An Ancient Practice Rediscovered

In case you missed the article, “Want to Fix Your Mind? Let Your Body Talk” in yesterday’s New York Times Magazine, I think you’ll enjoy reading it. You will recognize in it some Qigong practices, such as how to feel energized and grounded by sensing your feet on the earth, and how to calm, heal, and transform turbulent emotions by connecting to places of peace and spaciousness inside yourself.

Somatics, the practice described in the article, isn’t new, although it was new to me when I studied it in in the late ‘80’s while earning my masters degree in dance and dance education at Columbia. It made perfect sense to me back then.  As a dancer, I had spent my life training to increase my physical vocabulary and expression. This required learning to listen closely to the messages coming from deep within. This is part of what Somatics teaches, too.  I’m sure that’s why when I discovered Qigong in the mid 90’s, its practices of inner listening and mindfulness through movement felt so familiar and real.  

The Times article also made me swell with gratitude for our ever-growing Qigong family. We started together as a small group, within a few days of the COVID shutdown. Many of us had never used Zoom before, including me! We discovered the classes weren’t just a safe way to keep moving while the gyms were closed, but the practice of Qigong, brand new to some, helped manage the stress and anxiety we were experiencing. I got lots of emails at the time (and still do now) saying “This class is keeping me sane!” Now, as we continue to practice and grow as a group, the integrated, somatic mind/body method known as Qigong keeps the healing energy strong. The more qi, the merrier, so please join us!