YOGA MEETS QI GONG

Ba Duan Jin

Qi Gong is a system of body movements that helps promote vitality, blood flow, meditation, relaxation, posture, spiritual development, and deep breathing. Qi Gong translates to "energy work." Qi, pronounced like chee, is like prana, the life force that lives within ourselves and everywhere around us. The practice has deep roots in Chinese medicine and martial arts, dating back thousands of years. The form we will be practicing is Ba Duan Jin, or Eight Pieces of Brocade, which consists of eight postures that correspond to the body's meridians and fascia network. The series of movements is a wonderful way to wake up the body and generate energy. Throughout the workshop you may find similarities between Yoga and Qi Gong, from the stances, to postures, and breathing. 

The workshop will start out with "joint opening." This is a series of gentle movements to tune-in with our body, bringing acute awareness to the joints and spine. Next we will go into Zhan Zhuang, or standing meditation. Think mountain pose. Here we will use our body's structure and our breath to release muscle tension. After, we will go through each of the eight postures in detail. Lastly, we will practice the whole sequence in a continuous flow. We will discuss Yin and Yang principles such as: structure and freedom, tension and relaxation, open and closed.

For the workshop, you will be standing for the whole two hours. Feel free to bring a yoga mat to stand on for comfort or a chair in case you need to rest. The practice is similar to a slow vinyasa yoga class. This is not a "workout," but you may feel some heat and sweat.