Core Awareness for Functional Movement with Qigong: DOUBLE WORKSHOP A) Moving from the Centre & B) Balance with 5 Animal Qigong

Workshop 1: Moving from the Centre - Saturday 2pm to 6pm 

Workshop 2: Balance with 5 Animal Qigong - Sunday 9am to 1pm

White Tiger Qigong - Powerful meditative movement practices where Taoist Medical Qigong meets modern sport science. 

SUITABLE FOR LONGTIME PRACTITIONERS AND BEGINNERS ALIKE.  Please register early to avoid disappointment as spaces are limited.

This exciting double workshop gives you the opportunity to attend both sessions or just one. 

We will be investigating the fundamental principles and practices within both Taoist Medical Qigong and sport science to move well from the core. Initiating movement from our core structures helps us to generate force, achieve balance, move efficiently, and protect other joints in the body. 

From a Qigong perspective, deepening awareness of the core is an integral part not only of effective movement but also of learning to balance the mental and emotional minds, as well as of learning to reduce the stress response and enhance the relaxation response. 

Workshop 1: Moving from the Centre - Saturday 2pm to 6pm

We will focus on:

• focussing our attention at the core
• understanding the role of the lower dan tian (part of the core) in dynamic as well as still Qigong practices
• practising breath awareness 
• mobilising the spine by initiating every movement from the centre
• experiencing the 5 Kinetic Chain Principal Actions of movement within Qigong and their relationship to the core
• strengthening the core through working our body parts in unison to create stability and integration
• learning a powerful Qigong meditation, which harmonises the upper and lower dan tians to bring clarity and focus, as well as regulating the nervous system and enhancing your immune response.

Which practices will we do?

Standing/Seated Meditation and Breathing Techniques for deepening internal awareness and revitalising the body.

A set of Meridian Qigong that can be used as a stand-alone practice or as a warm-up prior to deeper exercise. This set is designed to restore & support Qi flow throughout the body.

Movements from 8 Trigram Organ Qigong. Characteristics of this Qigong include:

-Smooth continuous flowing movements

-Correct, natural alignments

-Use of naturally efficient motion

-Supple and soft movements

-Reaching one’s full range of motion in the trunk and upper limbs

-Using ground energy to stay rooted, by feeling rooted from the feet and legs

Movements from 5 Element Qigong. This set powerfully targets each one of the 5 Organ systems and related Meridians It is characterised by:

-Squeezing out the organs like a sponge through movement of maximum expansion and contraction

-Rooting into the ground

-Wringing out the Meridians like a towel

-Relating to the 5 Elements in Classical Chinese Medicine 5 Element Theory

-5 Element Emotional Balance Meditation 

Primordial Breath Meditation

Workshop 2:  Balance with 5 Animal Qigong - Sunday 9am to 1pm

We will focus on:

• Applying core awareness to movement through the different planes of motion (directions of body movement)
• Learning three 5 Animal Frolics exercises. Each exercise supports one of the 5 Organ systems for increased overall well-being. Characteristics of this Qigong include:
  -Stepping - forwards, to the side, or across - with different leg positions
  -Use of naturally efficient motion
  -Reaching one’s full range of motion in multiple planes in all the major joints
  -Balancing
  -Movements which mimic different phases of an animal's behaviour
  -Using ground energy to stay rooted, by feeling rooted from the feet and legs 
• Becoming fluent in these movements through applying sport science principles as well as Taoist Qigong principles
• Learning the MicroMicrocosmic Orbit, a powerful meditation and breathing practice which circulates energy through the lower body, from the core to the core. 

Why Learn Qigong?
Qigong exercises, breathing techniques and meditations help keep the body energised & strong, sharpen the mind & hone the spirit. These practices can empower you to:

* cultivate self-knowledge

* foster self-love

* self-regulate

* find mental, emotional and physical balance

* restore health

* enhance well-being

* experience personal freedom

* attain peak performance 

About Your Instructor

You will be expertly guided by Sarah Divine, Senior White Tiger Qigong Instructor, who also holds a master's degree in sport and exercise science. Sarah has been practising Qigong for over 11 years and teaching since 2015. She trained initially with Master Mantak Chia in the Universal Healing Tao Qigong system, and has been studying and training with Master Tevia Feng in White Tiger Qigong since 2016. She is now the most qualified White Tiger Qigong instructor in Australia.

Sarah is a member of the International Institute of Complementary Therapists and Fitness Australia, as well as an associate member of ESSA (Exercise and Sports Science Australia). 

Please wear comfortable, loose clothing. We either train barefoot, or with flexible thin-soled shoes. We will aim to practise both indoors and outdoors, so be prepared with sun protection etc. Make sure that your stomach is not full at the beginning of the day. I recommend eating at the very latest one hour prior to practising Qigong. During our afternoon and morning breaks, there will be light refreshments available, including tea, fruit and nuts.

If you have any health concerns regarding any part of the practice, please contact me in advance. I am a qualified exercise scientist, but you need to get clearance to exercise from an exercise physiologist or other suitable health professional if you have an injury or a chronic health condition.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions.

sarahdivine@whitetigerqigong.com 

Mobile: 0422 309 625

I look forward to sharing these beautiful practices with you soon!