QI GONG and MEDITATION
with Pierre Kalifa
March 28 - April 1
QI GONG AND MEDITATION WORKSHOP
with Pierre Kalifa
March, 27 (evening) – April, 1 (after lunch)
Context:
In the approach proposed in this workshop, Qi Gong is seen not only as a health practice, but also as a path to knowledge and profound transformation. This involves developing a quality of attention in the body that we don't have in our ordinary lives. By developing this attention, we discover the internal dynamics of our body of habits, associated with the protective and adaptive strategies put in place since early childhood. These dynamics, mostly unconscious, keep the body folded in on itself, mostly separated from the overall process of energy in the universe, that Daoist tradition calls the Dao. The purpose of Qi Gong is to connect us to the Dao, and it is the Dao that nourishes and transforms us.
During this workshop, through the practice of simple movements and postures, we will work at developing an ever finer attention to the internal dynamics of our habitual body, and seek new ways to transform it and help create an energy structure more in harmony with the natural laws of the Dao.
Read more here.
Program:
The Bird Series: an elegant series of 16 movements allowing to work on grounding in relation to lightness, opening of the joints, the spirals, etc.
The 5 Needles: These needles represent the placement of anchor points in the body to facilitate the circulation of energy. They can be used in all qi gong forms.
Zhen Qi Gong: A dynamic sequence of bodily shaking and percussion that aims at mobilizing energy by releasing internal stagnations. This is a very ancient practice rooted in the shamanic tradition of qi gong.
Specific work on the pelvic and scapular belts through various exercises.
Seated Meditation: focus on posture, on relaxing the body and on breath.
Theoretical input: understanding the global context of qi gong practice, clarifying specific points about the movements and postures taught, and about the practice of attention.
BIO:
Pierre Kalifa, a former researcher in physics, met Qi Gong and Taiji Chuan 30 years ago. He has worked as a Chinese medicine practitioner and as a Qi Gong teacher for more than 20 years.
His main teachers in the Daoist domain are Thierry Bae, lineage holder of the Yang family Taiji Chuan Snake Style, and Master Wu Zhongxian, lineage holder of 4 different lineages.
Pierre has also been a student in the tantric school of Lee Lozowick (1943-2010) since 2003. He translated 3 books related to this teaching and contributed to a collective book on men’s groups. His Qi Gong teaching is significantly influenced by Lee Lozowick’s teaching.
Pierre has also been involved in child raising issues and gave talks on this topic. It is indeed in early childhood that our main psychological features are built, then drive us and possess us all along our life. Walking a path of knowledge and transformation requires to deeply consider these features.