Live Your Life

Timeless Wisdom

Ancient Qi gong poster found in cave suspected to be thousands of years old.

Energy Body Meridians

Mingmen - Gateway of The Soul

The Mingmen can be translated as meaning 'gateway of your Ming' and is a Shu point (acupressure point) in Chinese acupuncture located in the lower back in between the kidneys.  The Mingmen is of great significance in Qigong as it is believed to be the focal point where all of your life's (souls) energy originates from.  You can think of your Ming as your pre-destined journey from birth to death.  

'Our Ming is to travel from birth to death,
Three in ten follow the natural cause,
Three in ten die from disease or disaster,
Three in ten live well and live long yet they still reach there pre-ordained death.
Why is this?
They aim to extend their time in the transient physical realm.
Only one in ten may achieve the skill of escaping their Ming.'

The majority of people live unhealthy, experience traumas, grow sick and then deplete their Jing (life essence) to the point of early death.  According to Chinese medicine the Mingmen is the source of your Kidney Yin and Yang essence.  It is from here that this Jing (yin and Yang life essence) is passed down to the lower Dan Tien and then converted into Qi which nourishes the body.  Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi helps to build and preserve vital Jing and Qi to keep us healthy and stay the course for our complete Ming journey in this lifetime.  

Yin and Yang - The Heart of Qiogng Healing

At the heart of Qigong, Tai Chi and other ancient healing methods is the theory of yin and yang.  The lighter or white portion of the circle represents yang energy (positive, male, expanding, etc). The darker or black portion of the circle represents yin energy (negative, female contracting, etc).  Yin and yang are constantly changing — evolving from yin to yang and from yang back to yin.  Both yin and yang require each other to exist.  It is the energy of yin and yang  which all things within nature use to constantly maintain balance.  Qigong embraces this ancient Chinese philosophy by stimulating the yin and yang energies within us to proactivly encourage the body's natural ability to heal for health and longevity.   

Tai Chi Qigong as an Aerobic Exercise

There are many benefits in practicing Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi. Besides the obvious benefits, like the balance of Yin and Yang, increase overall qi level, clear blockages in the meridians, … etc., practicing Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi also has the benefits of aerobic exercise.

Aerobic exercise refers to exercise that involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body. Its benefits are widely known. For low intensity aerobic exercise (50%-65% of your maximum heart rate*), it can improve overall fitness, reduce stress, decrease body fat, blood pressure and cholesterol.

Slightly higher intensity aerobic exercise, (65%-80% of your maximum heart rate) is ideal for training your cardiovascular system and developing local muscle strength and increase stamina. Blood supply is increased through the new growth of blood vessels to the affected area. This provides more nutrients to the working muscles and helps take metabolic wastes from the muscles. With the increase in blood volume the cardiac muscle becomes larger, increasing the amount of blood pumped per heart beat. This means a lower heart rate at rest and more efficient recovery.

* Your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) = 220 – Your Age

Our research has found that when performing the 1st Set Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi, the heart rate generally fall into the 50% to 70% range of your MHR, some call this range ‘The Healthy Heart Zone’ which is very good for weight control, decrease blood pressure and cholesterol.

When performing the 2nd Set Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi, the heart rate generally fall into the 60% to 80% range of your MHR, some call this range ‘The Endurance Zone’. In this zone of exercise, intensity can be used to build your heart/lung capacity, stamina and endurance.

Respectfully reproduced from our Sifu - Tai Chi, Qigong & Feng Shui Institute

Shibashi Qigong Video

There are many different forms of Tai Chi Qigong the one we practice and teach is called Shibashi which means 18 in Chinese. This Qigong consists of 18 simple movements combined with breathing patterns and performed in a 20 minute session. When done on a daily basis, these simple movements can make profound changes to your health and overall well-being. There is a reason why millions of people have practiced this Tai Chi Qigong everyday in China for centuries! During one session, Shibashi Qigong moves each and every joint and muscle in your body and provides a massage for all of your internal organs and glands.

Qigong - Gateway to Happyness

"Money is important but the happiness that money can buy is usually short lived. Therefore, those who place their happiness on material things from this highly commercialized world will find themselves preoccupied with having to earn more money to satisfy their insatiable materialistic needs and desires. Those that find themselves attempting to acquire more wealth find themselves acquiring more stress as well. I believe that we should not be caught up with the consumerism that this society so heavily promotes. We should be satisfied when we have enough to pay for our basic needs and a few of our favorite hobbies. Just remember, true happiness is from within. Happiness from the spiritual side is much more long lasting. Once we know our purpose in life and are on the right track to fulfill it, we would be in constant happiness and be stress free."

Qigong, yoga, Tai Chi, meditation etc are all methods that help us to detach from the egoistic mindset that enslaves us to the materialistic world.

Respectfully reproduced from our Sifu - Tai Chi, Qigong & Feng Shui Institute
Nameste

Qigong & Spiritual Growth

"Practicing Tai Chi qigong is not only about increasing ones qi, our spiritual level will also grow as we practice. This growth will enable us to cope with stress a lot better. We will have more awareness of the conditions of your minds and bodies. For example, we may start to notice how our mental status and bodies react to different exogenous factors, like weather changes and stress. We may even notice how various emotions affect our different organs. We will be able to make more sound decisions because of our enhanced awareness. That is why many people are able to get rid of their addictions to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc after practicing Tai Chi Qigong Shibashi. We will find ourselves much calmer when faced with the same stress. Furthermore, many will start to see the world from different perspectives, thus will learn to see stress as just a situation that we have to deal with. Some may even spot opportunities in those situations."

Respectfully reproduced from our Sifu - Tai Chi, Qigong & Feng Shui Institute
Nameste

Introduction to Qigong Workshop

Introduction to Qigong

Join us! on Saturday March 16 (9:30 – 10:30 am)
Annanda Yoga & Reiki Healing Place!

We invite you for a Qigong information session explaining this century’s old healing practice and how it can transform your life.

We will explain and demystify Qigong revealing how Qigong empowers you to obtain the core benefits of Yang style Tai Chi in a matter of weeks, not years. Learn how 20 minutes a day can make dramatic positive changes to your life, reduce stress and enhance your way of living.

We will demonstrate the entire form and offer 1 FREE class for you to try!

Join Us!!

Enthusiasm

Chen above
The Arousing, THUNDER

K'un Below
The Receptive, EARTH

16   Enthusiasm - "To be enthused is to be filled with divine inspiration.  When you are inspired, you are inspiring."

As a thunderstorm relieves tension 

refreshing the Earth
music brings joy to the heart

following the line of last resistance 

you get the young people moving

they are on your side

like a rainbow bridge

you make the connection

between heaven and earth

you've got the whole world in your hands

when you know the secret of enthusiasm.

With daily Qigong practice I feel and play with the energies within me.  Like the tide it swells growing to its peak only to recede leaving me feeling empty and alone.  The time of day, the day of the month, moon cycles, the food you eat, the company you keeps etc all have an effect on the energies within.  The ego or lower self wants to claim them for its own and cling to them like a child with a new toy.  Qigong promotes balance and equality to the whole stimulating the higher self to release the energy within with just as much passion and enthusiasm the ego does to embrace them.  

Knowing this feeds my enthusiasm and respect for this internal art and my passion to share it with others.  TaiChi Shibashi Qigong is a doorway to the higher self that few seldom recognize   All I can do is show others the door.

Feather Cuts The Rock

As I slowly chip away at my own ignorance and Ego I am beginning to realize more and more that the recipe to happiness is quite simple; more on this in a moment.  It is the difficulties in discarding ones own programmed beliefs that takes work.  Hard work.  I often equate it to a proverb of a man coming across a Buddhist monk who was slowly brushing a feather across a huge bolder.  The man stopped and asked "What are you doing?"
The monk replied, "This bolder represents my ignorance.  I am breaking it down with this feather."
Shocked, the man cried out "That's impossible!"
"No".  Smiled the monk.  "It only requires patience."

With patience anything is possible.  You can move mountains with your mind.
Before you act.  Before you speak. Embrace three things before you proceed.

Make no comparison.
Make no judgement.
Delete your need to understand.

The Ego is the bolder.  The three above mentioned are the feather.  With patience you will set your mind free and find true happiness.  Easier said than done but it works.  Try it for yourself and see.