMG_3662.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Around the Platter - Variation When you let go gently of the substance between the palms at the far point, can you feel that release all the way to the tips of your toes? Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/ddc9d916-9350-4659-a4c1-32a6e37c4f8f/IMG_3655.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Bass Drum We are aware that all originates from, returns to and is experienced within that area two inches below the navel called the "T'ai T'ien," also known as the Seat of Intuition. Firmly established in the T'an T'ien, Life expresses itself as us. We come to Know Who and What we are. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/4985199e-8669-4530-ad7f-b01b52ca110d/Waterlogue-2024-02-15-08-51-55.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Daughter on the Mountaintop & Daughter in the Valley Fergus the Cat. Need I say more? Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/9648738b-70c7-4a4b-88e4-e73f75f438c9/IMG_3724.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Carry the Ball to the Side A focus specifically on the element of the "Hip Swivel" to enhance ease of energy flow. Also discussed is the T'ai Chi Chih principle of "Continuity" with a sneak preview of the movement "Basic Pulling Taffy" and how Continuity is expressed through the hip swivel internally even if the swivel has seemingly paused externally....what do YOU feel in these movements?! Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/24694338-396c-4afe-a80e-39080ede014e/IMG_3642.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Push Pull Feel what happens inside your body when the hands release into the heart on the return. Feel inside your dear heart what the energy wants to share with you. Click to watch video https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a81e56012abd9cd62905134/22de3d65-0ded-4ef5-af25-6a8c08e0a257/IMG_3771.jpg T’ai Chi Chih Movements - Feeling the Chi - “T’ai Chi Chih – Feeling the ‘Chi’” – Pulling in the Energy The Light from the most distant star flowing in through our fingertips. Click to watch video https://www.amytyksinski.com/welcome daily 0.75 2025-05-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5052176b84aeb45fa5cfcc83/1349577199654-C8A6HP2M4MLEBJXQ06MF/wilderness.png Welcome - Transient