Who is your Linda Gatson?

Linda Gatson led a Taichi practice.

To promote fitness and wellness, the University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL) started a Taichi & Chi Gong Class as a part of Campus Recreation Program in 2002. They invited an UMSL faculty, Taichi master, and herbalist Sam Lin to teach the Yang Style 24 Form and Chi Gong 18 Form. This Class has been open for UMSL faculty, students, and also anyone who is not affiliated with the school but is interested in Taichi and Chi Gong. 

In the spring of 2003, Linda Gatson of the Finance Department, took the class and was fascinated by the art of Taichi. She wanted to continue practicing the form once the class was over. Additionally, like others, she found it was challenging to memorize the entire 24 movements in an eight-week program. She decided to form a Taichi Group and invited her classmates to join. They normally meet on Tuesdays and Thursday for Taichi and four times a week for Chi Gong. They all contribute to the practice and figure out how each movement should be and how all movements should be connected and sequenced. 
 

UMSL Taichi Group in Missouri Botanical Garden 

Communication is the key for any informal organization to sustain. To keep everyone informed and connected, Linda not only organizes the practice group activities between formal semester’s classes, she also sends out reminders to members to encourage them about coming to practice. Furthermore, she uses her UMSL homepage to host a comprehensive website dedicated to the Taichi and Chi Gong at UMSL. The website includes the group mission, introduction of Master Sam Lim, class information and the registration form, practice schedule, description and explanation of the Yang Taichi 24 Form as well as Chi Gong 18 Form, reports on the Group activities, and valuable information on Taichi principle and theory. She also works hard to collect important links of Taichi resources and posts them online.

To make practicing Taichi more interesting, Linda spearheaded a monthly outing for the group in 2004. Normally, she works one month ahead by sending out messages to the members to negotiate a date in the following month which is good for the majority. They will then meet at the Missouri Botanical Garden to practice for an hour. Initially, they only practiced outdoors when the weather was good; later, they discovered that the Climatron and the adjacent Temperate House in the Garden are ideal when it rains or snows so now they meet year round
 

Group practice in the Temprate House

The morning of December 12, 2009 was quite chilly. The temperature was in the 40’s. Even in the Temperate House, the temperature was in the low 60’s. The members of the UMSL Taichi Group followed Linda’s lead. They practiced Chi Gong and then Taichi. They moved gracefully. Aside from the occasional callouts from Linda and the resonance from a slowly flowing fountain, there was little sound. It was serene and harmonious. A dozen Taichi practitioners enjoyed the spiritual side of Taichi in the beautiful garden.

After the practice, they drove to Mokeba at the corner of Arsenal and Grand for breakfast. About a year ago, one of the members suggested that a breakfast could futher increase friendship between the group’s members. Linda quickly adopted it and included it in the monthly outing. To make it more interesting, she researches and finds different restaurants or cafes for the group to try.

Nancy, who works at UMSL, is also a student, a mother, and a grandmother. Taichi helps her to deal with the stress in her busy life. She has been with the group for two and half years. Every once in a while she has to skip practice due to her hectic schedule, but then feels worse physically. She appreciates Linda’s dedication to keep the group going.

Anu began taking the Taichi program in 2003. She felt lost and could not remember the movements when she first completed the class. The group practice helps her; otherwise, she might have quit Taichi. She thinks that Linda is a good teacher who explains the movements step-by-step clearly and patiently.

Emeritus Professor of physics Tapei Cheng praises Linda for her effort and modesty. Professor Cheng thinks that Linda is a good teacher but always humbly refers to herself as the role of an assistant teacher even though Linda is now filling in for Sam Lim next semester to teach the regular class since Master Lin is traveling and will not be able to teach.

Sujata is relatively new to the group. She likes the unassuming and sincere quality Linda has. Melanie is grateful for the email messages that Linda sends out and the activities Linda organizes. During the breakfast, Pat mentioned that she has a problem with a teaching DVD. Anu offered to take a look. Under the leadership of Linda, Professor Cheng recognizes the group is functioning cohesively and he enjoys it very much. With this, he even volunteered to host a Taichi Party on Memorial Day this year in his house.

Many Taichi practitioners attest that Taichi is difficult to learn and requires a great deal of practice. A practice group provides the support to the members and can help to sustain the interest and effort. Every group needs a leader like Linda Gatson. So who is the Linda in your Taichi group or will you be willing to be the Linda for your group?