A cultural anthropologist, writer, certified qigong instructor and wilderness expedition leader, Karen is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and holds a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley. She is a private student of ZY Qigong Grandmaster Xu Mingtang and has studied intensively with him at Shaolin Monastery in China and has traveled with him worldwide. She is also a private student and translator to one of China’s top Master Chinese Medicine doctors, Dr. Zhao Fuxue.
Karen speaks and teaches qigong in nonprofit and corporate settings and at conferences such as Seattle Bioneers, Women of Wisdom and Oregon State University’s Annual Gerontology Conference. In addition, she is the innovator of QiDancing (a unique combination of qigong and dance) and teaches it internationally. As founding board president of the North American ZY Qigong not for profit foundation, Karen is a bridge between East and West cultures.
Karen has studied Barefoot EarthWisdom ways for many years with Mick “The Barefoot Sensei” Dodge and leads qigong and earth-based movement programs at renowned retreat centers including Breitenbush Hot Springs in Oregon and Omega Institute in New York. She also leads wilderness events and treks in the Pacific Northwest and in Western China. She combines the fundamentals of Qigong practice with trainings that include work with stones, staffs, and ropes with trees. Karen helps people reconnect with our Earth and ancient and modern wisdom to ignite inner Joy.
For more info on events, workshops, weekly classes and China Wilderness treks, see Karen’s website at: QiDancing.com.
She regularly travels to and studies in China; visit her blog and join her China adventures:
Being Joy: Adventures in Qigong and the Mystic Arts in China.
Upcoming Events with Karen: