My adventures into Tai Chi Land: Second of a four-part series

“You must teach!” ~ Mrs. Chow

||| FROM STEPHANIE ROSENBLATT |||

I was in my early twenties when I began my exploration of tai chi, so when Mr. Chow was escorting me to the door after my first class and said, “You will become tai chi and tai chi will become you,” I had no idea what he meant. I knew I was creating the time, effort, and courage to learn a novel way to move my body. Yes, courage… as it was a huge challenge since I had severe, undiagnosed dyslexia as a child and had difficulty learning anything new. However, something inside was urging me to continue, even though I was the slowest student in class.

I would make sure to practice whatever I was learning multiple times a day. Even if the steps didn’t feel right at home, once back in class and I was corrected the steps made sense. There was a movement logic that I was unlocking as I progressed. In all my years of moving and exercising I had no “road map” in my brain with these new steps. It was as if I was a baby learning to crawl then walk.

Experiencing the concept of muscle memory being engaged first, then the brain eventually connects the dots. I realized Mr. Chow was right when he shared that sentence with me. My lifetime exploration with tai chi gifted the immersion into the deepest part of me… to my soul. One of my first “soul lessons” was understanding what the acronym P.S.A.T. meant when it came streaming into mind during meditations. I now share P.S.A.T.’s content with my students: Patience, Surrender, Attitude/Acceptance, Trust… all which are important to self-growth. It was a frustrating process in the beginning until I practiced patience and surrendered my ego. I unplugged from my negative judgement of “being embarrassed on how slowly I was learning.” I readjusted my attitude into a more positive mode and accepted where I was in the present moment. Trusting if I didn’t give up, I would eventually be one with tai chi. I entered the realm of “the unfolding of grace.”

Since I was young and healthy, I didn’t realize the multitude of health benefits tai chi offered to the practitioner which I will explain in the next chapters. But let’s get back to the Chow’s Studio as I finally learned the entire Wu Square Form which is a step-by-step process taught to the beginning students. Most of my classmates had already “graduated” from Mr. Chow’s lessons months ago and now were instructed by Mrs. Chow who taught the more advanced Round Form which is flowing. I was happy to finally reach this milestone with a bit of trepidation, since I saw and heard the difference in teaching styles of this amazing couple. They moved into a new studio space and shared a large room as they taught their respective students at the same time. Mr. Chow was gentle, soft-spoken, kind and had the patience of a saint. Mrs. Chow was also kind, extremely astute and taught loudly like a drill sergeant. So, there I was as I walked across the room and was finally standing in front of Mrs. Chow and my fellow, advanced students as she instructed, “Stephanie you do square style for me.” I took a few deep breaths and as I was slowly raising my arms for the first movement… she lurched out from her chair in front of me bobbing up and down exclaiming, “NO, NO! It is all wrong!!” It was a shocking moment after spending almost two years with Mr. Chow. I knew I was in a new territory with my tai chi journey.

Mrs. Chow wanted to introduce us to the next level which meant distinct hand motions without the graceful flourishes that Mr. Chow taught us. She believed less; extraneous movements were the best path to activate the inner chi. By experiencing both teaching styles, I developed my own comfort level for my technique. Mrs. Chow always implored us to soften our bodies when doing tai chi. Why? Usually, when one begins to learn the steps it’s natural to use tightened “muscle” energy. It takes a while to understand “soft form” which is when the inner energy (chi) is activated with tai chi’s core, circular movements. Eventually the student releases muscle tightness and then the chi flows like an acupuncture treatment through the body’s meridians (energetic roadways) and releases blockages that create fatigue, discomfort and may eventually cause disease. I was on board for this amazing gift!

At the age of forty, after being with the Chows for sixteen years I told them I was moving to the British Virgin Islands. It was a heartbreaking moment when I spoke with Mrs. Chow who at that time felt like my spiritual mother. After telling her my news she immediately responded, “Stephanie if you leave us… you must teach.” My response was, “But Mrs. Chow I’m not a tai chi master like you and Mr. Chow.” She stepped closer to me and softly
said, “You must teach… tai chi will now become your teacher.” One important lesson I learned from the Chow’s was to RESPECT my teachers.

A few months later after settling into life in a new country I began to teach. And boy oh boy, was Mrs. Chow right. Tai chi was and continues to be a wealth of information on the majestic energies we’re all connected to. Simply put “imagine how different our world would be if we saw the human form as vessels of precious energy?” It was time for me to step into a teaching mode entering an entire new path in Tai Chi Land.

Stay tuned for Chapter 3 ~ Exploring

Chapter 1