FAQS:
What is Health Coaching per the National Board of Health & Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) guidelines?
The latest research suggests that we are more likely to make a change and stick to it when we have autonomy. So, in this style of coaching, you get to be the expert on you. In other words, my role as a coach is to be like a well-behaved passenger in your car with you as the driver, asking you questions that are meant to help you find clarity on where you’d like to go, and how you’d like to get there in the way that fits you best. I am a MindBodyGreen Certified Health & Wellness Coach, and a candidate for NBHWC Certification in 2024.
What is Qigong ‘Energy Skill’ and how can it help you?
There is a joke in the Qigong community that says, ‘What is Qigong good for? Everything!’ While there are many modern scientific studies about the benefits of Qigong for improving health and relieving stress, it has been practiced and refined for nearly 3,000 years! As one of the five branches of Chinese Medicine, it serves to re-balance the body physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. It is an excellent tool for preventing anxiety, energizing the body, managing and alleviating health issues over time, and much more. The word Qigong translates to ‘energy work’ or ‘energy skill’ and refers to the development of skill at working with our life-force energy. I teach Medical Qigong practices - the practice of moving and working with our life-force energy for improving overall health. Most practices resemble meditative movement and/or breath-work but also work on a much deeper level of the psyche, in order to help us experience profound shifts that are seemingly effortless.
What do I mean when I talk about Energy?
One of my esteemed teachers says, ‘No matter what, when you distill something down, you will eventually reach the point of mystery’. The concept of energy (also known as Qi, Chi, Prana, Life-force) is one of these mysteries. We can feel that there is something that animates us, an electrical current, a force similar to the wind that moves trees, the word energy is probably best described as just that: The mysterious force that moves us. Energy can also be defined by type - perhaps a feeling, an idea, a motivation, a suggestion, or some other thing we feel but can’t necessarily hold in the palm of our hand. We know that the actions we take can generate ‘an energy’ or that ‘an energy’ can generate action. In Qigong, cause and effect, energy and action or energy and matter, are inherently linked in a circuitous dance. They are always in relationship to, and affecting, one another. In Qigong, there is a detailed system for balancing various types of energy and even categorizing them into groups so that we can understand how to balance and fine-tune ourselves, like tuning a guitar. This way, the practice of Qigong is effective for harmonizing our ‘Energy’ that forms our Physical, Emotional, Mental, and Spiritual experience.
What does it mean to be Physically, Emotionally, Mentally and Spiritually Healthy?
Chinese medicine and the practice of Qigong energy work does not differentiate between physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health. Instead, it suggests these are all connected. Imagine a time when you felt physically fit - how did this affect your overall mood and mental state? Now imagine a time when you felt emotionally and mentally ‘fit’ - how did this affect the health of your physical body and what you were able to achieve? Qigong includes a detailed system for caring for all parts of our experience. When we are in balance, emotions and thoughts and even physical states can come and go easily like clouds passing in the sky. We may feel sick or off-balance for a short period, for example, but we’re less likely to stay that way, while we’re more likely to understand exactly what we need to do to get back into balance - in any area of life! What does it mean to have spiritual health? In general, we can think of this as feeling aligned, on-purpose, happy about what we do and how we show up in the world on a daily basis, feeling as though this reflects who we truly are and were meant to be. In this way, the practice of working to achieve balance can affect each and every aspect of our lives from how to we feel to how we show up in the world and relate to our surroundings and others. It is, and was designed to be, so much more than just a practice for physical health!
How does this practice strengthen and tone your body and mind?
Qigong is excellent for a strong healthy body and for emotional, mental, and spiritual health. As mentioned above, Chinese medicine does not separate one from the other. As Qigong means ‘energy work’ or ‘energy skill’, as we learn it, we develop skill at working with our life-force energy; so we become more skillful at letting energy pass in and out, even at directing the life-force energy or Qi. In practical terms, this can mean we become skillful at choosing the thoughts that serve us and those that don’t, focusing the mind toward what is truly best for us, we turn towards behaviors and habits that truly serve us, with ease. As we learn to direct this energy, we can feel much more ease in our daily lives, with more calm, vitality, trust, faith, and therefore less anxiety…naturally!
How is Qigong ‘Energy Skill’ related to clarity and intuition?
With the ability to focus our energy on what serves us, and more easily weed out what doesn’t, we get better mental clarity. Without all the noise, we can hear the call of our intuition with more ease. When we’re aligned with our purpose, feeling spiritually healthy, we can easily follow that call. In this way, we can feel connected to our sense of self, our inner wisdom, and the subtle cues we pick up on that serve to tell us more about our own ‘mind’. Free of mental fog that comes from a stirring mind, physical discomfort, or whirling emotions, we become more clear and able to trust in ourselves, in the situations we find ourselves in, and in our body-mind to lead the way.
How can I expect to feel after a session or class?
After a session, you can expect to feel the sense of calm, grounded-ness, and vitality that Qigong is so known for. Sometimes, however, there is a detoxifying effect and we can feel what may be in the way of calm, grounded-ness, and vitality. This may feel like an emotional wave, having a profound insight, or sleepiness. When this happens, it is suggested to drink lots of water, rest and/or take a nap, and eat a warm meal when hungry. This will allow the body to better integrate the practice and eventually feel more able to be calm, grounded, and vital.
Where do these practices come from?
These practices come from China and have been documented for close to 3,000 years but some say they are older than that! In fact, Qigong is said to pre-date acupuncture as a system for taking care of one’s own health. The two go very nicely together, however, and complement each other nicely for an optimal health regime!
What is the difference between Qigong and Taichi?
Much like ballet is a form of dance, Taichi is a form of Qigong. And, just like there are many styles of Qigong, there are also many styles of Taichi. There are styles of both Qigong and Taichi that are used for Martial Arts, and those that are used for Medical health benefits or Spiritual means. I focus on Medical Qigong for physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health.
Where did I study and what is my work experience?
I’m certified in Holden Qigong, as a MindBodyGreen Health & Wellness Coach and certified to do Intuitive Reading by the International School of Clairvoyance where I studied for 2+ years and assisted in the training program meant to help sharpen the tools of intuition. I’ve trained with Qigong Masters including the legendary Mantak Chia, Minke de Dos, and Michael Winn and borrow tools from Yoga Nidra iRest which I studied with Master Trainer Ford Peck. The first 10 years of my career was spent working with top NYC artist agencies as a career consultant, but after a long journey to overcome chronic migraines, I felt drawn to support health & wellness - for myself and others. I’ve studied Qigong for over a decade, and as part of the East-West Psychology Masters Degree Program at the California Institute of Integral Studies. I recently chose to pause my studies there, however, to pursue certification with the National Board of Health & Wellnesses Coaches (NBHWC) which would give me the structure and expertise to confidently work with clients as part of their heath and wellness journey within the changing landscape of our healthcare system. I’m a candidate for NBHWC certfication in 2024, specializing in techniques to support client-directed healthy lifestyle shifts. I have taught at Lumeria Maui Retreat Center for several years and at the Maui Academy of Healing Arts, supporting future health-workers to feel energized as they work to support others. I truly love my job. :)
MY STORY:
It started with a headache, though I’d probably credit many of life’s great challenges and triumphs that led me to where I am. You could say my interest in the Chinese ‘Energy Arts’ or in ‘Intuitive’ things began at age 13 when my mom bought me a book on Feng Shui because I didn’t like the way the room felt as a Highly Sensitive girl. Perhaps it was that I grew up in a household watching my mom do Yoga and Meditation. It could be when my grandmother introduced me to astrology, also around age 13, and it seemed to explain the world. Or it could have started with my first Tai Chi class when I heard the story of a woman who’d overcome terminal illness while practicing Tai Chi and Qigong.
My love for ‘energy’ practices continued into my early 20s when I went to work in a busy NYC fashion photographer’s agency and suffered from the migraines that plagued me since I was a kid. The headaches and stressful environment had me seek help from an Acupuncturist named Dr Ng, a 3rd generation healer who had both been to school and learned medicine from his father and grandfather. On his table, I first felt the sensation of being revved like an engine starting back up again - I knew what it was like to deliberately feel my energy or chi.
Into my 30s the Accupuncture, yoga, and meditation helped me mostly, but I was still sick with migraines, knowing I needed some more help. Feeling not quite right in the life I was living, I quit my thriving career and started spending time in the Bay Area. That’s where someone took me to a Qigong class, and suddenly I was hooked. I felt the same feeling I had of being on Dr Ng’s acupuncture table or after a massage, but from doing movements on my own. I started practicing three times a week and sharing with my friends the magic of Qigong! I loved it and eventually sought out workshops and a certification program so I could learn and share more.
Once I began practicing Qigong regularly, however, my sensitivity heightened. I went back to that same feeling I had as a child who needed Feng Shui to harmonize her room and space. I felt so sensitive, my intuition so strong that I thought there must be a problem. As a result, I found myself sneaking off to school to learn tools for Clairvoyance in order to try to understand what was going on. There, I found a sense of empowerment in my sensitivity. Instead of it feeling like a curse, I started to realize how it could be a gift. And as I started to embrace my Sensitive and Intuitive and Energy-Sensing nature, as I continued to practice Qigong, the art of Energy Skill’, my headaches started to lessen. I also became more passionate about sharing these practices. and was inspired to write a book!
In understanding how to balance my own chi or energy, how to comfortably sense energy around me, and the response to it within, it seems there is a deeper story to everything. And through the many challenges I have had to date - from health crises to relationship and career transformations - I can see how valuable it is to learn to balance my own energy, connect to my own well of wisdom, and decipher the messages buried within. I feel truly lit up when I am able to share this with others where I live now on Maui and beyond. <3
