Western Creek - Meander Valley Yoga
- Thursdays 10.30am-12.00pm
Deloraine - Body and Soul Gym
- Wednesdays 8.00am
- Saturdays 9.30am
- Sundays 9.30am
Meander Valley Yoga Classes
Classes are Classical Yoga which include a warmup, asanas, pranayama and yoga nidra. They run for 90 minutes and follow the standard school terms with breaks during the school holidays.
Body & Soul Gym Classes
The Wednesday Qigong class is a 60-minute introduction to Qigong. Qigong is a soft energy-based exercise that nurtures, accumulates and maintains your Qi or vital energy throughout your life. By working our Qi, we keep ourselves strong and healthy from the inside out. Qigong is simple and quick to learn. We’ll be focusing on Zhan Zhuang or standing still meditation; Ba Duan Jin or the Eight Brocades sequence; and a few other practices that focus on stimulating acupoints, strengthening the meridian system and balancing Yin-Yang energy. This is a wonderful way to start your day.
The Saturday Yoga class is a 45-minute Body Awareness session, and follows the Pawanmuktasana Series 1-3 as developed by the Satyananada tradition. Among its aims are the ‘rewiring’ of the body by unblocking stagnant energy, improving digestion and opening the joints. Perfect for preparation of more advanced yoga practice or start to the day.
The Sunday class is 90-minute holistic Yoga class and a powerful way to bring the body, breath and mind into a balance. It is a complete practice with deep holds, dynamic flow and gentle recovery. The Asanas (poses) are followed by Pranayama (breathing exercises) and Yoga Nidra (deep active relaxation).
Private Yoga Classes
Would you like a private one-on-one class in either Health & Wellness Qigong or Classical Yoga? You are most welcome to have one in the privacy of your home or come to Meander Valley Yoga in beautiful Western Creek. Please contact me for further information.
Online Classes
Thanks to the internet, no matter where you are, I can teach Yoga and/or Qigong. Would you like an class for yourself or a group of friends/family? Contact me and let’s make it possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Medical Qigong?
Medical Qigong is a holistic approach to health and wellness. It is an internal art, which focuses on merging breath, movement and mind into one. When this happens, Qi, Prana or life force can move unrestricted throughout the body, boosting health or facilitating healing. The end goal is to relax, balance and reconnect the whole person, which ultimately feeds into long-term health and happiness.
Qigong can be both internal and external in the sense that internal exercises are performed using the mind, and external exercises are performed using the body and mind.
Qigong is a form of therapy with specific routines or sets that enhance and assist in healing and recovery from illness.
2. What is the difference between Qigong and Tai Chi?
Qigong is a much older practice rooted in traditional Chinese medicine and Daoist philosophy. It is the oldest form of therapy within traditional Chinese medicine. There are three different paths to take in Qigong: one is martial arts, the other medical and the third spiritual.
Medical Qigong is what I offer, however, there are two types of Medical Qigong. One is medical in the strictest sense, and is offered by a trained Medical Qigong practitioner learned in classical Chinese medicine. A one-on-one consultation takes place where Qigong exercises are administered based on medical diagnosis.
The exercises chosen can either be performed by the patient themselves, or the qualified Medical Qigong practitioner can stimulate and activate the patient’s self-healing for them.
The latter is possible due to the practitioner’s highly developed Qi, which they can extend out from their body. This takes many years of dedicated practice and mastery of Qigong.
The second type of medical Qigong is what I offer and is for health and wellness. It is performed either in a group or one-on-one setting. No health diagnosis is done. Exercises are general and benefit whole body-mind health.
In comparison to medial Qigong, Tai Chi is a more recent practice rooted in martial arts. It employs movement, self-defence, breathing and meditation. It usually takes longer to learn than Qigong and is based on a series of movements that cultivate Qi.
Qigong is typically practiced standing or sitting in the same place, whereas Tai Chi involves transitioning or moving from one position to another. You also need to learn more positions or movements in Tai Chi, up to 100+. Qigong has much less and is therefore quicker and easier to get the hang of.
Both practices are internal based meaning they develop the Qi or life force within, building vitality and health through Yin-Yang balance.
Tai Chi and Qigong are done slowly, and often the slower the better. But be aware the slow-motion speed is deceptive. When applied quickly, the positions and movements are explosively dynamic, generating incredible power and force.
So why the slowness? This is to bring the mind into the here and now, into a state of stillness and emptiness. Therein is the secret to the speed and power that is one result of all the training.
As is said in Daoist philosophy: ‘Do nothing, and everything is done.’
3. What is the difference between your Classical Yoga classes and other types of Hatha Yoga?
Yoga is both a way of being and a path to walk that leads us to long-lasting health, balance and freedom. The concept of Yoga is shared and reflected in many belief systems and practices around the world, including Daoism, Buddhism, Shamanism, Paganism, Oriental medicine and more.
In the West, what we know as Yoga is mainly the practice of the physical asanas or postures. While there is nothing wrong with this approach, it should be noted that the physical aspect is only the beginning stage on the path towards Yoga, or union of the whole being.
The asanas or postures are an important tool in bringing balance, health and vitality to the body. A healthy body fosters a quiet and peaceful mind. A happy mind is a reflection of deep breath awareness. All three are integral in cultivating our Prana or life force from within.
The goal of Yoga is not to be perfect, but simply to be in the moment, the here and now. To be content with all that we are, exactly as we are. Through accepting the erratic nature of our mind, we can stop fighting ourselves and move beyond – to the realisation that we are so much more than just the physical and the mental. By practising Yoga, we catch a glimpse of our true Self and the potential that lies within all of us. And this makes it a powerful tool for seeing beyond the veil of illusion, providing answers on how we can integrate ourselves back into the holistic fabric of life and accept the impermanence of things.
As this is a fairly intensive commitment, it’s obviously not for everyone. We each come to Yoga at different stages in our lives and for different reasons. We each have our own path to follow, with our own questions to ask and ways of finding the answers. Despite this, everyone can agree that even if we only do the asanas or postures, the benefits of doing them consistently are many.
The Hatha Yoga path, which focuses on the physical aspect, helps us to move into a meditative state of mind, or deep focus and awareness. The good news is that we don’t have to sit and meditate for hours on end to achieve this state of being. Practical mindfulness means we can take it with us everywhere we go, no matter what we are doing.
A good Yoga class is open to everyone, regardless of fitness level, age, body shape, background or belief. You don’t have to be a super bendy person to attend, or wear super cool clothing, nor do you have to be into meditation or chanting. Good Yoga is always adjusted to the student. Classes meet you at the level where you’re at and help you achieve your goals at your pace. Each path to Yoga is highly personal.
4. What is the difference between Yoga and Qigong?
I asked one of my mentors, an experienced Yoga and Qigong practitioner, how she would describe the difference between Yoga and Qigong. Her answer was:
“…Tai Chi and Qigong have a more powerful effect on the life force in the body, while Yoga provides an excellent effect on the body-mind complex.”
For her, both are a dance of consciousness.