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news from
Tai Chi Vermont
JULY 2026
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Knicks in five! World Cup fever. BookTok #summerreading lists. Most everything is better when you can share it with a friend--playing tai chi included.
Summer is the season of the Heart in Traditional Chinese Medicine, associated with the Fire element. It's a time of joyous socialization--think cookouts, congratulatory celebrations, waterside concerts ... and tai chi in the park. There's something about the big energy of moving together that just feels right this time of year.
So find a friend or two (or forty) and circle up for a round of fundamentals to wake up your joints. Or try some of the moves Anne Bower shared with us at last month's Tai Chi Walking workshop. Yes, folks might stop and stare, but that's probably because they're intrigued. Invite them to follow along--the more the merrier!
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Want to Register for a Workshop or Training?
Read This First
Check out the offerings below, then follow the link(s) to complete your registration today. Please don't wait--trainers spend a lot of time and energy planning events for you, and each requires a minimum number of students to run at least a week before the date of the first session--a minimum of five registrants per teacher. If we don't get the required number of signups, sessions must be cancelled. Some Zoom-only and hybrid sessions (those offered both online and in-person) include a recording, whether participants are able to attend live or not. So there's no reason not to sign up if you're interested in the topic but can't join live--
you can watch the recording on your schedule.
Thanks for registering early and helping to make these events happen!
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Upcoming Certification Trainings
Email Ellie for details on either of the trainings below
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Tai Chi Vermont's Bafa Wubu Level 2 certification with co-leaders Ellie Hayes and Zhen Wolffe is Friday, July 17, at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Randolph, 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. Follow the link to sign up.
Bafa Wubu ("Eight Methods, Five Steps") is based on an ancient Chinese treatise describing key tai chi principles. Chinese martial artists recently resurrected and popularized it as a simple movement sequence incorporating self-defense techniques from the five main tai chi lineages. This form offers an excellent introduction to tai chi principles. It's easy to learn, relaxing and enjoyable.
Instructor certifier candidates should be certified Level 1 Bafa Wubu teachers.
As with all TCV certifications, a 2026 Bafa Wubu certification will be valid for two years. A Bafa Wubu cert/recert option will be made available to 2025 certifiers in 2027. Those who aren't interested in teaching the form may use this training to enjoy a day of intensive practice for $50.
A $50 fee is required for all registrations, and the fee for certification is $175. Instructors supported by one of the Area Agencies on Aging may be reimbursed for the registration fee and the agency would be billed the balance ($125 for a certification). Please check with your agency for details. Independent instructors will need to pay the balance two weeks prior to the training date.
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Our biennial Sun 73 instructor certification training with Ellie Hayes, Laurie Knauer and Beverly Blakeney is Thursday, Sept. 17, and Friday, Sept. 25 in the Fellowship Hall at Charlotte Congregational Church, 8:45 a.m.-4 p.m. each day.
In the meantime, the fourth Sun 73 Enrichment Workshop--covering the final set of movements in this long form--is Thursday, August 6, at St. John's Episcopal Church in Randolph, 9 a.m.-noon with Ellie, Laurie and Bev.
This workshop is $30. If you're an active Tai Chi Vermont-certified instructor sponsored by an Area Agency on Aging, you can enter the special code you've been given to register for FREE. Forgot the code? Email us.
Once you register for this workshop (or the Sun 73 certification) you'll receive instructional videos to practice with from home.
Sun 73 is the "parent form" of our Fall Prevention Tai Chi sequence (Sun style short form) and includes some of the same actions--plus kicks and turns--totaling 73 named movements.
Follow the links to our website to get info on the Enrichment Workshop and Certification trainings--you can register from there, too.
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Upcoming Fall Prevention (Simplified Sun Style) Events
Email Laurie if you have questions on the happenings below
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Level 1 and 2 Skill Builder
Prepare for your upcoming cert or recert--or deepen your practice if you're a tai chi student--by registering for the Level 1 and 2 Fall Prevention Tai Chi Skill Builder with leader Laurie Knauer Friday, July 24, 9 a.m.-noon at St. John's Church in Randolph (15 Summer St.). If you're an active Tai Chi Vermont instructor you can attend for FREE if you enter the Skill Builder code you were given previously at checkout. If you've forgotten it, click here to email us.
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Level 2 Certification/Recertification
Meet Laurie Knauer, Sue Monaco and Jo Bregnard at St. John’s Episcopal Church 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Fridays, July 31 and August 7 to continue your learning--or to keep your Level 2 certification current.
The fee for certification is $350 ($175 for recertification)--click here to reserve your spot. A $50 fee is required with all registrations. Instructors supported by one of the Area Agencies on Aging (AAA) may be reimbursed for the registration fee and the agency will be billed the balance of ($300 for certifications and $125 for recertifications). Please check with your agency for details. Independent instructors will need to pay the balance two weeks prior to the training date. Registration closes one month before training begins.
When you register, training videos will be sent to you so that you can pre-learn the movements. The energy you put into your pre-learning will help you succeed in becoming a safe and effective instructor.
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Free Zoom learning and discussion sessions
Recordings of the Zoom discussions below will be available afterwards, for those who can’t attend live as well as those who want to review the sessions. Follow the links to sign up for access to the livestreams and recordings.
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The Science of Tai Chi and Qigong (TCQ) as Whole-Person Health: A conference review with TCV teachers Lisa Tedeschi and Jo Bregnard, 2-3 p.m., Friday, August 14, online via livestream and recording
Jo and Lisa attended this conference at Harvard Medical School this spring, and they’re eager to share what they’ve learned! All are welcome to this session about what folks around the world are discovering about tai chi and qigong’s impact, but it will focus on how teachers (and Tai Chi Vermont as an organization) can use this rich information. You’ll learn more about how TCQ research is done, and how to get involved.
| Lisa chats with conference presenter (and Vermonter) Eliza Meeker, Doctor of Chinese Energetic Medicine with Two Branches Qigong and California Qigong. | | | |
Tai Chi Teachers' Cafe Gathering with facilitator Zhen Wolffe, 11 a.m.-noon, Sunday, August 30, online via livestream and recording
Tai Chi Vermont teachers can never seem to get enough of the rich networking time we enjoy during certification dates, when we share inspiration for classes, practice resources and more. So Zhen Wolffe is facilitating a series of meetups on Zoom to keep the conversations going.
Here's what Zhen had to say about the first cafe gathering this spring:
"It was a wonderful mix of teachers from across Vermont and so lovely to have the time to leisurely check in, deepen our connections with one another, and have a chance to get to know each other a little better.
The idea for the Cafe was born out of a desire to create a forum, an informal place where we could meet and share time, ideas, questions and stories with our fellow teachers. There’s a wealth of wisdom and experience in our collective and having this opportunity to spend an hour together is a treat.
We would love for you to join us for our next Cafe. Our hope is to meet quarterly to enjoy each other’s company. It may even inspire, support, surprise, and delight you!"
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Tai Chi at Auschwitz:
An Unexpected Reconciliation Journey
Author Peter Sternberg (and his daughter Maura) will be in Vermont next month to discuss this touching and surprising story of his experience doing Tai Chi during a Bearing Witness Retreat at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Head to Temple Sinai (500 Swift St, South Burlington) on Wednesday, August 12. The reading and discussion begins at 7 p.m., with a snacky gathering beforehand at 6:30 for those who want to do some tai chi. Reach out to Ginni Stern for complete details, and click here to register for this free event.
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| We use our brains at our Trainer and Board of Directors retreat weekend in Burlington each June, but we move our bodies, too! Here Board members (and Zhen's little whippet Ceo') try a little qigong swinging between topics--it gets those synapses firing. | | |
Teachers: We've Made it Easier for You to Meet Your Education Requirement
If you're a Tai Chi Vermont teacher, you know that you've been required to take at least one Skillbuilder workshop every two years to deepen and freshen your skills. At the TCV Board of Directors annual retreat last month, the group decided to make things easier:
Now, both Skillbuilders AND Enrichment Workshops count toward your continuing education hours. You simply need to have attended in person at least three hours of Enrichment or Skillbuilder Workshops in the two years between recertifications to maintain active status as a TCV instructor. Please note that receiving access to a recorded workshop you didn't attend in person does not count toward the three-hour minimum requirement for recertification.
Skillbuilders and Enrichment Workshops are always being added to our website. Follow the link to see what's available and sign up now to keep your certification current!
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