Qigong and experiencing Ki

Moving from the Hara

In Ba Duan Jin you learn to move from relaxation and weight transfer, without using unnecessary muscle strength. You work on posture, breathing, stability, and the use of gravity.

For Shiatsu students and therapists, this has a direct relationship with the treatment process. You experience how to move from the Hara, how to keep your body relaxed and stable, and how to apply pressure without putting extra force into it. This makes Shiatsu more relaxed, more effective, and less stressful for yourself.

Qigong literally means working with Qi, or Ki in Japanese. Through the exercises, you not only explore the movement of Qi, but also the interplay between Yin and Yang, breathing in and out, opening and closing, tension and relaxation, gravity and upward force.

Qigong for your own health

In addition to the practice of shiatsu, Qigong is primarily a practice for yourself. The exercises bring peace of mind, give space in the body, and support the free flow of breath and energy. Joints and muscles become more supple, and you learn to better sense what is happening in your own body.

By practicing Qigong regularly, you develop more body awareness, stability, and presence. This not only supports your shiatsu, but also the way you move and function in everyday life.

What will be discussed?

• Warm-up with exercises for the center and loosening up muscles and joints
• Standing Tree (Zhan Zhuang) for stability, posture, breathing and experiencing Ki
• Ba Duan Jin, the eight traditional Qigong exercises
• Additional exercises for joints and possibly Reeling Silk
• The relationship between Qigong, Hara, Ki and giving shiatsu

For whom?

This refresher course is suitable for Shiatsu students and graduated Shiatsu therapists who want to deepen their understanding of body use and Ki.

Participants who do not practice Shiatsu but would like to deepen their knowledge of Qigong and move from the Hara are also welcome.

Program and structure

One lesson lasts 5.5 hours:

• Morning session: 2.5 hours
• Break: 1 hour
• Afternoon session: 2 hours

The lessons can be taken individually or as a series.

Why I started practicing Qigong and Tai-chi and why it hasn’t let go of me anymore. In fact, that bond gets stronger and stronger as I get older.

Qigong was a part of the shiatsu training I did when I was a student, and we did it with a certain regularity.

And to be honest … Qigong took me more than shiatsu.

For me, the path of Qigong was an obvious natural path, because it matched exactly what I needed alongside my shiatsu training and in my life. Even just to find my breath again.

I started taking lessons from Oscar in Amsterdam in 1998, initially two or three times a week for about 15 years. He trained me in, among other things, the Ba Duan Jin, the 8 Brocade Chen style, but also in other qigong forms. In Tai-Chi I focused primarily on the 19 Forms.

I also attended workshops by Master Chen Xiao Wang, who came to the Netherlands several times. Oscar personally trained me to also teach qigong classes.

I still feel very grateful that I had the opportunity to do this. Qigong has supported me through many difficult times. It gave me confidence and stability, not just physically.

I know that some people have to get used to the slow movements quite quickly. But that’s exactly what I like about it. You discover things within yourself and you start to see how movement can create space for what may have been stuck for a long time. This, alongside many other benefits.

Standing still in motion….. I love it.

Kind regards, Rini