What  is qi or chi? And why should you care?

Qi, or the mysterious life force, has been called by many names (chi, ki, prana, mana) throughout oriental and indigenous cultures, but by all its names it refers to the subtle energy that creates and sustains the physical body, with the loss of Qi seen as directly related to illness, aging, and death, the replenishing of Qi to healing and longevity. Acupuncture, the art of using needles to open the qi flows or meridians in the body, is based on the understanding that blockages to the flows of qi through the body are directly related to pain and illness.

Qigong (Chi Kung) meaning “to work or exercise the vital life force (qi/chi)” or “to attain chi (the vital life force)” is the 4000-5000 year old Chinese system of self-healing exercises and deep breathing techniques that emerge from the ancient understanding of “qi/chi/ki.” Once the secret knowledge of martial artists and the very wealthy of China, today Qigong is the major health system of China and is practiced by many millions of Chinese who believe “if you have to go to a doctor, your medicine has already failed.”

Qigong’s gentle, deliberate movements and deep breathing techniques can be described as a moving form of meditation, the practice of which produces a peaceful mind and a healthy invigorated body that is more capable of dealing with daily stress and disease. As you move deeper into a Qigong daily practice, you discover the power of qi to automatically heal the mind as well as the body.

There are thousands of exercises within as many lineages of qigong developed over millennia to assist in healing specific conditions of mind and body. The goal at StoneWind is to introduce people to the fun and benefits of qigong exercises, where possible suggest appropriate movements for specific health concerns, and to help people create a simple, do-able, daily exercise practice that will revitalize the organs, tissues, muscles, and bones, relieve pain, eliminate stress, and increase overall vitality.

Like Reiki, Qigong is a gift you give yourself, a skill you learn and can use forever to restore and maintain health.

Qi, anglicized as chi, is the life force that permeates creation. The concept of a life force is found in most of the ancient cultures of the world. In India, it is called prana; in China, chi; in Japan, ki; for Native Americans, it was the energy of Great Spirit. For all these cultures and others as well, the idea of a primary life force is or was central to their forms of medicine and healing.  In terms of the body, qi/chi is that which differentiates a corpse from a live human being. We age, we become ill, we die as we lose our qi/chi. Our quality of life, our health, and our longevity are all directly related to the quantity and quality of our qi/chi.

If our qi/chi or life force is strong we are totally alive, alert, healthy, and present, while weak or low chi results in sluggishness, fatigue, illness, and eventually death. You can increase and develop your qi/chi to overcome illness, become more vibrant and enhance mental capacity once you come to understand the basics of how qi flows through us, how it is lost and only partially replenished through our daily activities, and how it can be abundantly replenished and  expanded by specific Qigong practices designed to move qi through the meridians, or energy channels of the body as those channels are defined by ancient Chinese Medicine.

One Day Qigong introduces students to techniques in Phases, in particular, Phase I (“Discovering Qi”) and Phase II (“Circulating Qi”) of the 12 Phases of Qi Mastery. It includes exercises chosen to help students develop (or improve) their experience of Qi and to ready them for classes in the intermediate and advanced techniques–and in those ancient “secrets hiding in plain sight.” There are specific abilities that are very useful to develop prior to any of the more advanced classes. Frequently those abilities open in people with 3-4 hours of training, sometimes it takes a little longer, so the timing of this class provides plenty of opportunities.

One Day
Introduction to Qigong

9:30 – 5:00

Suzanne E. Parnell, Ph.D., RM

$100.00

Add your name to the waitlist

There are currently no classes scheduled at this time,

but you can add your name to our waitlist to be contacted once a class is scheduled.

There are thousands of  Qigong exercises developed over millennia to assist in healing specific conditions of mind and body. The goal of the Three Hour Introduction to Qigong at StoneWind is to introduce people to the fun and benefits of qigong exercises,  where possible suggest appropriate movements for specific health concerns, and to help students create a simple, do-able, daily exercise practice that will re-vitalize the organs, tissues, muscles, and bones, relieve pain, eliminate stress, and increase overall vitality.

Qigong is easy to learn, fun to do, powerful in its healing effects. No athleticism required;
even those confined to a wheel chair are able to do them.

Three Hour Classes
May be arranged on request
$75.00/person
minimum of  two in a class

There are currently no classes scheduled at this time,

but you can add your name to our waitlist to be contacted once a class is scheduled.

StoneWind offers Combo
Meditation/Qigong Retreats:

One Day Intro to Meditation
on Saturday,

One Day Intro to Qigong
on Sunday.

Combo Retreat
Saturday/Sunday

9:00 – 5:00

$200.00

There are currently no classes scheduled at this time,

but you can add your name to our waitlist to be contacted once a class is scheduled.