Welcome to The Way of Spring
A five-week journey through mindful movement, qigong, breath and meditation.
THE INAUGURAL GATHERING
Beginning: Mondays from 7 September
Time: 7.00-8:15pm (Melbourne, Australia)
Location: Online (details provided on booking)
Investment: $60 AUD for the full five-week series (for our first Spring launch only)
A different doorway into stillness.
For many years I have taught meditation, inviting people into the practice of sitting, breathing and becoming present. And yet, I have certainly noticed something over the years .. that, for many people, arriving into stillness is not that easy. The mind is busy. The body is restless. There can be, at times, a feeling of having too much energy, too many thoughts, too many responsibilities and life happening all at once.
What if stillness doesn’t always begin with sitting?
What if movement could be your doorway?
Over the past year my own practice has been evolving and expanding through the study of qigong .. an ancient Chinese practice of mindful movement, breath and awareness. I have become deeply curious about how movement can help us arrive more fully into our bodies, awaken our awareness and prepare us for meditation.
The Way of Spring is born from this journey.
_________________________________
What is The Way of Spring?
The Way of Spring is a five-week seasonal exploration of mindful movement, qigong, breath and meditation.
Inspired by Early Spring and the Wood Element within Traditional Chinese Medicine, we will explore qualities of awakening, flexibility, vitality and growth.
Each class will weave together:
Gathering – a practice to arrive to our body, breath and awareness, to step away from our outside world and gather.
Qigong – gentle, flowing practices to cultivate awareness, soften the body and experience the relationship between breath, movement and qi – our vital life energy. Each class will offer seasonal inspired exercises from Shi Ba Shi, Five Elements and Heaven to Earth forms.
Standing Meditation – a slow and steady cultivation and development of stability, grounding and presence through the ancient practice of standing.
Seated Meditation – allowing movement and breath to naturally lead us into seated stillness. Rather than trying to force calm or quiet the mind, we will create the conditions for presence to simply emerge and everything within us to settle.
Week by week these practices gradually weave together into a gently rhythm that you can continue long after the series has finished as your own private home practice.
_________________________________
“Like a young sapling tree in Spring, we learnt to become rooted enough to remain open, and soft enough to move with the wind and whatever life brings.”
_________________________________
Our five weeks together
Week One – Gathering
Arriving into practice.
We begin by exploring presence through a practice known as ‘the Gathering’ which includes breath awareness and foundational qigong movements. We will establish the foundations of our seasonal practice and discover how movement can become a pathway into stillness.
Week Two – Opening
Creating space.
Inspired by the awakening quality of Spring we will explore openness, flexibility and our relationship with the earth that grounds and supports us. Through gentle movement we begin to experience greater spaciousness in the body and breath. You can expect 2 to 3 qigong exercises and deeper exploration of each exercise from TCM, the meridians and chakras.
Week Three – Flowing
Awareness in motion.
we deepen our relationship with movement, exploring continuing, rhythm and the felt experience of vitality. This week invites curiosity into the experience o Qi and the subtle relationship between our movement, our breath and our awareness.
Week Four – Grounding
Finding stillness within movement.
We turn towards the ancient qigong standing meditation and the qualities of grounding, relaxation and stability. Life the young sapling in spring deepen our understanding of being rooted while remaining responsible and alive.
Week Five – Returning
Carrying practice into daily life.
We bring the elements together into a simple seasonal practice that can continue beyond the course. Bringing all the practices together into a simple seasonal rhythm to carry into everyday life.
_________________________________
Is this suitable for beginners?
Absolutely.
This series has been created especially as an accessible entry point.
No previous experience of meditation or qigong is needed. If you are completely new you will be gently guided through each practice. If you already have a meditation practice, this series offers another doorway – using the body and movement to deepen your relationship with stillness.
There is no expectation to perform movements perfectly. The invitation is simply to become curious about your own experience and the cultivating, movement and storage of Qig (your life energy).
_________________________________
Your five-week experience includes
+ Five LIVE online classes (approx. 75 minutes each)
+ Guided practices blending qigong, breath and mindfulness.
+ Weekly practice notes to support your exploration at home
+ A seasonal home practice that builds week by week
_________________________________
The beginning of a seasonal path.
The Way of Spring is the inaugural gathering of a new seasonal series. As the season unfold future offerings will continue to explore the changing qualities of practice through:
The Way of Summer
The Way of Autumn
The Way of Winter
Each season offering a different invitation, a different sequence of practices and exercises, meditations and qigong movement.
_________________________________
An invitation.
If you have been longing for a way to slow down, reconnect with your body and discover a more embodied approach to meditation then I would love for you to join me.
Whether you are beginning for the first time or returning to practice you are warmly welcome.
We begin here.
We begin by gathering.