Stories from Practice: Every movement has a story. Every student has a journey.
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The First Day in the Teaching Clinic
Looking back at a post I wrote several years ago, when I first stepped into the teaching clinic at the acupuncture school. I found this old piece recently and was surprised by how clearly I could still remember that day. “Today is my first day in the teaching clinic at the acupuncture school. There were…
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The Teacher Who Helped Me See Tai Chi
I met Dr. Weng when I was studying Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. By the time, acupuncture was my main interest. I did not expect that a Tai Chi class would become such an important part of my life. I had practiced Tai Chi before, but I mostly thought of it as a set of…
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My First Tai Chi Teacher: My Mother
My mother worked in a state-owned cookware factory in China. For the first forty years of her life, she had what was supposed to be a secure, lifelong job. That was the promise many people of her generation grew up believing in: work hard, keep your position, and the job would be there until retirement.…
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Tai Chi Story I: The Old Man Sai Lost His Horse
Once upon a time, there was an old man named Sai who lived near the frontier of ancient China, close to the lands of nomadic peoples. Like many families living near the frontier, Sai’s family owned horses. In those days, a horse was far more than a means of transportation. It was valuable property, essential…
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What Tai Chi Has Taught Me About Moving Through Life
I am a working mom with three school-age kids. Like many people, my life can sometimes feel like an endless timeline of calendars, schedules, projects, and responsibilities. Over the years, I have tried many ways to make life more manageable—time-management tools, productivity techniques, ideas about work-life balance, even the FIRE movement. Some of them helped.…