Yi Jin Jing Practice with Jerigtu was pretty amazing. The exercises are so simple, yet, as we learned from Jerigtu’s clear and easy explanations, they have deep meaning and power to transform the way qi moves through your body. The movement, while it appears external, is mostly happening internally. I could really feel that!
Mingtang’s lecture last night at the Capitol Hill Library, was a whole ‘nother dimension! Mingtang gave a characteristically interesting talk on…well Life and the Universe and where we come from. And what is Energy. He interspersed lessons from Quantum physics, Einstein, Stephen Hawkings, and how the teachings of science at this level line up with his own seeing/understanding via his 3rd eye and via soul travel. Wow. I love learning about how we are all energy, at the basic level. Not matter, just vibrations. And thoughts are energy, that can become substantial….yet we have the power to transform them with intention and image. Very inspiring! I think the key to Qigong is knowing we have the power to intentionally change our bodies, minds, energy, souls to a healthier, better, higher state. Cool Stuff, right!?
Tong Ze Bu Tong, Tong Ze Bu Tong.
A student interviewed Claire about ZY Qigong…Claire gave most of her answers while in the meditative state. Here is an excerpt on the Qigong healer’s view of pain:
“…the foundation of Chinese medicine had two sentences…Tong Ze Bu Tong. Tong Ze Bu Tong. It translates literally as “when open there is no pain. When there is pain, it is not open.” So pain is that simple. If we can allow the energy to take it’s natural course of healing, then it pushes against the blockages or stagnation until there’s enough energy pushing on it that it clears it out. Then there is no more pain. And we can also use pain as our guardrail for our awareness to come into the body and combine with the energy flow and gradually tap into the finer energetic state. Pain is just a signal from the body telling us it needs help. But often when we take that pain into our mind and start to run the mind in circles, it magnifies the pain into suffering. There is an old saying, “pain is inevitable, suffering is optional,” because when we drop our awareness from our mind into the body, there is no more suffering but solution. “
Stay tuned for more insights from Claire GuYu Johnson.
Claire on Opening the Heart Center
A student interviewed Claire about ZY Qigong…Claire gave most of her answers while in the meditative state. Here is an excerpt on opening the middle dantian (heart center) which is the focus of Level 2:
“…in opening the heart center, we start to sense the strong flow that is life, that is nature and we start to have a sense of being able to go with the flow that is life. All in all there’s an ease that happens in meditation that spreads out into our daily lives, our heart opens to other human beings and living things. We start to feel what they feel and gain a deep empathy for where they are. There’s a strong tangible communication that is established, that is opened and in this process there’s also more compassion and forgiveness for ourselves and others.
As our life force naturally rises up to the upper energy center it starts to light up the inside of our head. It starts to activate our ability to see beyond the physical world….we start to get a greater perspective of what life is, we start to understand the cause and effects in our life…We start to understand the web of connections…
The framework of this practice is so large that it can very well be a life long practice. And often when there’s enough life force accumulated one is ready for a great shift, like a jump in so many realms. This is when we experience that everything changes in our life.”
Stay tuned for more words from Claire!
100 Day Big Tree Challenge!!
Would you like to dramatically build your energy? Get over illnesses, aches and pains, calm your emotions and boost your ability to meditate? Join us then for the 100 Day Big Tree Challenge. Starting this Friday, several of us, inspired by Claire Johnson’s Level 1 ZY Qigong Workshop will begin our 100 days. Meet us at the Big Trees just past the tennis courts at the far end of the Green Lake Community Center Parking lot.
We will meet at 8 am, Tuesday thru Friday. Everyday. And Monday – Sunday you can practice at home or in nature near you. We will not meet if it is pouring rain or very windy.
Standing in Big Tree is the most powerful way to increase your energy, gathering earth energy thru your open feet and heavenly energy thru your head and skin. These energies, Yin and Yang, increase your qi, your vital life force. Depleted energy is a main cause of many illnesses, as well as depression and anxiety. So refill your qi bank account and 
join us for this transformative experience!!
Even if you can’t come to Greenlake or you need to start at a later date, email us (contact us button) if you’d like to be connected to the community of practitioners doing this challenge. We’ll keep you posted on results too!
Looking forward to this experience!
Yours truly,
Jean
BE the Universal Life Force – a message from Claire
Claire writes about ZY Qigong:
Tangibly Release into Love, Wellness and Peace
How do we let go of control, yet claim the driver’s seat in our life, and come into the greatest manifestation of “I”? How do we let go of fears, blockages, patterns, and self-limiting thoughts to release and surrender into the universal life force that heals us, opens us and frees us to be truly who we are?
How do we come into peace and harmony with the flow that is life?
Our physical body is our best answer to these questions.
Our bodies help us step-by-step, feeling-by-feeling, moment-by-moment come into the presence of the universal life force. Once experienced, this centering force is always a part of us, always here.
ZY Qigong is not a form based practice. It uses simple forms in the service of meditation so that we can increase our life force, and as life force increases our busy mind can slow down, and quiet down easier and easier with the goal that we eventually connect with our soul and with the universe…
– MORE WORDS OF CLAIRE TO FOLLOW!!
Claire and Jerigtu Return in April 2015!
The dates are set and registration is open! We welcome our teachers, Claire and Jerigtu back to Seattle for 3 weekend workshops! And – new this year – Yi Jin Jing – or tendon easing qigong. The weekend workshops will follow along the lines of Level1, Level 2 and Image Medicine. As you know if you have already taken classes with them, Claire and Jerigtu teach qigong in profound experiential workshops. We learn as we do. Interspersed with transformative practice, Claire and Jerigtu offer inspired and inspiring lecture that deepens our understanding and addresses questions.
Yi Jin Jing is the Qigong taught by Boddhidarma (DaMo) the famous Indian monk who settled in Shaolinin the 7th century AD. He was appalled by the poor physical condition of the meditating Chinese monks, so he taught them Yi Jin Jing – tendon easing form, to help them be stronger and more supple – and therefore better able to tolerate longer meditations. Yi Jin Jing completes the equation of mind+body+spirit practice = health, longevity and enlightenment.
We so look forward to seeing you at one, some or all of the workshops!
-Jean
Living in Harmony with Nature
It’s not hard really. Once you think about it, living in harmony with the rhythms of life is just common sense! At night, you sleep. During the day you are active. In the winter, you slow down, in the summer you are more active. Yin, yang. We must have both, and …they are always changing, evolving, turning into each other. On this date in early February, we are at maximum Yin time, moving slightly into the earliest Yang. Here in Seattle you can see it! We have some cherry trees that are beginning to flower.
Of course, you can go against nature. We all do sometimes. We push it. We use up all our energy and then keep going. But, again naturally, if you push it too long, you will crash, and probably get sick. Being out of sync with nature’s rhythms means you are courting imbalance and illness. And in winter when you should be taking it light and easy…illness can hit quick at the slightest wobble. I know – as I sit and type having spent 4 days in a row at home with a fierce cold. Too much burning the candle at both ends! Things to be done! Projects to undertake! Action! But….in hindsight, I see too much at the wrong time of year.
The wisdom here is, take good care of yourself this time of year. Sleep a lot. And practice a lot of qigong. Qigong strengthens our immune systems, releases negative emotions and qi, and fortifies our resiliance. I believe that my qigong practice helps me bounce back quickly and in fact, has kept me from getting sick for a long time. But none of us are invincible. And all of us are subject to the rules of the universe. Qigong helps us create inner strength in accordance with nature.
Now, I will go drink some hot herbal tea, take a nap and do some qigong. Blessings!
Jean
Summer is maximum Yang time
Summertime…and the living is easy. We feel more relaxed in the summer, it’s easier to feel happy and active when the weather is warm, the sun is out and people are vacationing. This is the perfect time to practice. Get outside and do some qi building exercise, like Big Tree or Gathering thru Heaven and Earth. Building energy now will be like putting money in the bank for our dark Seattle winters.
Enjoy the sun! And stay tuned for more information on practices and classes. Claire and Jerigtu will be in Oklahoma in October, in Portland in early December, and at Breitenbush hotsprings in mid-December.
Karen and Jean are offering Seattle classes on Wednesdays. And Kate B, in China right now, will continue to offer weekly classes in Monroe in the fall.
More info coming soon!
Claire Johnson and Jerigtu Borjigen are Here!
Level 1 this past weekend in Seattle was truly transformative and relaxing! Jerigtu shared heart-lifting wisdom teachings from his native Mongolia and from Tibetan Buddhism. Claire led us through a profound exploration of Level 1, relaxing the body and gathering energy in a deeply experiential way. Everyone’s energy had noticeably shifted by the end of the weekend. Next weekend: Level 2 – healing and harmonizing the heart. There are still plenty of spaces available for the weekend! SPECIAL OFFER: Come just Friday night, May 2nd, 7-9 pm for $30. Continue reading “Claire Johnson and Jerigtu Borjigen are Here!”
Grandmaster Mingtang in AZ
ZY Qigong practitioners, teachers, and healers, fellow Yoga, Tai chi, and Gung Fu students:
This is a tremendous opportunity to experience Mingtang’s teachings and help raise our spiritual consciousness to a higher level. With cosmic energies at such a high level, meditating with Grandmaster Mingtang in the Sonoran Desert will be absolutely amazing.
Experience learning Level III exercises standing in the desert and feeling the energy from with-in and around you… Continue reading “Grandmaster Mingtang in AZ”