June 2014 Stillness-Movement Neigong workshop

[tang]

I am attending the Stillness-Movement Neigong Workshop at the end of June. I thought it would kinda nice if we could get to know one another before the workshop begins on Saturday.

 

I'm just going to put it out there...if you want to meet ...or don't, that's fine, but we all have to eat, may as well eat together, right? Please PM me. We can talk about restaurants and time to meet for Friday evening.

 

Cheers for now

Laura

[Brian]

My arrival time depends on my departure time (I'm driving) and I won't know that until I actually depart!

 

I'm game, though. I'll PM tomorrow...

[tang]

I have to admit, it's not my dog. The thing is, I had this wonderful app on my phone and shot a pic of my sister-in-law's dog while visiting in northern California and that's when I dubbed in the wonderful enhanced colours. He is a cutie, though. I've since lost the app while updating my iphone, which is a bummer!

 

Sorry you're not going to be there. I have enjoyed reading your posts.

 

 

 

Cheers,

Laura.

[Brian]

Here's the plan:

 

All workshop attendees are welcomed and encouraged to meet at the Brazilian restaurant on the corner of US-65 & Battlefield Avenue at 6:00PM!

 

Anyone with questions about location or logistics or whatever can ask them here OR can PM me for more details.

 

 

For those who cannot make it to that gathering but want to eat later, I'll be in the Holiday Inn lobby at 7:30 and will walk to someplace for a bite then. (I won't be in Springfield in time for the earlier event). The fun is likely to be with the group meeting at 6, though, so don't expect me to entertain you...

 

 

Light,

Brian

[Ya Mu]

ouch - Our friend from Brazil is likely to not want to eat there as who wants to fly oh-so-many-hours (13 or so?) to eat at a restaurant that is most probably a pale comparison of the real thing (I have no idea) - perhaps he will wish to go with you, Brian... For us in-country folks it is probably a neat and different place to eat. I will not be in town and the Australian folks will not be there either.

[Brian]

I know, right?

 

He and I have done the Hibachi/sushi place across the street before as well as the Ruby Tuesdays -- both with mutual satisfaction, I think. He will probably join me rather the earlier crowd.

[Ya Mu]

If ya'll feel like driving about 15 min, this is my favorite in Springfield:

http://www.springfieldbambu.com/category/menu/pho-noodle-soups

I love their chicken pho.

[Brian]

I'm bookmarking it!

[Brian]

Something has come up and I will not be able to attend this time.

 

I will see you at the next workshop!

 

 

Light,

Brian

[tang]

Sorry to hear that, Brian.

 

Take care

Laura

[KenBrace]

Sorry for my earlier post. It was a joke but I realize it wasn't really appropirate. I appolize to anyone I offended.

 

EDIT: I'll do my best not to post anything like that again.

Edited June 21, 2014 by KenBrace

[tang]

The SM workshop is next week. What say we meet in the lobby of the hotel where the workshop is at 6 pm. Too early? Let me know.

 

Cheers

Laura

[Ya Mu]

The SM workshop is next week. What say we meet in the lobby of the hotel where the workshop is at 6 pm. Too early? Let me know.

 

Cheers

Laura

Send me an email and I will put you in touch with the local Stillness-Movement person who already has a group together for Friday night. Since Brian can't make it I didn't know if you had this info.

[yulongbr]

J told me about this restaurant last time. She said it is very good and they have very nice meat with a good salad bar. Maybe not so good salad bar as Ruby Tuesday, but good anyway.

 

Since Brian (my partner for hibashi volcano shows) would not be able to go to the workshop I will join the group. I'm very curious about what people out there call Brazilian food and it is also a very interesting experience meet SM practitioner. There is always a lot of wonderful stories.

 

Tang, I'll send you a PM. We can meet at the lobby and go together. I believe the plan is to meet 6PM already in the restaurant.

 

See you soon

[Green Tiger]

I've been waffling about this seminar for about a month now, but I think I might actually make it. It has been a year since my last seminar and seems like it's time to reconnect.

 

I was really concerned that it would be somehow hotter and more humid there than in Iowa, but I just checked the weather, and the forecast looks almost identical. I should feel right at home in that muggy, 90 degree sauna.

 

Isn't it winter in Brazil?

[yulongbr]

Yes, it is Winter here.

 

But even in winter, it is hotter than most place in north. It usually goes between 65-85 F in winter.

[tang]

What a weekend. I experienced the Stillness Movement workshop in lovely Springfield. I'm not the best at going into details but there's no doubt in my mind that this is the practice for me. I am still like an inexperienced newbie in the whole scheme of things qi gong; what the 3 day weekend did for me was give me the inspiration that I was searching for. At the workshop, Micheal was like a whirlybird of energy, whipping around us; it was delightful to see, although I'm still learning to really feel. He did sacred chants and drum beats in a rhythm that evoked higher vibrations. You can tell he holds more wisdom that the ordinary human can fathom. The long time students were gracious in helping beginners. Some of the beginners that had never done the practice really took off with it. Thank you Michael for giving me the tools to reach my potential.

Cheers, Laura

[Cat Pillar]

I'm glad you enjoyed the workshop, and doubly glad you found needed inspiration from it.

 

I enjoyed hanging out with you there, and hope the practice continues to provide what you're looking for (I think it will.) It was nice having your company on the shuttle back to the airport. I hope your return trip was smooth!

[Green Tiger]

It was a good one. I could definitely feel a difference in my practice this week. I've got some stuck areas opening up and feel a lot of shifting going on.

[Ya Mu]

It was great seeing all you guys & gals, both first time attendees and old friends. What an energetic time!

[Green Tiger]

Great review, Adrian. I didn't realize you and your Australian compatriot didn't know each other prior to coming here! What a nice surprise that must have been.

 

I can definitely relate to that feeling when you get home and the energy isn't quite as palpable as it was in the seminar. It can be a bit discouraging, and it also makes the draw to attend seminars even stronger. Glad to hear you were able to find an energetically powerful place to practice!

 

Hope to see you again some day.

[Alcyone]

I’m the other Australian that attended the 5 days of personal training followed by the workshop. An excellent review by Adrian, comprehensive and articulate! I found out about SM through TB and was completely blown away by the 5 days of personal training and the workshop! Adrian described the 5 days of personal training very well and I have nothing more to add. The workshop was like a condensed version of what we learned during the 5 days of personal training. However, not everything covered in the 5 days was covered in the workshop due to time constraints. I greatly benefited from the personal training because up until that point, I had never seen the GOT I, II, III moves before and would have struggled to learn them properly in the 2 day workshop. Furthermore, combing the 5 days with the weekend really upped the game on the training!

 

The 5 days gradually built up to the workshop which felt like going through a rite of passage and initiation of sorts. During the projection, I got to touch a level that would have been beyond reach under normal circumstances! However, a lot more went on at the workshop besides the teaching and projection. There was a very strong Divine presence experienced at one point which filled the entire room and made a person want to fall to their knees. To be honest, I would say that “religious” would be a better word than “qigong” to describe that went on there. Not religion in the sense of organized religion, but true spirituality may be a better word. It was very intense.

 

The projections strongly affected, purified and attuned my heart and crown chakras such that afterwards I could connect with what feels like higher Divine energies expressed as pure devotion and surrender to God. This is my way of experiencing the energy but I think that every individuals experience will be unique. One thing is clear though, this isn’t your everyday type of qigong that you hear about. The system uses higher vibrational energy and is not your regular type of qi energy. Hence the name higher level qigong!

 

Michael is also a great guy with a sense of humor, which he surprised me with when I approached him at the airport and he presented himself as a non-english speaking German that could only speak Dutch! Haha! I also enjoyed spending time with my newly acquired Aussie friend and everyone else at the workshop. I’m humbled by the people I met there and would like to thank Michael again for a truly wonderful and life changing experience.

[Ya Mu]

 

I had the privilege to be invited to study with Michael in a private intensive at his home as well as do the June Stillness movement seminar last month and just wanted to write a report on my experiences. This was an extremely lucky opportunity as Michael only accepts a limited number of students by invitation only for his private intensive.

I had found Stillness Movement through this website and had always been drawn to it, but never had the opportunity to study it as I'm from Australia and found it hard to commit to a seminar as a plane trip to the US was already 3-4x the seminar itself! In the meantime, I read Michael's book, got his Gift of the Tao DVD's and attended a distance class but always found it hard to commit to learning something properly without in person teaching as I find you pick up things you can't learn from reading a book. How happy I was when I got the invitation to study privately with Michael!

So I arrived in Missouri where Michael kindly picked me up from the airport only to find a fellow Australian had also been invited over with the same intention I had. I was so glad to have a fellow Aussie training buddy. And so the training began…..

Even though this was an "intensive", the days just flowed and was actually quite relaxed (in a good way). Just like how Michael runs his seminars, we didn't have any set schedule or plans in terms of training, but just went with the flow of things (very wu wei). Even though it felt like we hadn't done much at the end of each day, when I went over all the days activities , I realised we had done at least 5-6 hours of qigong plus learning the SM healing work.

The typical day consisted of waking up to go do qigong running at 7am where Michael slowly introduced the different aspects of qigong running such as stamina, pushing, swiftness and lightness over the 5 days we were there. This would be followed by breakfast, and then a few hours of Gift of the Tao 1-2-3 movements where we went through and refined the movements. After lunch and a quick siesta (we were probably still a bit jet lagged), we would then do some table work where we were introduced to Taoist Medicine and External energy projection(way qi liao fa). Then we would often finish the day with some sitting stillness movement before knocking off for "Miller time" and dinner.

The qigong running was an interesting experience and a good way to start the day. I have never been a distance runner myself, but found qigong running made it much more interesting and gave it a timeless quality. It was also interesting integrating and feeling the different aspects to it such as the pushing and lightness. Once the weather warms up here, I will definitely try to get into it more.

Even though I had learnt the movements of GOT1+2 from the DVD prior to going, there were a lot of things I learnt from my experience going through the movements with Michael. One of the things that definitely made it more interesting is practicing in an energetically charged area. Each morning we would walk over to an area where Michael normally practices and even an energetically insensitive person like myself could feel the shift in energy as we approached it. When practicing in these areas, energy is more palpable. When I came back home to Australia and started practicing, I was bummed out as I thought I had already lost the feeling of energy with the movements that I had felt over in the US. After a few days, I tried practicing somewhere else (only 10m away) and found that the energy was more palpable there as opposed to my normal practice area. Being able to feel the energy definitely helps with the practice (and your belief in the practice) especially with these set of movements which to the mind, look messy and "unconventional". (well to my mind anyway haha). I have managed to find some areas at my work that also feel more energetically alive which helps me practice throughout the day. Michael also helped refined some of the movements and target things I may have overlooked and explained the intent behind the movements which has definitely brought the practice to a new level. We also had some animals come to observe and bask in the energy while practicing.

The table work we did in the afternoon was one of the things I was really interested in as I'm an Acupuncturist and Remedial Massage Therapist. We were pretty much thrown straight into it and started practicing it on each other 10 minutes into learning it. What Michael says about the Taoist Medicine is true that you have to practice it to learn it, and learn it by practicing it. It's one of those things that you just need hands on body time to pick up the technique, and just a lot more body time to pick up the subtleties of it. I'm still a newbie at the technique and each time i lay my hands on a body to practice it, I learn something new and can pick up something a bit more subtler than I had before. So far I've been able to integrate the treatment with some of my patients with great success. People often feel very relaxed and floaty after. However, I've only been brave enough to do it mainly with my stress patients as it's hard to try new techniques with paying customers unless they are my trusted regulars. I know I'm only scratching the surface with this technique and it is a lot more than just a relaxation/back treatment. Just read the thread about people's healing experiences with it to see the depth of this technique. Once I gain more confidence in it, I would love to transition more towards that technique like many of Michael's students who utilise it full time.

The off body work has also been interesting. I've utilised it often with people's secondary complaints with good success as well. One case was my receptionist, who I had been treating for tennis elbow with acupuncture for a month prior to going to the seminar. Although we could get the pain away with treatment, it would normally start coming back after a week. I decided to let her be a guinea pig and did off body energy projection for her elbow for about 10 minutes and she hasn't really had any discomfort since. This has lasted 3 weeks now. Once again, I'm just a newbie to it all, but I guess this shows how powerful the system/technique is. These kinds of stories are very commonplace for Michael's students.

I won't write too much about the seminar as this post is already getting out of hand, and others can touch on it, but it was a great experience to meet other practitioners of SM, experienced and newbies like myself all mixing together. I learnt a lot just by observing and interacting with the other students and listening to their stories and experiences. Definitely gave me motivation to practice daily. It was also great to meet other taobums and lurkers of the forum and able to put a face to the names.

Downsides? I would have to say those damn chiggers and maybe Michael's cooking! (just kidding Michael, it was a lot better than you give yourself credit for!) haha

I would like to thank Michael, his wife and Pippen for warmly welcoming us into their home and for the lovely hospitality provided. You won't meet nicer people than the Lomax's. Michael was very generous with his teaching, often overloading us with more material than was expected from him. He patiently and calmly answered any questions directed at him and often encouraged them. He's also just a cool guy to hang out with, sharing common interests in music, guitars and all things geek. Spending 8 days with Michael allowed me to see the life of a qigong master, and how human it is. It is not about being secluded in a cave meditating, but to integrate qigong into your life and allow qigong to enhance it. You don't have to abstain from things, just use common sense and lead a middle path of moderation. You can still do everyday things while being in a qigong state, which Michael emphasised and epitomised through his living.

I would also like to thank my fellow Aussie training buddy, who was great to bounce ideas and experiences off, and for volunteering his body for practice haha. He also was good at asking questions to Michael as I would always seem to be blank when Michael asked "any questions?". And thank you again to the other students, as you guys helped me more than you know during class.

I've really only touched the surface of my experiences and am sure I've missed plenty. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.

For those thinking of studying Stillness movement, I would highly recommend it. Like others have said before, try to learn the moves from the DVD before going to class as this will help a lot. After attending a seminar try to "embrace the system" as much as you can. Even if you can't feel anything, just continue to persist practicing as it is doing something even if you can't feel it, and with time you will feel a bit more. I am VERY energetically insensitive, and have found by practicing every day, the movements are becoming more and more palpable. Michael has a seminar in September with limited places so you should try and book asap. If I was in the states, I would be there straight away!

All the best,

Adrian

 

 

I’m the other Australian that attended the 5 days of personal training followed by the workshop. An excellent review by Adrian, comprehensive and articulate! I found out about SM through TB and was completely blown away by the 5 days of personal training and the workshop! Adrian described the 5 days of personal training very well and I have nothing more to add. The workshop was like a condensed version of what we learned during the 5 days of personal training. However, not everything covered in the 5 days was covered in the workshop due to time constraints. I greatly benefited from the personal training because up until that point, I had never seen the GOT I, II, III moves before and would have struggled to learn them properly in the 2 day workshop. Furthermore, combing the 5 days with the weekend really upped the game on the training!

 

The 5 days gradually built up to the workshop which felt like going through a rite of passage and initiation of sorts. During the projection, I got to touch a level that would have been beyond reach under normal circumstances! However, a lot more went on at the workshop besides the teaching and projection. There was a very strong Divine presence experienced at one point which filled the entire room and made a person want to fall to their knees. To be honest, I would say that “religious” would be a better word than “qigong” to describe that went on there. Not religion in the sense of organized religion, but true spirituality may be a better word. It was very intense.

 

The projections strongly affected, purified and attuned my heart and crown chakras such that afterwards I could connect with what feels like higher Divine energies expressed as pure devotion and surrender to God. This is my way of experiencing the energy but I think that every individuals experience will be unique. One thing is clear though, this isn’t your everyday type of qigong that you hear about. The system uses higher vibrational energy and is not your regular type of qi energy. Hence the name higher level qigong!

 

Michael is also a great guy with a sense of humor, which he surprised me with when I approached him at the airport and he presented himself as a non-english speaking German that could only speak Dutch! Haha! I also enjoyed spending time with my newly acquired Aussie friend and everyone else at the workshop. I’m humbled by the people I met there and would like to thank Michael again for a truly wonderful and life changing experience.

I can surely say that if you two guys represent the intelligence, manners, outright courtesy, and enthusiasm of all Australians then I want to move there. Just two of the nicest people a person could hope to meet!

 

I truly enjoyed our time of high energetics together as well as the majical moments like when the deer came so close to us to watch us do Gift of the Tao.

 

Practice is the nature of the game. Do that and you both will go far with this system.

 

Thanks to you both for taking such extreme measures of time & effort in order to learn a system. This system came to be for both of you - it is for you.

 

Adrian - I'll have to work on the cooking skills - but it may not get much better. ha ha. 2 weeks after you were here our garden started producing and we have many fresh vegetables - I do wish this had of happened while you guys were here so you could have enjoyed these as well. However, the focus of our training would have changed and you both would have learned pea-picking qigong, potato digging qigong, tomato picking qigong, corn shucking qigong and a few other, hmm - shall we call them "esoteric qigong" methods.

I encourage you to use the wai qi liao fa and the Taoist Medicine methods in your healing practice - you will help so many people and I think you are going to be very good at it!

 

Alcyone, you were amazing to get SO GOOD at the movements IN SO SHORT A PERIOD OF TIME, going from ZERO - as in never had seen them before - to being accomplished at GOT I, GOT II, and GOT III in ONE WEEK! DANG! I am impressed! Took me 30 years or so.

Edited August 2, 2014 by Ya Mu

[Kempomaster]

I must say that certainly enjoyed working with both of you gentleman at the Springfield workshop and I am hoping that I get to see both of you again very soon at another seminar very soon.

 

I think it is amazing what the two of you picked up in the 8 plus days that you were here. Qigong Fu (time and effort / energy - light) that is what we need to do to get really good with this amazing higher level healing system - Stillness-Movement or Jing Dong Gong. It seems the more you do, well the more you want to do!

 

I would encourage you both to practice the healing techniques - willing guinea pigs will present themselves. They will offer you the chance to perfect the Taoist technique - what an absolutely wonderful technique - I have seen incredible results with the Taoist technique that I have reported in my case reports elsewhere in Tao bums. But, the more you practice the technique the better you get at it and the more your confidence grows. Try it for all complicated cases. I have used it for humans with a wide variety of issues, dogs with injured spinal cords, and horses with assorted issues - all with amazing results. Likewise, with the Qi projection - as long as you are doing your daily S-M and Gift of the Tao your ability will continue to grow with your energy (light) projections. I was impressed with what both of you did while you were here.

 

Special Note: I think it's pretty cool that you picked up on the Divine Presence! Because, that was definitely the case. We have multi-dimensional spiritual experiences at every workshop. Definitely a reason in itself to attend a workshop.

 

Most students that attend a Stillness-movement workshop and actually apply themselves. Take the time to do daily meditation and practice the Gift of the Tao Movements - will be an above average healer. Those that embrace the "Lineage". Truly, embrace all that S-M lineage has to offer - not try to mix a little of this and a little of that Will become an extremely powerful healer that will be able to utilize most of the tools that we share at the workshops.

 

With that, I encourage those that have yet to attend a workshop who still ponder if this might be their cup of tea - why wait? The Terre Haute workshop is probably full - we may have 1 spot available ( you would have to check michael's website. Qigongamerica.com) but, if these last several posts have sounded fascinating - well then this is your cup of tea.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Brion

Kempomaster