Robert Peng

Elixir Light Qigong draws on ancient Buddhist and Taoist practices to help practitioners develop their full potential as human beings. Today, Robert Peng will teach two practices from the Elixir system: Hologram Palm, a  meditation/visualization/energy circulation method to awaken three key energy centers in the body, and the Eight Cycles, a graceful sequence of gentle movements that massages our internal organs, relaxes our muscles and tendons, lubricates our joints, relieves tension, expands our range of motion, and refines our energy. These ancient, time-tested techniques radically enhance our vitality as well as our capacity for love and wisdom.

A ONE-DAY WORKSHOP
Sunday, July 15, 10am–5:30pm
12SHC23S For CEUs click here
Members: $120 / Nonmembers: $130
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Yang Yang, PhD, and Yang Ying

Yang Yang Class

Master Yang Yang began the practice of qigong as a child in China to cure a congenital heart defect and has been practicing and teaching qigong for 40 years. Combining the cardiovascular benefits of moderate movement and the   emotional/spiritual benefits of meditation, qigong is one of the most broadly beneficial holistic exercises. Dr. Yang will share simple qigong movements that can be done by people of all ages and abilities as well as pyscho-spiritual practices that nurture tranquility and awareness. Guest instructor Ms. Yang Ying will also share the one of the “six healing sounds” (sounds designed to strengthen specific inner organs) aimed at healing the heart.

AN EVENING WORKSHOP
Friday, August 3, 7–10pm
12SHC32M  For CEUs click here
Members: $40 / Nonmembers: $45
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Rick Barrett

Prepare to step through the Looking Glass into the paradoxical world of t’ai chi ch’uan. “Softness overcomes hardness.” Muscular force weakens you. Time and space bend. Rick Barrett has spent over three decades translating the esoteric mysteries of the internal martial arts into language that can be easily understood and demonstrated. T’ai chi is much more than just a healthy exercise and moving meditation. It is a proven vehicle to explore the exquisite mysteries that lie hidden in each of us. Each movement is like a hologram, containing the information of the whole. Working with the first few postures of the Yang style form we will slow everything way down and get a close look at what makes it tick—biomechanically, bioenergetically, and relationally. Experience for yourself the exquisite alchemy that comes from transformational body-mind-spirit integration.

A ONE-DAY WORKSHOP
Sunday, August 12, 10am–5:30pm
12SHC01S    For CEUs click here
Members: $120 / Nonmembers: $130
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Maria Barrett

In this class we will learn how to develop the “soft power” of T’ai Chi in a practical, accessible way. The core principle of T’ai Chi is that the highest octave of personal power doesn’t come from physical size or strength but from body/ mind/spirit integration. Using the beginning moves of the Yang Style short form we’ll explore how to: move with a sense of wholeness; connect to the energy of Heaven and Earth; maintain our central equilibrium and energetic coherence; differentiate “insubstantial” and “substantial”; and align our joints for maximum efficiency and minimum effort. This class is ideal for beginners and advanced students. Come discover how to bring T’ai Chi Chuan’s profound, time-tested principles into your daily life and “flow like water.”

A WEEKLY COURSE
(5 sessions) Thursdays, July 19–August 16, 6–7:30pm
12SHC00T  For CEUs click here
Members: $100 / Nonmembers: $110
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You are registering for a FREE INTRO on Tuesday, May 22, at 6pm. To sign up for the weekly course, see Qigong for Rejuvenation and Healing.

Sharon Smith

Qigong, a term which describes a wide range of ancient Chinese mind/body/spirit exercises, offers us some of the best ways to boost our immune system, balance our energy, and maintain vibrant health and happiness. In this four-week course we’ll learn a sampling of qigong warm-up exercises and a few easy-to-learn but deeply healing and rejuvenating qigong forms, including: a moving version of the “Six Healing Sounds” set; some exercises that mimic animal movements for physical agility and balance; and some heart-opening, spiritually-oriented practices. We will close each session with sitting meditation that takes advantage of our body’s enhanced chi flow. Come connect with yourself and tap into the healing energy of the universe with these ancient, time-tested Taoist practices.

A WEEKLY COURSE
(4 sessions) Tuesdays, May 29–June 19, 6–7:15pm
12SHC20T   For CEUs click here
Members: $75 / Nonmembers: $80

Sharon Smith

Qigong, a term which describes a wide range of ancient Chinese mind/body/spirit exercises, offers us some of the best ways to boost our immune system, balance our energy, and maintain vibrant health and happiness. In this four-week course we’ll learn a sampling of qigong warm-up exercises and a few easy-to- learn but deeply healing and rejuvenating qigong forms, including: a moving version of the “Six Healing Sounds” set; some exercises that mimic animal movements for physical agility and balance; and some heart-opening, spiritually-oriented practices. We will close each session with sitting meditation that takes advantage of our body’s enhanced chi flow. Come connect with yourself and tap into the healing energy of the universe with these ancient, time-tested Taoist practices.

Free introductory class on Tuesday, May 22, at 6pm.

A WEEKLY COURSE
(4 sessions) Tuesdays, May 29–June 19, 6–7:15pm
12SHC20T For CEUs click here
Members: $75 / Nonmembers: $80
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Mantak Chia

Join renowned Taoist master Mantak Chia to learn a powerful traditional energy meditation that helps us transform negative emotions (worry, sadness, cruelty, anger, fear) into pure energy by identifying the source of these emotions in the major organs of the body and transmuting them. In this method a practitioner learns to connect with the five basic elemental energies and the eight forces of nature using the ancient Chinese alchemical symbol of the 8-sided bagua, and can then refine internal energy, circulate it in the body, and attract universal, cosmic and earth energies to build vibrant health, awareness and spiritual development.

AN EVENING WORKSHOP
Thursday, June 7, 7–10pm
12SHC04M For CEUs click here
Members: $40 / Nonmembers: $45
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View the VIDEO INTRO TO OUR COURSES
or check out our other COURSE LISTINGS

Drew DiVittorio

“The information Drew provides is invaluable to anyone aware of the connection between diet and sustained health, along with the happiness that brings. Every sentence he utters is a piece of practical advice that you can begin to implement immediately to change your life dramatically for the better.” —M.B.

Chinese medicine is one of the world’s great biological systems of understanding, with an unbroken tradition going back thousands of years. Chinese herbal medicine, along with the other components of Chinese medicine, is based on the concepts of yin and yang. It aims to understand and treat the many ways in which the fundamental balance and harmony between the yin and yang may be undermined and the ways in which a person's qi, or vitality, may be depleted or blocked. Clinical strategies are based upon diagnosis of patterns of signs and symptoms that reflect an imbalance.

In this four-week online course, Drew DiVittorio will walk you through basic processes of diagnosis and remedy that anyone with access to a grocery store will find both inspiring and instantly accessible. The strategies learned in this class can help to bring your body into harmony, creating less potential for discomfort and disease and more opportunities for health.

NOTE: Students must have access to a computer with a web browser for this ONLINE ONLY course, and may need to download free software to use some course features. Password-protected access to the course website is permitted only during the dates that this course is being held; PASSWORDS WILL BE ISSUED THE NIGHT BEFORE THE COURSE BEGINS; and user accounts will be deleted once the course is over. Audio-visual materials on the website are not downloaded but streamed through the web browser. Open Center Online Learning courses give students access to teachers and other students through several interactive tools on the course websites.

Please view our F.A.Q. (Frequently Asked Questions) for more detailed information about Open Center Online Learning courses.

AN ONLINE COURSE
February 20-March 18, 2012 (4 weeks)
12OLAHH101
$135 No Member Discount

6/6-27 (Thursdays), 11am-12:30pm
Just Write: Let Your Creative Juices Flow
Scott Stabile

6/19-7/17 (Tuesdays), 2:30-4pm
Jewelry Making as a Practice & Meditative Art
Maria Rodriguez

6/28 (Thursday), 12:30-2:30pm
Spirit Rock Shamanic Healing Circle
Olivia Olkowski

7/19 (Thursday), 12:30-2:30pm
Spirit Rock Shamanic Healing Circle
Olivia Olkowski

8/1-9/5 (Wednesdays), 1:30-2:30pm
Yoga Dance: Ignite Your Energy Through Movement*
Neves Matesic

*Classes can be taken individually or as a series.