The Dragon's Head Blog: Heart to Heart

When I started my Taoist Tai Chi® practice in 1998, I was just like every other beginner. I was eager to learn this shiny new thing. I knew nothing. With every class I attended, my confidence grew. Before I knew it, I was doing the whole set with everyone else. When the next beginner class started, I realized I actually knew more than the beginners! I felt excited and honored to be able to demonstrate the set for the newbies.

When I began instructing beginners, I still didn’t think I knew as much as other instructors, but I did know more than someone who had never done a Taoist Tai Chi® set before. I trusted the form, and the Society. I gained the confidence to stand up in front of a group of strangers – and sometimes family and friends – and help them learn how to become healthier. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know exactly how it worked, or how every single move affected the body, or what would happen if you did it this way or that way.  I became comfortable admitting that I didn’t have the answer to a question and would be happy to ask someone else who did.

From our Saturday morning Zoom discussions, I’ve come to realize that I am an expert. And that I have always been an expert… on me. I am an expert on how my Taoist Tai Chi® practice affects me, my body and my mind. That unique knowledge is my way of helping others.

It makes me feel good to know that my experience can help others enrich their own experience. I feel privileged to be able to help Master Moy pass on this amazing art to the next generation – to keep it alive for the next thousand years, moving it forward through time, from heart to heart.

~Jennifer Spencer

San Francisco, CA, USA