Chris Hooley studies energy. Five years ago his
inquisitive mind led him to a Tai Chi class at Sierra College where he sought
to deepen his understanding of energy. To explain, Chris quotes Bob Marley, “He who feels it, knows
it."
Chris says he studied “everything” at Sierra College. But he
quips, “They don’t have a degree in Everything. I did 4 years at all the Sierra
Colleges and the University of Nevada, Reno.” During these studies he became
dedicated to understanding energetics and spirituality.
Through his studies at Body Balance he began to understand
how memory works through the body, though physical sensations rather than
through words or visual cues. If you’ve ever been a student in one of Shih Fu Chris’ Tai Chi
or yoga classes, you know that his approach to teaching is to fully embody the
form. His goal is to transmit an experience of the postures and allow understanding to arise
through experience.
“That’s the way that is most productive at this time in my
life. There is a never-ending depth of knowledge and understanding about
ourselves, and our environment. It’s like a book that never ends.”
Yoga allows him to feel “more comfortable in the body, more
expanded in the body. And generates a greater awareness of the body.” In his
own yoga practice, Chris says, “I have a basic set. If I'm mellow I'll stay on
the floor the whole time. Each session is drawing on all the different things
I’ve learned and whatever feels right in the moment.”
I asked Chris about his transition from Tai Chi practitioner
to teacher. “I’ve always wanted to teach what I know and understand. I see
myself as a teacher--relating knowledge in a personal, one-on-one style. You
really learn about yourself and others through teaching. It (teaching) really
teaches you a lot about what you think and feel you know.”
“What I’ve found to be a strength (in my teaching) is how I
explain things. I’ve found a variety of ways to explain (the postures) from a
lot of different angles.”
Chris recently participated in the 4th Annual 'Golden Gate" Chinese Martial Arts Championship. He competed in
three categories: open hand (Yang Style Tai Chi), Tai Chi straight sword
and push hands. “The tournament was a great experience. I won a silver medal in
open hand style. And three gold
medals--one in straight sword and two in push hands. One of the very
experienced judges recognized our traditional (Tien Shan Pai) push hands form
and after the competition, he worked with me for 20-30 minutes.”
The
unexpected push hands lesson was just another opportunity for Chris to study
energy, this time with a practitioner from the same lineage with 30 years
experience. He absorbed the lesson in the moment, incorporating the experience
into his forms and his teaching.
When I asked Chris about his personal practice, he said, “I’ve
always been a very unstructured free spirit; never liked routines. I utilize
whatever practice is needed in the moment. Through internal awareness, I
connect with breath and come back to center. Through this practice, I know when
I need to come back into balance. It is an internal practice with the chi.”
Shih Fu Chris finds a natural balance that allows him to integrate
practice with life and life with practice in a never-ending flow. Or as he
describes it, “In life I try to do it all at once. I try to merge it all in the moment. It’s a continuous practice. I’m practicing
all the time."
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