A Tai Chi Year in Review (2013)

As this year comes to a close we wanted to take a moment to review some of the time we have spent together in 2013.  As you look through this post, we hope you are reminded of fun and memorable moments from classes, workshops, or even posts here on this site.  We look forward to the physical and mental development, personal growth, and enjoyable memories that we will all enjoy as we train together in the new year.   Happy New Year to you all!


January 2013
We were honored to host two Qigong workshops in Pine Grove, including a workshop on the "8 Pieces of Brocade Qigong Set."  This was also the month in which we posted a video of the 2nd part of the Yang Style Tai Chi Traditional Long Form as an aid to students practicing at home.

February 2013
Other than a Qigong workshop on a section of the "Five Animal Exercises Qigong Set," this was a fairly uneventful month, full of the consistent, dedicated training that produces the health benefits and skills that people seek in Tai Chi and Qigong training.  Bravo to the students who understand the rewards that only come from perseverance in training!

March 2013
More weekend Qigong workshops were held this month along with the regularly scheduled classes, but two events that set this month apart were the publishing of Andrew Plitt's first Qigong Workshop Manual and a post with information and helpful tips for students who wish to train in China.

April 2013
One of the most exciting month of the year, April is the month in which World Tai Chi and Qigong Day takes place.  We had a blast celebrating this day with our community!

May 2013
Another great month of steady training and overall improvement.  A big thank you to all of the dedicated students that never give up!


June 2013
This month was an exciting month for many of our students!  Two students earned their 3rd Level Orange Sashes and two students earned Their 1st Level White Sashes!  A very proud moment for all involved. 

July 2013
In July we posted the names of the postures in the Yang Tai Chi 24 Form and uploaded a video of Andrew Plitt going through the Qigong exercises we use as a cool down in class, which can be used as simple exercises at home for overall health.




August 2013
This month was mostly a regular training month, but we did post videos Andrew Plitt performing the Yang Tai Chi 24 Form and the 3rd part of the Yang Tai Chi Long Form to aid students practicing at home. 

September 2013
A month of diligent practice and Mind-body improvement.

October 2013
This Month we hosted our first "Open Tai Chi Night" in which anyone who wanted to attend was welcome to come enjoy Tai Chi with us, free of charge.  A big thank you to everyone who attended!  (stay tuned for future Open Tai Chi events)

November 2013
Another blissful month of Tai Chi and Qigong practice

December 2013
A wonderful month of practice with some time off for the holidays.  Along with the enjoyment of family, friends, and training, we posted a 6 video series of basic exercises to help beginning Tai Chi students develop a good root and sense of balance, as well as posting a video about Tai Chi vs. Arthritis.
 

Now we bring this year to a close with much gratitude to all of the wonderful people that train with us, shop at Amador County's Online Health Food Store, and seek self and community improvement through the practices of Tai Chi and Qigong.  Thank you for all that you do, thank you for all of your support, and we wish you the very best New Year!

Class Schedule Change

Effective AUGUST 19, 2013 classes at the KSW Karate Dojo will be changing.  The new class schedule will begin on August 19 and will continue indefinitely.

The new class schedule is as follows:
Monday 6:00pm  to 7:00pm
Wednesday 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Friday 6:00pm to 7:00pm

If you have any questions please contact us.  Thank you for being understanding and helping us make this transition smoothly.  We enjoy having you all in class and appreciate all of the hard work and dedication you put into your training.  See you in class.  :)

A Video of Amador County's World Tai Chi and Qigong Day Celebration 2013

Here is a short video collage of the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day Celebration we had on April 27, 2013 in Pine Grove, CA.  We had Tai Chi and Qigong workshops, free chair massages, free ice cream, and tasty smoothies for everyone who attended.  We hope you enjoy this peek into our celebration and  we hope you will all join us again next year for more workshops and fun, at our 2014 World Tai Chi and Qigong Day celebration.

A big thank you to everyone who attended and to all those who helped make it happen!

Workshops Announcement

This is just a heads up to let you all know that some of the workshops that were listed on our Workshops and Seminars page have been canceled.  To see a list of the workshops that are still scheduled for this month please visit our Workshops and Seminars page.  We hope to see you all at these upcoming events!  :)

A Fun World Tai Chi and Qigong Day 2013 Celebration!

Yesterday was "World Tai Chi and Qigong Day" (WTCQD), a day where people all over the world gather at 10:00am in there time zones to practice Tai Chi, share ideas and skills, and teach others about these amazing arts.  In Pine Grove, CA at the KSW Karate Dojo we celebrated WTCQD with our Amador County community and enjoyed the incredible talent and knowledge of Sensei Rodney Peoples, the head Sensei and KSW Karate, as he led us through a ten-step breathing and energy cultivation exercise;  the sweet spirited, relaxing and flowing Tai Chi movements taught by the wonderful Marilyn Nutter, Tai Chi instructor in Sutter Creek; awesome chair massages from the talented Andrea Newman, the massage therapist at KSW Karate; and the fun and informative Tai Chi and Qigong workshops led by Andrew Plitt.

There was also free ice cream available to those who attended workshops, and we had smoothies for lunch made from the Pure Trim Wellness Shakes to keep everyone energized and ready for more celebration.

Unfortunately we did not take very many pictures of this event, but we will post the pictures we did take; mostly between workshops.  The good news is, we took a lot of video of the workshops and we will be posting video segments in the very near future.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event happen and to everyone who attended!  You all made this "World Tai Chi and Qigong Day" an incredibly fun, enjoyable and memorable event!

This is nearly everyone who attended, gathered with our celebration poster made by Samantha Hoarau. :)

 

Some of the wonderful people who attended, sipping on Pure Trim Wellness Shakes, grabbing a bite to eat and enjoying each others company between workshops.

More of the lovely people who attended enjoying a chat between workshops.

In this picture Marilyn Nutter is beginning her wonderful Chi Movement workshop by explaining what we will be doing and the benefits that come from the exercises she will be showing us.  

(Awesome workshop, by the way!)

 And, of course, the fun-stance photo.  :)

We hope you all enjoyed this event as much as we did and, if you were not able to attend this year, we hope you will join our celebration next year on April 26, 2014.  Check back soon for video clips and check out our Workshops and Seminars page for upcoming events.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Chinese New Year from Ancient Wisdom for The New You to all of you! 

February 9, Qigong Workshop in Pine Grove

On January 5, we had a Qigong workshop in Pine Grove at the KSW Karate Dojo where we covered the Deer Qigong section from the Five Animal Exercises Qigong Set (Wu Qin Xi).  This Qigong set was created in ancient China to help balance and strengthen the kidneys and waist area and is usually practiced during the winter months for optimal effects.  Those who came to this workshop really enjoyed it, but there were some who wanted to come and were unable to attend.  To allow those in our Amador County community, who wanted to attend but could not, another opportunity to learn this ancient Qigong set we will be having another workshop in February.

The next workshop will be held on February 9, 2013 at the KSW Karate Dojo in Pine Grove, CA.  If you would like to attend you may RSVP on facebook here, but an RSVP is not required to attend.  We hope many of you will come join us for this life changing experience.  Everyone is welcome.

For more information please visit our Workshops and Seminars page. 

To see a short video from our workshop on January 5, please view our last post titled "A Video From Last Saturday's Qigong Workshop."

Important Update for Qigong Seminar on 1-5-13

Here's a quick update. Please be sure to bring a thermos with hot water and really warm clothes for afterwards. After practicing this Qigong set it's important to rest and drink plenty of warm water. There will be an hour or so after the workshop where the participants are welcome to rest for a while before leaving. Qigong has different effects on different people. Some people feel very invigorated afterwards and others want to take a nap. This set especially can make you really tired when you are first learning it because the different exercises tend to knock loose toxins that are stored in the kidneys and other body tissues. I would rather have you all rest at the dojo for a bit than to try to drive home when you're really tired.  So feel free to bring a blanket just in case.   I hope you're all ready for a really relaxing and refreshing experience!

 If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

 More information about this workshop and future workshops is available on the Workshops and Seminars page.

January 2013 Qi Gong Workshops in Amador County

In January of 2013 two, weekend Qi Gong workshops will be available in Amador County.  The focus of these workshops is to teach as many people as possible simple Qi Gong routines for health that have been used in China for centuries to maintain healthy, strong, flexible bodies. 

The first workshop will be held on Sat. Jan. 5, and will be focused on "Deer Qigong."  This form of Qi Gong is part of the "Wu Qin Xi" or "Five Animal Playing" Qi Gong set.  The Chinese developed the Deer Qigong routine to mainly focus on balancing and strengthening the kidneys, but many of the exercises are also good for balance; coordination; and back, core, and hip flexibility.

The second workshop will be held on Sat. Jan. 12, and will be covering the "Ba Duan Jin" or "8 Pieces of Brocade" Qigong set.  This set is very popular all over the world for its simplicity and the safe nature of all the exercises.  This Qi Gong set can really be viewed as a whole body tune-up, with exercises that help improve range of motion, strength the body, improve balance, improve circulation and balance the body's energy flow. 

More information about these workshops and their location, time and price of attendance can be found on the new "Workshops and Seminars" page.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Update on the 2013 World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day.

Great news!  We just added another workshop to Amador County's World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day celebration.  From 11:00 to 11:30am Sensei Rodney Peoples will be giving an introduction to breathing exercises that are used to cleanse, balance and recharge the body's energy systems.  These breathing exercises come from Sensei Peoples' martial arts training, which is predominately in Japanese styles, and offer a different perspective on these types of exercises than that which is generally seen in Chinese Qi Gong.  This is sure to be an exciting and informative workshop for all who attend.

If you would like to know more about Amador County's World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day 2013 celebration, please visit our World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day page.

This is Sensei Peoples practicing Karate at his school in Pine Grove.

Amador County's World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day Celebration in 2013

We are now in the planning stages of preparing for the 2013 celebration of World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day in Amador County.  This event will be taking place on Saturday, April 27, 2013 and even thought it is several months away we are already very excited about it.

For more information about this event please visit our "World Tai Chi and Qi Gong Day in Amador County 2013" page.

If you are a Tai Chi or Qi Gong instructor and would like to lead a workshop, seminar or demonstration please contact me as soon as possible so I can add you to the event schedule. 

Everyone is welcome to come enjoy this celebration with us.