Vagus Nerve Reset workshop (April 1, 2023 and repeated April 8, 2023)
A growing body of scientific research is concluding that stimulation of the vagus nerve, through the ears
especially, produces positive outcomes in people with depression, anxiety, epilepsy, inflammation, tinnitus, and pain. We also know from its 5,000-year tradition that qigong and acupressure help to reset the nervous system to cultivate the deep calm, relaxation and healing required for the recovery of trauma, anxiety, insomnia, pain and the many other ailments and diseases caused in full or part by imbalance.
The vagus nerve’s effect on the nervous system affects many automatic functions in the body, such as the beating of the heart, breath rate and quality, constriction and dilation of blood vessels, detoxification, digestion and so much more. This wandering nerve’s intimate connection with the parasympathetic part of the nervous system also affects your ability to move out of stress (fight, flight, freeze) and into ease (rest, digest, heal, relax, recover, sleep etc.) Mentally, emotionally and spiritually, this nerve is deeply connected to your conscious awareness for shifting old patterns and for resolving trauma. It helps you to be relaxed and socially engaged. It helps you align with your Shen, your true essence and inner nature, to activate the powers of deep inner knowing and creativity for the flow and unfolding of your journey. Our workshop will focus on specific acupressure and breath techniques for vagus nerve stimulation to reset for deep healing and relaxation.
Date: Saturday, April 1, 2023 and Saturday, April 8, 2023
Time: 10 – 11 a.m.
Payment: $25 (via cash or E-transfer). Two-page printed instructions/handout included.
Location: Cranberry Community Hall (6828 Cranberry St., Powell River)
To register: please email Sandra.
Spring Qigong (April 11 and 15 – May 30 and June 3, 2023)
In the Five Element Theory, spring is when our energy is ascending, out of the cold, still winter months, to start fresh with new visions, decisions, and growth—just as in nature. It’s time for the seeds we planted in fall, and nourished through rest and darkness in the winter, to sprout and grow. It’s also the time to cleanse and detoxify with the help of the spring yin organ (the liver) and spring yang organ (the gallbladder). We work with the spring element of wood, including trees, and the spring animal, the dragon, to move out anything old, stale, or stagnant, including held energies (emotions) in the liver—such as anger, resentment and frustration. We activate kindness, compassion, and the power of creativity. Join Sandra for the inspiring and transforming practice with nature as our teacher. We will open, detoxify, cleanse, purge, tonify, circulate and balance energy on all levels and ride the ascending energy of spring and new life. If you would like to read a bit more about the Spring Qigong focus you may do so on this blog page.
No experience or fitness level is required. The class is all standing (no guided meditation due to the nature of outdoor practice). If standing for an hour is not ideal or possible, please bring a portable chair or stool.
Tuesdays and Saturdays, 10 – 11 a.m., outdoors at Lindsay Park (7179 Cranberry St., East of Marlatt) weather permitting.
When weather is likely to cancel plans for outdoor class, registered students will receive email notification by 8:30 a.m. on the day of class with an invitation and link to attend class via Zoom. If you do not want to attend online, you will receive an email with the class video replay by noon. (Students will not be visible in the video.) Alternatively, you may make up the missed class by attending an outdoor class in any other week during the outdoor season (spring, summer or early fall).
Please note: Sandra has obtained and paid for a City of Powell River business license, 3rd party insurance, and an annual City permit to reserve our times and teach at this City park.
REGISTRATION:
- One class a week (Tuesday or Saturday): $120 (8 classes total)
- Two classes a week (Tuesday AND Saturday): $190 (a $50 discount for 16 classes total)
If you know ahead of time that you will miss a specific class(es) and provide date(s) at registration and your total will reflect a deduction.
DROP IN: $18 per class
PAYMENTS: Cash (exact amount) or e-transfer preferred.
Please email Sandra to register or for more info.
Summer Qigong (June 20 and 24 – Sept 5 and 9, 2023)
Early Fall Qigong (Sept 26 and 30 – Oct 24 and 28, 2023)
Tuesdays and Saturdays, 10 – 11 a.m., outdoors at Lindsay Park (7179 Cranberry St., East of Marlatt) weather permitting.
(If weather is likely to cancel plans for outdoor class, registered students will receive email notification by 8:30 a.m. with a link to attend class via Zoom. If you do not want to attend online, you will receive an email with the class video replay by noon. Students will not be visible in the video. Alternatively, you may make up the missed class by attending an outdoor class in any other week during the outdoor season.
Please email Sandra for more info.
Please note: Sandra has obtained and paid for a City of Powell River business license, 3rd party insurance, and an annual City permit to reserve our times and teach at this City park.
10-week video link Qigong at Home series
Join Sandra to welcome Qigong into your home or yard. With pre-recorded video links you can watch any time and as many times as you wish. Videos include guided meditation, Qi yoga movements, self-acupressure instruction, and flow qigong for a total of 1.5 hours each week for 10 weeks.
The first five weeks Sandra brings participants through the five elements to restore, balance and activate the health and harmony of the entire organ and meridian network. Classes will include the classic and powerful Inner Smile Meditation as well as the Six Healing Sounds and movements to tonify and regulate the yin and yang organs. The classes are created to open, relax and restore the body and nervous system and calm the mind.
The second five weeks will focus deeper into the wood element–the energy of creativity and kindness, which is so necessary during challenging times. We work with the wood animal, the dragon, to move out anything old, stale, or stagnant, including the emotions we hold in the liver—anger, resentment, and impatience. We activate kindness and the power of clear vision and creativity.
Qigong is also a wonderfully accessible practice for those needing to calm the nervous system and release tension. We will do movements and access acupoints to help with digestion, insomnia, anxiety, immunity and more.
Start the series any time. To register email Sandra.
The payment for 10 classes (15 hours of practice not including bonus videos and links) is only $120.
For free videos of Sandra teaching and demonstrating qigong and self-acupressure, see the “about classes” page.
WORKSHOPS:
Qi Nei Tsang workshop
Qi nei tsang is a powerful, ancient Daoist internal organ massage technique to clear and transform blocked energy so that life force can move through the body’s internal energy channels, nervous system, blood vessels and lymph glands. All of these internal systems cross paths in the abdomen. Unresolved or “undigested” emotions can cause holding and tension in the navel area. Over time, emotions—especially those of fear, anger, anxiety, depression and worry—cause knots and tangles that result in energy blocks and lead to imbalance and disease. Overwork, stress, accidents, surgery, drugs, toxins, poor nutrition and poor posture also contribute to blocked energy. Organ health is the Daoist’s secret to good health and longevity. By releasing the knots, with attention to specific organ points, energy can radiate from our centre into the organs—kidneys, bladder, heart, small intestine, spleen, stomach, liver, gallbladder, lungs and large intestine. Physiologically, qi nei tsang will help to reset the nervous system and improve digestion. It will also balance emotions and cultivate healthy energy flow resulting in greater vitality and well-being. The internal transformations occur on all levels—mental, emotional, physical and spiritual.
Energy Fields Activation workshop (Jan 3, 2023)
This workshop is open to regular/experienced students only and will be fully guided and experiential with a focus to increasing awareness of and activating the taiji pole and wei qi and torus fields. A powerful experience!
Qigong for Digestion workshop
When you improve digestion you improve overall health and vitality. This workshop will introduce meditation, Qi-self massage (acupressure), Dao yoga stretches, and qigong movements to move stagnant and blocked Qi, so health can flow. We will focus on the five yang organs, including the stomach, as well as the yin organs associated with digestion: the liver and spleen.
Inner Smile Meditation workshop
Join Sandra as she guides you through the complete Inner Smile meditation. Relax, enjoy, and develop a new relationship and understanding with your body, its organs and their energies. This meditation can transform held or blocked emotional energy, boost immunity, increase heart health, effectively release stress and anxiety, cultivate true peace and harmony, and nourish your body, mind and spirit. Learn how to bring this simple and powerful practice into your daily life.
Qigong for Women workshop
Join Sandra as she guides you through a meditation, Qi self-massage, and standing Qi flow movements with a specific focus for supporting women and their requirements to be healthy, balanced, and confident in their body and life. The practice will include techniques and movements for hormone balance, true energy, organ health, calm, confidence, energy protection, and joy. We will explore how we lose energy, how to cultivate it, the energy gates along the front and back energy channels, and how to use the microcosmic orbit for health, balance, and protection. Find your centre.
Qi Self-massage workshop
This workshop introduces the traditional practice of Qi self-massage to improve overall physical, emotional, and spiritual health by clearing energy blockages and stagnation from the meridians (energy pathways) and rejuvenating the body’s senses and organs. In qigong, the organs are associated with both acquired emotions and natural energies. For example, stuck or stagnant anger or frustration (emotions held in the liver) may cause blockages or depletion in one’s energy and therefore in one’s body and life. By working with this organ and emotion via the acupressure points along the liver meridian, the energy can be moved or transformed, allowing for new, fresh Qi (life-force energy) and the liver’s natural energies of kindness and creativity to flow and expand. You do not need to understand traditional Chinese medicine or even qigong to experience significant benefits.
Qigong for Stress and Anxiety workshop
Join Sandra as she guides you through a meditation, Qi self-massage, and standing Qi flow movements for extra care of ourselves and our emotions. Learn how to calm, smooth, and move stress and anxiety. Relax into a simple daily practice that can support, soothe, and uplift the body and soul.
Home Practice Qigong workshop
For students who have been attending classes regularly and want to add a home practice to their routine this workshop is for you. Sandra will guide you through an effective routine with options to choose from to open, clear, purge, cultivate, and circulate Qi. Inviting qigong into your life on a daily basis brings tremendous rewards in the form of emotional stability, increased health, present moment experience and awareness, rejuvenation, energy, and more.