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Self-development & Therapies > WORKSHOPS > Movement - Chi Kung and YogaChi KungI discovered Chi Kung (qigong) many nine years ago. My life had changed with a new job and an intensive course that I was doing, and I simply could not find the time for the combination of meditation and yoga that had for years held me together - mind and body! I first read about Chi Kung in the invaluable book by Jane Alexander, Supertherapies . Then (as so often happens when things are meant to be) the next week I read a wee article referring to Chi Kung as Chinese Energy Medicine - claiming that just a few minutes session renews energy and staves off many of the symptoms of old age. The next day I bought myself a great book and ever since that time, Chi Kung is my choice for exercise regime. I love the fact that the exercises are slow and gentle - encouraging me to regain awareness of my whole body. At the heart of Chi Kung is focus of attention on the life energy that flows through us all the time. The practice improves your life by enhancing the mind-body interaction. Really, you have to try it to see how wonderful it is. Perhaps the best part about the practice for me as a therapist and trainer (enabler), is that virtually everyone can benefit from Chi Kung. There are many movements, all of them are done very slowly and most of them can be made by the frail and elderly - but they touch us all. By working on an energetic level, you will be working with the ancient Chinese Healing system of meridians - the paths by which life energy is believed to follow through the body. The movements are designed to stimulate and encourage energy to pass smoothly, to release blocks of energy (that lead to pain and stiffness), and to leave you feeling bouncy and enthusiastic about life. Normally a day workshop in small group 3-7 YogaYOGA FUNDAMENTALS - A balanced introduction to the lifestyle of YogaIn the West we have been led to believe that the exercises are yoga. However they comprise one of three essential activities that create the flexibility, grace and fluidity of true yoga. Therefore in fundamentals we will give equal weight to the breathing and to meditation.
Yoga is a way of life. I have practised yoga for over thirty years now. Not perhaps as regularly or as fully as I might, but it is one of those things that I simply keep coming back to the practice of and appreciating it all over again. Over the years I have used many different routines, read many books, attended various classes. My personal yoga practice is continually growing and changing as I learn more. I am now at a stage where I can offer guidance and support to people who are in the process of making yoga a part of their lives. I prefer to work on a one to one basis, as the asanas and routines each of us adopt need to be guided by our current needs, health and flexibility. There are a few things that I would like to remind you, whether you are coming to yoga for the first or fiftieth time:-
Four main paths of yoga Karma yoga - the yoga path of action, of purification, where the yogi learns to act selflessly and detached from social and cultural concerns, often detached from the physical self as well Bhakti Yoga - the yoga path of devotion, of prayer, chanting, singing, worship and ritual the yogi gives himself emotionally through unconditional love and veneration Jnana Yoga - the yoga path of knowledge and wisdom, of intellect and strong will, where the yogi aspires to experience the divine directly by dissolving the veils of ignorance Raja Yoga - is the path of using physical and mental control to energise the spirit, this is the most commonly known path of yoga in the West, and it is based on five principles |
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