This class, part of the series Qigong for the Seasons, will show you how to use the Five Phases paradigm to stay healthy during Spring. You will learn why the seasonal changes in Nature have an influence on human health and what you can do to stay in harmony with those changes. This is preventive medicine at its best!

For thousands of years this system of health care has served to keep millions of people healthy through the use of gentle exercises, meditation, and diet. We will enjoy better health and a deeper awareness of our internal connections with the world if we use this knowledge from the ancient Daoist masters to cultivate the healing forces that are unique to this time of year.

The season of spring is called the Wood Phase. At this time the energy of nature is rising upward in most living things. In humans this internal migration is toward the Liver Network. Physically it consists of the liver and muscles; mentally it consists of anger and kindness. Any blockage or stagnation of this rising energy will cause problems such as liver dysfunction, muscle pain, and emotional irritability. Anger is a major topic for Spring Qigong.

The complete program of Spring Qigong exercises includes two related but separate qigong routines. The Eight Brocades is a very popular practice that began as part of martial arts training a thousand years ago. Today, these beloved exercises are used by millions of people to enhance their total well-being. Liver Qigong consists of three qigong exercies that specifically focus on the health of the liver. They expel stagnation in the liver and fill it and the middle dan tian with fresh energy. Together these two routines are the best exercise for your body and mind during this spring season.

The meditations for spring are Inner Nourishing and Rising Yang Qi. Inner Nourishing is a profoundly simple meditation that increases energy circulation up the spine and down the front of your body. A silent mantra is used to calm your mind, it’s an antidote to anger. Rising Yang Qi uses colorful imagery to move the qi from the lower body to the head. Dr. Ron’s narration is a vivid guide to leading the yang qi through the three dan tians: physical, energetic, spiritual.

The diet for spring uses specific foods and herbs to nourish the liver and to move the yang qi. Certain foods/herbs will remove stagnation of blood and qi in the liver, while others have the capacity to promote the flow of energy upward through your body.

Students will have access to a 20+ page handbook containing valuable information. This colorful text has instructions and illustrations of the exercises, interesting explanations of seasonal qi circulation, and describes the Five Phases.The handbook also has detailed information about how the liver and spleen function. It describes five disorders of the liver and the foods/herbs that are used to remedy those conditions.

This class will include the experience of Sending and Receiving Qi. We will do simple non-touch, interactive exercises with a partner in order to feel the exchange of energy between our hands. This is a fundamental training process for the art of external qi healing. Our hands are remarkable instruments that can be used for a healthy interaction of energy between us and all other sentient beings: people, animals, plants.

Each of the four sessions will be a combination of discussions and practice.