Rebellious_Qi

Hi all... I'm a bit nervous 'cuz this is my first-ever "real" post, and a review on a Qigong workshop that I attended just last weekend. Remember, I'm just an entry-level taoist here As a student of TCM, you tend to meet some interesting people in school, one of which is my classmate who does Medical Qigong. When I saw him work on another classmate's sprained knee (without even physically touching it) and saw the results, I was beside myself. From then on, I knew I wanted to learn this. And when he told me that his Master was holding a workshop relatively nearby in Indiana on 5/22-24, I jumped at the opportunity, despite having to miss class. Before I attended the workshop I took the liberty of buying his book and DVD to get a good glimpse of what I may be learning, but I didn't go into it too deeply, I wanted to go in with an empty cup. I didn't really know what to expect when I got there, but when I first met Michael Lomax and shook his hand, I don't think I've ever met anyone with that kind of presence - and despite being in an arm sling due to a ruptured tendon in his arm, his presence was very powerful, yet you can feel the compassion and benevolence and healing in him. On the first day, we had a good introduction to Qigong, as well as his background. During the lecture, he was talking about relaxation and living in the moment as if you were "stopping the world." Right then, he did SOMETHING... and I felt this rush of energy penetrate through my body, yet simultaneously experiencing this feeling of tranquility and calmness. My buddy and I, both new to this stuff, looked at each other wide-eyed like "WOW." We definitely made the right choice to ditch school to be there, I'll tell ya that much. So we proceeded to learn his movement techniques called "Gift of the Tao." It's a series of movements made to (from my novice perspective) to playfully gather Qi. People who have Taijiquan or other internal martial arts backgrounds may find these movements a bit odd and may take issue with it (if they're purists), but bear in mind, this isn't martial arts, this is Qi cultivation (and yes, I have some experience in Taijiquan), so these movements were made specifically to gather Qi (especially for Medical Qigong purposes). And when you do these moves with pure INTENT (not intention), you can really feel them. And by "intent," I mean that instead of envisioning or trying something, you just do. You just feel it. Like what Bruce Lee said, "Don't think! Feeeeel!" And after a few minutes, instead of thinking about the Qi, I felt the Qi. I felt submerged in a gigantic tank of Qi, and every photon of light or neutrino penetrating through my body. So after the Gift of the Tao movements, we proceeded in the Stillness-Movement technique, which is quiet sitting. What makes this similar to Zazen is that you are quietly sitting/forgetting, but at the same time you're focused on your dantien and you're actually letting yourself move naturally, but without conscious effort. This is so Qi can circulate and relieve stagnation, as opposed to if you were to sit rigidly. We did this for an hour and it was amazing, especially when Michael started projecting Qi to all of us. And afterwards, I felt myself vibrating, like I was living in a higher frequency. As I said earlier, his arm was in a sling due to a torn tendon and he seemed like he was in a lot of pain, and had very little range of motion. So to demonstrate Medical Qigong, he had four of his senior students work on his arm by projecting Qi. Honestly, I'm too new to really explain what happened there, but they all took turns projecting Qi onto his arm (so to not deplete themselves), each with a different technique. And I knew I was in the right place when he took off his sling with clearly a much larger range of motion and a lot less pain. By the last day of the workshop, he was without the arm sling altogether (or at least wore it a lot less). So throughout the 3-day workshop, we worked on the Gift of the Tao movements, both sitting and standing Stillness-Movement techniques, exchanging Qi from trees and gathering while walking. You know, I never thought I could ever feel Qi from trees or plants, but after that day I could. We also worked on his Taoist Medicine technique, which I'm not necessarily qualified to comment on since it's so new to me, but he does mention it in another thread. So overall, it was an amazing experience for me. I've been to a Qigong seminar before (by some other group), and it was a bit cult-like and creepy. I've read a myriad of books and watched a thousand more DVD's on Qigong... but Michael Lomax's Stillness-Movement Medical Qigong Workshop was, at least for me, both life-confirming and life-changing. Since then I've been nothing short of inspired. A lot of amazing things happened to me in that workshop in little ol' Terra Haute, Indiana, and I'm forever grateful. Thanks Michael, and thanks Chris for introducing me to this wonderful art.

Thank you so much for your kind words and encouragement. I certainly hope the universe allows for me to see you again soon, hopefully even before my schooling ends. In any case, I really would like to continue, so till then, you can count on me to build up my cultivation practice. Oh, I also want to share that I truly enjoyed the comparison between the "scholastic" approach to diagnosis vs. the "intuitive" (for the lack of better word) approach. That has been my struggle throughout TCM school. I know that the pulse, tongue, listening, observing and questioning, etc is important to know (and are fundamental), but I feel that it's all just way too cranial and too linear. I have always wondered if there was a deeper, less linear approach to diagnosis... AND YOU SHOWED ME JUST THAT!!! That, combined with the needle qigong technique, opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me. Again, Thank You!!!

Thanks! I'm from Chicago, and it was a little hike, but Terre Haute was very welcoming. Michael Lomax doesn't go there often as he's usually teaching in Missouri. I was fortunate enough to catch him in Indiana!

Hi everyone, I'm new here, and relatively new to Taoism. I'm a student of Traditional Chinese Medicine (in my 2nd of 3 years), as well as a new student in Medical Qigong. I've been studying Taoism on/off for some time, but since I've started TCM school, my journey through Taoism has been quite profound, despite the fact that my particular TCM school doesn't really address it much (not even any Qigong), which is weird to me. I don't really know what else to say, really. But happy to join this community, and maybe you guys won't think I'm weird, cuz all my facebook friends do LOL

Yes, thank you, Michael Lomax, for such a powerful experience. Honest to goodness the whole weekend has changed my life as every day since then I have been improving my ability to "Stop the World." "It's already there." I'm forever grateful.