open heart-mind studio
a practice in sustainable community development
Mindfulness is bringing awareness to the present moment without judgement. This practice allows us to become aware that the alarms in our body and the stories in our head can carry us away into emotional reactions that do not serve us well. Mindfulness practice helps us learn to create space between a stressor and our response. Mindfulness can be practiced in many forms including the meditative movements of qigong and tai chi.
Qigong (pronounced “chee gong”) has been called “Chinese yoga”, and is a practice which incorporates breath, movement, meditation and massage to integrate the body, heart-mind and spirit. Qigong translates to “energy work or cultivation”. This is a gentle exercise developed thousands of years ago, the beginnings of traditional Chinese medicine. This practice has been shown to have significant health benefits and improve quality of life.
Tai Chi coordinates breath and movement to cultivate balance and coordination in our body and mind. Tai Chi literally translates to “supreme ultimate” and is symbolized by the harmonious balance of opposing forces (yin & yang). Tai Chi comes out of the martial arts tradition, and is often practiced in forms that consist of up to 108 postures and are attributed to particular family traditions.
The form of Tai Chi I teach is called Tai Chi Easy, and is developed to make the practice accessible to all, sharing the benefits of the practice in a simple accessible form. The benefits of Tai Chi are being realized by western science, and it is often practiced for its health benefits. In particular, Tai Chi helps improve balance, and therefore it is recommended for falls prevention.
I offer a variety of courses designed to share these techniques for cultivating wellness. For more information on classes available, please go check the course offerings.
community wellness
Healthy individuals are vital to a healthy community. 70% of illness is preventable, with the major contributor to dis-ease being stress. As the world is more connected, and technology continues to accelerate the pace of our lives, stress is constant and can be overwhelming. We have the power to reduce our stress and improve our health. Mindfulness, qigong and tai chi are tools that help with stress relief and offer both physical and mental health benefits. Integrating our body and heart-mind, and turning off the stress alarms in our brain, allows us to better contribute that which we desire to share with the world. It is my desire to share these tools with others so they may be empowered to cultivate and share the best of themselves.
For us to contribute positively to our communities, we must have our basic needs met; yet increasingly, more and more people are getting by on less. When people are struggling to survive or suffering from chronic stress, we are often unable to make decisions for the long term. Thus it is my intention to make these valuable tools accessible to anyone interested in learning them, especially those who need it most, so that we can each make decisions that contribute to a more sustainable future for us all. Therefore, most classes are offered by donation.