Song Ho Health Center's

QIGONG CLASSES WINTER 2010

A synopsis of classes (detailed descriptions follow):

PLEASE NOTE: ONCE AGAIN -- NEW START DATES DUE TO BLIZZARD OF 2010!

With some of our students still dealing with unplowed streets and the possibility of snow on Feb. 16, we are posting a new start date for classes of Feb. 23. Please stay tuned.

Breathing Power Qigong: Tue. 8-9 pm, starts 2-23-10

Tai Ji Zhan Zhuang Tue. 6:45-7:45 pm, starts 2-23-10

BREATHING POWER: A Qigong-Based Approach

Qi (chi) is translated as “breath” or “energy.” It is easy to understand why the Chinese language equates the two. Western science discovered that the level of available oxygen in our body determines how much energy our cells will be able to generate, affecting all our mental, creative, emotional, and physical functions. Conscious breathing is essential to higher levels of awareness. So the question to ask is: How do we master our breathing to access our life’s hidden potential?

Breathing is the foundation of qigong, and while qigong breathing goes beyond ordinary inhaling and exhaling, it is also not so esoteric. To activate the deep, profound, stirring breath requires attention and cultivation. The secret is to use the mind and not to force anything. Qigong often adds another element: slow, soft, gentle movement. In qigong, movement and breathing should be coordinated. Specific movements (learned in class) guide the energy patterns of the body to activate the breathing potential. Qigong is breathing meditation in motion.

Breathing is a life skill, a key to slowing the aging process, and an enhancement of self-healing powers, known as nei qi. Qi Palm, which ramps up the ability to heal others, known as wei qi, and the ridding of cold hands and feet, are other outcomes of this practice. (You cannot be cold and be vital.)

Breathing Power Qigong includes a walking practice. Walking Qigong = Power Walking. With proper training and practice, the slow, rhythmic, Li-style walking forms will strengthen your legs, enhance tendon flexibility, invigorate Kidney Qi (the source of vitality), and improve balance and coordination. Use this course as an introduction to qigong or, for experienced qigong practitioners, a way to take your art to another level. A serious practitioner always keeps “beginner’s mind.” We invite you to claim your hidden breathing power in these uncomplicated qigong routines developed by Nianzu Li.

Dates: February 23 to April 27 Day/Time: 10 Tuesdays 8-9 p.m. Instructor: Nianzu Li Place: Christ Congregational Church, 9525 Colesville Road (rear entrance), Silver Spring Fee: $165; Senior (65+) and Repeating BP Student Fee: $135

LI'S TAI JI ZHAN ZHUANG

Zhan Zhang (Standing Still Qigong) is the most direct way to build internal strength, the major goal of qigong. The fact that holding special postures could be used to heal and strengthen the body and mind has been known since ancient times and is prominently referred to in China’s earliest medical book. The practice of “peaceful standing” increases your ability to fight disease, pain, fatigue, and negativity. Today, Zhan Zhuang has been “discovered” and is practiced by people around the world.

You must experience this qigong to realize its potential and pleasures. The increase in inner power is used to boost fighting power in the martial arts, but its application is considerably greater. The ills to which we are all prey—fatigue, sickness, pain, and depression—suffice as adversaries. All the things we wish to change about ourselves require the focused energy generated by a standing qigong practice.

The variety of positions in this particular style helps to avoid the potential boredom and difficulty experienced with the more traditional approach of holding only one or two postures. In Li’s Tai Ji Zhan Zhuang class, you learn a series of poses adapted from classic tai ji postures. The effects are significant as seen in the student reports.

Student Results Case #1: Sandy, a spirited woman in her forties who has multiple sclerosis, had not been able to run since she was a young girl. By the time the course was over, she was running for the first time in over 25 years.

Case #2: Mary is bent over with arthritis of the spine and, due to fatigue, would sit down for half of every class. She credits her nearly 20 years of tai ji and qigong training for maintaining function and managing her disease. After practicing this particular form, she now stands for the duration of not just one, but two classes in a row without sitting down.

Case #3: Paul is a massage therapist whose chilly hands interfered with his profession. He discovered that practicing Li’s Tai Ji Zhan Zhang for 5 to 10 minutes prior to a session dramatically increased the circulation to his hands as well as prevented the fatigue he used to feel after giving a massage. Case #4: Abigail is a young college student frequently disabled with systemic lupus. After practicing this qigong twice a day for 40 minutes, she found she had much more energy and was rarely sick, avoiding trips to the hospital.

Case #5: Carl suffered from chronic back pain and leg weakness due to sitting at a desk for long periods. After incorporating Tai Ji Zhan Zhang into his daily regimen, he is free of these problems and has renewed energy.

Dates: February 23 to April 27 Day/Time: 10 Tuesdays 6:45-7:45 p.m. Instructor: Peggy Li Place: Christ Congregational Church, 9525 Colesville Road (rear entrance), Silver Spring Fee: $165; Senior (65+) and Repeating TJZZ Student Fee: $135

Instructor: Nianzu Li, the center’s founder and director, has practiced taiji, qigong, and traditional Chinese medicine since 1967. He has taught China’s exercise arts to thousands in the Washington area since coming to the U.S. in 1981. Li is heir to Li Family taiji and qigong as well as the teachings of his mentor, the distinguished Dr. Yangzhong Shang of the Shang lineage, Imperial Family physicians. Li is the sole, direct recipient of Taoist Esoteric Qigong in 12 Postures from Master Shang. Li received his training in Beijing and is a Maryland-licensed acupuncturist and herbalist in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Instructor: Energy Medicine Practitioner Peggy Li has practiced and taught Asian healing arts (nutrition, qi exercise, shiatsu, and reflexology) for more than three decades. Prior to discovering taiji and qigong, she trained in yoga, Alexander Technique, and esoteric breathing methods. In 1987, she met and studied with her principal teacher (and now husband) Nianzu Li.

To register for a course, please mail a check along with your name, address, and phone numbers to Song Ho Health Center, or call us to charge the fee to your credit card. Please note the class location is not where we have our treatment center! We thank you and look forward to meeting you.

Join us for adventures in qi exercise!

Song Ho Health Center • 805 Winhall Way • Silver Spring, MD 20904 301-625-4801 • songho.net -

Mail in your registration to address above, and thank you.