Please join me in wishing a Happy 73rd Birthday to ChiFusion Tai Chi and Qigong instructor Carole Taylor.
Most of you know Carole from the photos and videos on our website. But Carole has been much more than just my “photo model”. As a matter of fact, without Carole, there would have been no ChiFusion Tai Chi and Qigong program. I would literally not have the 3,000+ students and instructors we now have today in our programs and the 30,000+ people on on our mailing lists without Carole.
You see, back in 1996, I was teaching five classes at several different locations and over a hundred students, and I was rather successful as a local teacher. But I had decided to quit teaching to focus exclusively on developing my own skills. And my intention was to quit teaching for good.
Well, Carole was my student at the time, and when she heard I was quitting, she led a “rebellion” by a small group of my students. They cornered me one evening, and I mean that literally – they backed me into a corner of the room we were teaching at the time. Carole said to me, “You CAN’T quit teaching!”, and the students begged me to keep teaching them. I said I would think about it. Well, Carole is extremely persistent (almost obnoxiously so) when she wants to be! So she pestered me, and she had these students pester me, until I agreed to start a small class just for them.
And that small, 12-person class was the beginning of the ChiFusion program and of what we have to day.
So Carole is as much the founder of ChiFusion Tai Chi and Qigong, and maybe even MORE so, than I am!
As her skills grew along with our program, over time Carole stepped into the role of instructor, teaching all of our beginning classes. And in the early days of our online courses, Carole ran most of the day-to-day operations. But eventually in 2005, Carole left our program to pursue her own projects, mostly in the area of nutrition. (In addition to being a certified Tai Chi and Qigong instructor, Carole is also a certified nutrition advisor. As a matter of fact, she credits her approach to nutrition along with Tai Chi and Qigong in keeping her healthy and energetic.)
Though Carole left in 2005, over the last year or so, she and I have begun working on a number of projects together. Last year, I joined her for video work on her new nutrition website. And she recently agreed to come back to the ChiFusion Tai Chi and Qigong program and help me out with this year’s Instructor Certification program.
On top of her own nutrition clients, as well as her renewed involvement in our Instructor Certification program, we’re also discussing other projects we might do together in the future.
Now keep in mind, this woman is 73 years old. I don’t know how I’m going to keep up with her!
So please join me in wishing Carole a Happy 73rd Birthday, and in thanking her for all her contributions to ChiFusion Tai Chi and Qigong over the last 17 years.
{ 30 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Carole, wishing you a very Happy Birthday and a healthy, peaceful and happy year.
Best wishes
Lea
Wishing you a very very Happy birthday Carole
Hi Carol,
Many happy returns.
Thank you so much for your doing so much to make the ChiFusion Program such an extraordinary course. So much good learning to be had. I cannot say enough – this course fits me to a tee.
As a new Level 1 instructor, I am so happy to be able to bring this empowering practice to seniors in my community. Feedback from them is so positive.
And in my own practice, I refer to your demonstration videos regularly to check my progress with the patterns. Being a primarily visual learner, the videos are perfect for my learning this material effectively.
Thank you again.
And, Happy, Happy Birthday.
Jackie Davies
Port Burwell, Ontario.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Carol and many many more
Gerry
Happy Birthday Carol!
Happy Birthday Carol! Thanks for being such an inspiration!
Hi Carole
Happy Birthday!
You are an inspiration to us all and a fantastic example of the benefits of the Chifusion course and your own nutrition counselling expertise!
Here’s to many more happy healthy years!
Hello Carol,
Happy birthday to you. Only a few more hours in the UK to the end of the day but there hopefully you still have more of the day yet to enjoy and celebrate. Thank you for the time and energy you have put into ChiFusion so that people like myself can follow and feel confident that we are learning from the best.
Thank you. Have a lovely day
Terry Richards
England
Happy Birthday, Carol! Have a FANTASTIC day!
Happy Birthday Carole.
You are a living example of what you teach.
You encourage me to follow your example in doing chi exercises and eating healthily every day.
Lesly
Twickenham
England
Thanks for making it all possible Carole. ChiFusion and what you and Al made possible has become an inspiration for my life and business. I hope to give you something in return sometime. Have a wonderful 73rd year!
Happy Birthday dear Carole,
Thank you so much for the wonderful person you are and the gift of giving so generously of your time to help others feel better. I will always consider you and Al as my best friends even though we have never met in person. I wish you many more happy and healthy years in all you do.
Lots and lots of love and hugs
Fidelis
Happy, Happy Birthday> you know, I still believe Carole is really fifty if that!
Sincerely,
Mr. Malcolm
Carol ; May the heavens continue to grace you with love and beauty , may the gentle breeze of the woods provide you peace while walking amongst them. May the sun gently warm you when you need and may a raindrop nurture your soul lovingly for many years to come
Happy Birthday and wishing you many more. You go girl!
Happy birthday Carole,
A big thanks for your videos in the Chi fusion course. I’m 65 now and hope to be as fit as you when I reach my 70′s.
All the best
Norm
Happy birthday, Carol. Thanks for all you have done.
Hi Carole:
Many happy returns of the day (as Pooh would say) from Spain!
Hi Carol, Al,
Carol, you can add another year. I wish you all the best for yourself, your co-working with Al and the Chifusion program. I want to thank you for your cooperation on the website for the program. On my screen, I see you regularly.
Roeland, Voerendaal, south-east Netherlands.
Happy , Healthy B DAY AND MANY MORE!
Wow I want to be like you when I grow up and instuctor in ChiFusion and Nutrition. thank you for the goals I’m glad you were born!
Hello Carol, I hope you had a great birthday. Thank you for your part in the course, you made my progress move smoothly along with your interpretation.( and your much nicer looking than Al). I am in my third year of daily practice,but I fear I will never reach your skill level. Glad your back. Brian, Bourne,United Kingdom.
Hi Carol,
I hope you had a fantastic birthday. Thanks for pestering Al all those years ago and for being such an inspiration to us all. You both have been a gift for us all. Many blessings!
happy birthday Carole and thank you for your wonerful work.
Happy happy birthday, Carole. How wonderful to know you through your wonderful work on ChiFusion and Tai Chi Qigong. Though it’s quite late, I know it will warm both our hearts for you to know how I appreciate the program.
I have been absent a bit though because of an eye operation, and it’s only today that I can do some emails. Be assured that I will pick up my TaiChi Qigong exercises, as soon as my doctor gives me the thumbs up.
Again, happy birthday and thanks lots for everything.God bless you always.
Susie
Hi Carol,
Belated Happy Birthday greetings. You and Al are a rare treasure for all of us Chi Fusion students.
Dear Carole,
Wishing you a Very Happy Birthday and a BIG God Bless.
May the Force be with you – always.
Aspy
Hi everyone –
I wanted to say ‘Thank you’ to everyone on the CloudWater website and blog that sent me birthday greetings this weekend. But between the CloudWater site and my own site, my inbox is FULL!
I tried to respond to many of you personally, but with so many message, I’m not going to be able to do that.
So please accept my thank-you with this message. I will read each of your emails and blog comments, even if I don’t get a chance to respond. I appreciate everyone who spent the time to write me.
Best wishes,
Carole
Happy Birthday Carol. You are an inspiration. I’ve just turned 60 and hope to be as healthy and active as you when I reach your age. Again, Happy Birthday from South Africa
Carol,
Happy belated birthday. Keep up the good work.
God Bless You Carol.
I took your nutritional evaluation course and then decided to just surf over to Cloudwater. What a blessing you too are…I’m starting a blog and will add your OverFifty website and Cloudwater to the site.