QiGong Series

INTRO TO QiGong ENERGY WORK (donation-based!)

Monday, January 27th, 2025 (6-7:30 PM MT) - Introductory Workshop (open to all)

This class introduces the basic theories and practices of InterWorld QiGong Energy Work and other psychosomatic movement practices, such as T’ai Chi martial arts. This class is open to drop-ins and can be valuable whether or not you join the whole series!

3-PART GROUP SERIES (for registrants only)

Monday, February 3rd, 2025 (6-7:30 PM MT) - Group session 1

Monday, February 10th, 2025 (6-7:30 PM MT) - Group session 2

Monday, February 17th, 2025 (6-7:30 PM MT) - Group session 3

After the intro, this 3-part weekly series progresses from basics to slightly more advanced aspects, and begins to introduce the actual T'ai Chi form.

*Note: These group sessions are only open to participants who register for all 3 sessions in advance.

3-HOUR HOLISTIC WELLNESS IMMERSION

Monday, February 24 (5:45-8:45 PM) - Wellness Immersion (open to all — including graduates of the series, guests, and drop ins)

The journey culminates in a celebratory immersion that goes beyond QiGong, integrating with the larger InterWorld holistic wellness system, the 4 Tetrads of wellbeing, and the next upcoming workshop series.

In this way we will integrate our experience with the larger purpose of how it can benefit our whole being — in our daily lives, in how we relate with others, and how we show up in the world.

*Virtual Participation is available online for long-distance participants!*(simply select this option when you register)

Or join in-person in downtown Colorado Springs at our partnering location…The Body-Based Mindfulness Center1414 N Nevada Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80907

MEDICAL INSURANCE

Medicaid and most Commercial Insurances may be accepted. To register and verify your coverage, please contact Carrie Ann Baatz at [email protected] or 719-619-8331 (text or call)

SELF-PAY

Register here! (https://InterWorld.org/Qi)

QiGong provides a range of benefits:

• Enhancing physical vitality by clearing blockages and activating energy flow.
• Cultivating emotional balance through mindful movement and awareness.
• Deepening connection with subtle energy beyond the dense physical body.
• Offering a sense of presence, clarity, and renewal... Living LUCID :)

Discover the Transformative Power of QiGong

Are you ready to cultivate your energy, enhance your well-being, and explore the subtle dimensions of your body and mind?

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-health-benefits-of-tai-chi

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20594090/

These workshop series are open to the general public. If you want to feel healthier, calmer, happier, clearer, and more balanced while navigating daily life, work, and relationships, then this series is for you!

Yasha S. Wagner is a PhD-researcher and innovator in the field of psychology, community organizer and Founder/President of the InterWorld Institute, a 501(c)3 nonprofit for holistic wellness education whose past “Worldchangers” initiatives have included HeartFire Festival events, Sanctorum Ecovillage centers, and more. He is currently authoring his doctoral dissertation in Jungian psychology, focused on the timeless significance of the four elements across cultures. Yasha is also an initiate of world spiritual traditions and nature-based practices. He is a khalif with the Inayati-Maimuni Order, authorized to facilitate meditations like breathwork. He is a certified martial arts instructor in the Cheng Man-ch’ing lineage of T’ai Chi and Qi Gong. As an educator and mentor, Yasha has offered breathwork classes, dreamwork coaching, and holistic retreats for about a decade. As a multilingual polymath and visionary emcee, he has traveled around the world since early childhood, studying and sharing diverse cultural traditions and arts.

Understanding QiGong

“Qi” is an ancient Chinese word that is not necessarily easy to translate. Attempts to translate “Qi” usually approximate its meaning as “life-force energy” or “vital essence.” This mysterious and dynamic energetic force flows through everything in the universe and animates our existence.

Within the human being, Qi moves through a system of pathways — like conduits of electrical circuitry — an intricate network of energy channels called the Meridians.

Qi is especially concentrated in the primary “Energy Centers” along the midline of the human being, called the Dantians. These Dantians are understood as a sort of “Elixir Field” or “Sea of Qi.”

The 3 Dantians that are emphasized in this tradition are the lower, middle, and upper Dantians. The lower Dantian is generally associated with an area about two finger-widths below the bellybutton plus two finger-widths in towards the spine, and maybe in a similar region to the Yogic Sacral Chakra. The middle Dantian is associated with the Heart Center and the upper Dantian is associated with the 3rd Eye region.

Thus, the Human being is seen as a sort of pillar or bridge between realms, connecting the Earth below and Heaven above, and the practice cultivates an ability to differentiate and consciously transition on the razor-thin line between “Yin” and “Yang” energies as they ebb and flow in and out.

Some consider T’ai Chi to be a “supreme, ultimate” martial art, because it is what’s known as an internal martial art, as opposed to the external martial arts, and is connected to the Taoist “Neidan” or esoteric school of internal alchemy and transmutation.

The most fundamental and pervasive component of the practice is to become simultaneously “upright and relaxed.” Consciously cultivating this seemingly paradoxical state helps build a balanced and stress-tolerant autonomic nervous system, which in turn can help us to navigate life’s inevitable challenges with intention, equanimity, and repose.

The word “Gong” is the same as the word “Kung” in Kung Fu” — and literally means “work” (hence the translation of QiGong as “Energy Work”) … It can also be translated in multiple ways, for example as “discipline,” “cultivation,” “skill,” “merit,’ and so on.

Learn more by attending the Intro Workshop!

This series introduces the fundamentals of Energy Work and nervous system regulation, inspired by lifelong exploration in world disciplines such as:

• Cheng Man-ch’ing Lineage Tai Chi: Traditional techniques emphasizing a fluid balance of relaxation and alertness, taught by a certified instructor.
• Psycho-Somatic Energy Work & Dynamic Movement: Practices influenced by yogic exercises from India and Tibet, Shaolin physical therapy, dance and movement disciplines worldwide.
• “Warm-Up” Sequences: Opening the 13 body articulations to release tension, unblock stagnant energy, and loosen the joints, tapping to activate the meridians, and more.
• Subtle Body Activation & Qi Gong Animal Frolics: Playful, embodied practices to harmonize physical and subtle energy bodies and connect with the Elements of Nature.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

The Body-Based Mindfulness Center, 1414 North Nevada Avenue, Colorado Springs, United States