An Energy Cultivation Practice:QiGong!
Qigong (pronounced chee-kung)
Embodied movement for self-healing and transformation
QiGong refers to a variety of healing exercises that have evolved for some 5,000 years. They are meditative, restorative, and integrative exercises that strengthen joints, muscles, tendons, bones, and the core, while opening up places of obstruction throughout the body with gentle connective movements. Whole person alignment: body-mind-Spirit. By helping to grow our connection to ourselves, we grow the root of wellness - our deepest sense of belonging, empowerment, and inner peace.
I mainly practice Silk Reeling Spiral Power Qigong, where we use the dynamism of the spiral and the softness of silk to open up areas of stagnation, ground, recharge and deeply store our energy, as well as tune into the frequency of life. DNA, hurricanes, flower whorls, elephant tusks, and galaxies all use the dynamism and efficiency of the spiral to power growth. Spirals are the living blueprint for much of life on earth, by storing and packing an enormous amount of energy into coils; spirals are composed of the Golden Ratio: 1.618, which is the organizing shape in nature. Spiral movements are also the most efficient way to oxygenate a system. It is a set of exercises derived from movements in the Chen Taichi form, in order to develop the internal grace, softness, and explosive power that characterizes Chen Taichi.
I also practice Tai Yi Shen Gong taught by Master Jeffrey Yuen. A Spirit strengthening Qigong that grows and refines the spirit of the person, by reinforcing the vital connection between our heart and our capabilities in this lifetime. As well, I also practice a Wudang-based Chun Yang Yang Shen Gong.
You are the Universe in ecstatic motion!
-Rumi
Jeri Ching-I Ho is a Chinese Martial Artist. She first encountered martial arts through her Chen Style Taichi teacher, Cui Yan, in 2008, while seeking a practice that quieted a restless Spirit, strengthened a distracted mind, and helped build gentle power through strength and relaxation at the same time. It is through her daily Taichi or Qigong practice that she feels most connected to life, her heart, and the immensity of our innate ability to heal. Over years of cultivating a stillness within through internal martial arts she began encountering something latent in the bedrock of her consciousness - the loving interconnectedness in all of life. While those moments are fleeting, the medicine in those moments suffuses her world with more light and compassion!
