NOTE:

There are no qigong classes the weeks of September 11 and 18. See below for upcoming series.

 

 

 

Early Fall Qigong (Sept 26 and 30 – Oct 24 and 28, 2023)

Join Sandra for fall qigong outside! Fall is a beautiful time to move mindfully in nature as it transitions from the yang of summer toward the yin of winter. Fresh air, falling leaves, the lake, and wild birds and tall trees all help to inspire our practice. The ability to experience our moments as precious and be present in them, whether they are happy or sad, is the power of lung Qi. Strong and balanced lungs–the yin organ of fall and of the metal element–provide us with the courage to bring in life and also to let it go and help us to build strong physical immunity.
As usual, no experience or specific fitness level is required.

Tuesdays and Saturdays, 10 – 11 a.m., outdoors at Lindsay Park (7179 Cranberry St., East of Marlatt) weather permitting.

REGISTRATION:

• One class a week (Tuesday or Saturday): $75 (5 classes total)
• Two classes a week (Tuesday AND Saturday): $120 (a $30 discount for 10 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.

  NOTE: 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.

DROP IN: $18 per class

PAYMENTS: Cash (exact amount) or e-transfer preferred.

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.

For more information or to register please send an email to: email@qisandra.ca

 

 

Indoor Fall Qigong (Oct 31 and Nov 4 – Dec12 and 16, 2023)

The fall element is metal, strong and resilient, but with the help of the heart’s fire element, also soft and flowing. The yin organ at its peak in the fall season is the lungs–our means of bringing external Qi into the body. The yang organ is the large intestine our means of elimination. On all levels, both organs relate to the natural and balanced ability to let life come and let life go. The alchemy of qigong and this season’s natural energies of courage, integrity, strength, and resiliency help us to work with the imbalanced emotional aspects of this season including grief, sadness, and depression. 

Through the series we will clear the lungs on all levels of being, practice the art of Qi self-massage and the alchemy of the Inner Smile Meditation, and clear held emotions in all the organs in preparation for winter through practicing the traditional and powerful Six Healing Sounds and Actions. We will also practice the Shibashi I series to help us open up energy blocks. (Please note that the Shibashi I series this fall is a good preparation for the Shibashi II series we will practice in the winter session.)

Open up to the powerful and transforming flow of letting come and letting go. As usual, no experience or specific fitness level is required.

CLASSES:

Tuesdays and Saturdays, 10 – 11 a.m.

• guided meditation and Qi self-acupressure (20 min.)
• standing flow qigong (40 min.) (Chairs available if sitting is preferred.)

REGISTRATION OPTIONS:
#1 – In person = $105 for 7 weeks  ($126 if you want access to the class video for the six days between classes).  All classes are held at Cranberry Community Hall (6828 Cranberry St., Powell River)
#2 – On Zoom = $105 for 7 weeks  ($126 if you want access to the class video for the six days between classes).
#3 – Attend twice a week: Once live and once via Zoom plus receive class video = $175 for 7 weeks  ($56 discount).
#4 – Video access only (no live interaction) = $70 for 7 weeks
#5 – In-person drop in available when space allows. Zoom drop-in always available. Both are $18 per drop in.

 

 

 

 

 

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. For more information or to register please send an email to: email@qisandra.ca

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:

Vagus Nerve Reset

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.

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.