AstroVTC

Questo progetto ha radici antiche: all’inizio della diffusione del VTC in Italia il GM Phan Hoang ci raccontava di come ebbe la possibilità di conoscere e frequentare uno degli astronauti americani che andarono sulla luna. di come questa fosse stata un’esperienza incredibile e di quanto abbia influito nello studio e nella costruzione della Scuola di Viet Tai Chi. A distanza di tanti anni, l’argomento dei viaggi nello spazio ha ripreso con forza ad occupare la ricerca di molteplici organizzazioni; tra queste l’Italia, da sempre all’avanguardia nella costruzione e progettazione di strumenti per il volo nello spazio. Ci siamo detti: vogliamo approfondire come il VTC possa essere di aiuto al lavoro di persone che vivono esperienze incredibili in situazioni ambientali complesse, pericolose e sconosciute? Come può il VTC aiutare corpo e mente ad affrontare tali situazioni? Confinamento, stress, paura, solitudine, condizioni ambientali estreme. Sappiamo che il VTC lo può fare. La ricchezza di tecniche di respirazione, pratica e visualizzazione rappresenta un tesoro da applicare anche in questo campo. Dobbiamo solo approfondire, praticare, collaborare, insieme, nella ricerca e nello studio.

primo passo: la conferenza a Roma proprio sull’argomento dell’isolamento e confinamento nell’esplorazione spaziale.

Conferenza 31/3 – 2/4 2025: Isolation/confinement studies for human space exploration, Roma

In occasione di una conferenza promossa da ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana) in collaborazione con la Marina Italiana e con ESA (European Space Agency)

ASI-ITALIAN NAVY-ESA
Joint workshop
Isolation/confinement studies for human space exploration

Abbiamo proposto il nostro progetto per far conoscere il VTC e quello che può rappresentare nella costruzione di contromisure atte a risolvere i problemi che insorgono in tutte le situazioni di isolamento e confinamento umano: dallo spazio alla profondità del mare, alle stazioni in Antartide.

la presentazione in slide

la traccia del discorso

Good afternoon everyone,

how are you today?

I am happy to share with you our contribution to the topics covered in this conference.

My name is Anna Campo. I’m VTC Master and Technical Director of our Center Thien Mon in Padova.

Today we will talk about an ancient discipline from distant cultures developed in the East over the last thousands of years ago and how this discipline can be helpful and provide fundamental tools for the physical, psychological and spiritual well-being of people living in modern and futuristic realities.

We are talking about realities having nothing in common with the reality in which this discipline was born but in the meantime having many in common with the basical perception of human nature and the mechanisms of life in all its aspects.

This discipline is called Tai Chi.

Tai Chi is recognized by international bibliography as a valid tool in medicine and prevention. Due to its particular richness of dynamic forms based upon improvement of energy circulation and breathing, the Vietnamese School (Viet Tai Chi or VTC) presents a particular abstract connotation – the Poems – capable of strongly stimulation of the emotional element of the individual subjected to pressure and stress, typical of restricted environments.

The Italian school of Viet Tai Chi has been operating over the last  40 years and it is structured as a National Association with a technical training path certified both at national (CONI) and international (UPKL) levels.

The individual associations operate in the territory promoting practice, study and research;  

Particularly the Thien Mon Center of Padua has a long experience in the theoretical study and application of energy recovery techniques and in the improvement of psycho-physical stress conditions in sports and rehabilitation fields, collaborating with Public institutions, national and international institutions.

Recently the practice of Tai Chi has been taking on an important role in the psycho-physical preparation of operators in restricted environments, such as maritime and astronauts crews;

such agencies as the American NASA and the China Astronaut Research and Training – through the development of the XunTian Tai Chi model – recently  introduced psycho-motor practices into the training of crew members, with the specific purpose to counteracting the negative effects involving both physiological and psychological levels of individuals long-term stay in confined environments.

Every research and experiment made during space travels immediately became part of life on Earth, as useful technologies in many branches of human activities.

This study is meant to codify several techniques of the VTC repertoire and create guidelines that can be used in training programs, developed by the AstroVTC Group of the Thien Mon Center.

VTC practice takes place by learning breathing techniques and movements to be performed according to the space and time available.

How does the VTC training work?

We begin learning breathing techniques and then we proceed with the tai chi training combining movement and breathing.

All VTC movements have a poem and the poems are connected with VTC practice.

Poems can help us for the meditation, clearing our mind in order to bring us to the mind/body balance.

We call that: meditation in movement.

Then we keep breathing and learning from the poems to practice with mind only, if we cannot do it with our body.

We call this the “here and now” way of meditation.

The usual routine can start with general exercises suitable for everyone. Warming up, stretching, breathing and relaxing.  

Those exercises are particularly thought to improve psycho-physical balance with the purpose to arrive at personalized sequences according to peculiar situations and particular operating environments.

The basic training can help to deal with breathing and energy metabolism regulation techniques.

The VTC school has a long history in Italy, operating over 40 years and having trained a large number of instructors and masters capable of carrying on the tradition.

How long does it take to become a master? At least 15 years to get there. Then we have many levels on the master way.

VTC training is very helpful for borderline situations such as, in example, regulation of the sleep/awake rhythm, anxiety attacks or performance stress, even enduring an MRI closed in a tube or facing long periods of solitude or cohabitation with others in restricted spaces.

VTC is a discipline accessible by everyone and was created to teach an easy and friendly method to achieve the goals of well-being and balance.

No tools are requested, and it’s also not necessary long time of practice, being it quite easy to learn.

It’s based on energy circulation and breathing. It has both deep roots in traditional techniques and modern solutions for contemporary life.

The Italian school of VTC represents a great heritage of exercises, energetic and concentration practices, for Emotional release and to increase physical and mental strength and resistance.

this study is only  a small part of this heritage but this research can become a basis for future developments with everyone’s collaboration.

As a working group AstroVTC of the Thien Mon Centre in Padova we can share this heritage by building partnerships with institutions, ongoing or starting projects, creating tools – Guidelines, Handbooks, training courses for operators, etc. – aimed at the many situations proposed.

We are available to provide details and more information about our work.

I would like to thank all of you for your time and a special thanks to the ASI Committee