Qigong Craven Arms Shropshire
I offer regular weekly
classes for beginners to learn Qigong
in
Craven Arms Shropshire.
I also offer 1-2-1
Qigong training and corporate
Chi Gung throughout South Shropshire, North
Herefordshire and East Powys. If you're searching for
Qigong near me - please take a look at my classes
to see if there's something here for you.
I love working with beginners,
starting out with you on your Qigong or Tai Chi
journey and teaching you the fundamentals of the
internal Chinese arts. I will work with you to take
you through the basics and then guide you further as
your practice and understanding grow. My own path in
Tai Chi and Qigong is ongoing and is a constant source
of discovery, enjoyment and yes, occasionally,
frustration!
We follow the Taoist Water Tradition, so I emphasise the soft and gentle side of Qigong and Tai Chi, making these classes ideal for everyone, whatever your physical capacity or age (over 18s only).
What is Chi Gung /
Qigong?
Chi Gung comprises a
series of soft, gentle, repetitive movements which
work to maintain and improve your body, mind and
energy's natural tendency towards optimal health and
balance. Even the most basic movements can offer profound changes and benefits: a simple exercise with the hands, an awareness of how to look after your knees or spine, a relaxed way of aligning your body whether standing or sitting, how to feel and move your qi and improving your breathing. All these exercises and more are encompassed in the Qigong I teach. With practice and training, you'll gradually develop your Qigong to engage all parts of your body, both internally and externally, as well as working with your mind and your energy.
Benefits of Qigong include:
Please email me for further information or call 07880 501302 (you must be over 18).
- Relieving stress
- Relaxing your mind and body
- Improving your balance
- Strengthening and softening your nervous system
- Enhancing your body awareness and co-ordination
- Balancing and increasing your energy
What to Expect at Your Qigong or Tai Chi Class
Please wear whatever clothes you feel comfortable in and which don't restrict your movement. Ideally, shoes should be soft and flexible with thin, flat soles, but trainers or even socks are fine to start with.Depending on your individual capability, Chi Gung can be done either standing or sitting, and part of the class often involves some sitting exercises. Tai Chi is usually done standing.
The class format is that I will demonstrate a movement or an exercise and then you practise it. I move around the class giving individual feedback. If you need to stop and rest at any time, you're encouraged to do so.
Qigong and Tai Chi differ completely from a standard 'western' exercise class. The intention instead is to de-stress your system, not to push it to the limit and stress yourself more! The golden rule is never to work at more than 70% of your mental, physical and energetic capacity. Any time during the class, you're free to stop the exercise you're doing, sit down, have some water, in fact anything that YOU need to do.
If you have any questions or concerns you would like to discuss before coming to your first Chi Gung or Tai Chi class, please phone (07880 501302) or email me.
Dragon and Tiger Chi Gung (Qi Gong)
This Qigong system is some 1,500 years old and is still practised in China today. It comprises a series of seven movements to stimulate and balance the flow of chi throughout the body and unblock stagnant chi. This can result in an improvement in overall well-being and an increase in the body's chi (energy) levels. It acts much like a daily acupuncture tune-up that you can do for yourself in about 15 minutes. These Chi Gung movements can also help reduce stress, whilst improving physical balance, co-ordination and flexibility. You can practise Dragon and Tiger Chi Gung whatever your state of health. Even if the movements are not performed perfectly, they can still be highly beneficial.Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body Chi Gung (Qi Gong)
Regular practice of this Qigong system can help you gain improvements in both your physical and mental well-being. It includes:Standing - a core practice of Chi Gung to increase internal awareness, work with body alignments to improve posture and reduce tension, and improve the smooth flow of chi throughout the body.
Outer Dissolving - having started with sinking the chi, this practice moves on to scanning for and dissolving physical and energetic blockages.
Cloud Hands - a slow, continuous Chi Gung exercise to integrate the body physically and energetically, carrying forward the skills of standing into movement.
Spine Stretch - a Chi Gung movement unique to Taoism, it activates the chi of the spine and brain, as well as being highly beneficial physically for the spine. It is particularly useful for those who use computers for long periods.
Foundational Qigong
Foundational Qigong covers the four core exercises of standing, sitting, Taoist breathing and Qigong circling hands in the sagittal, transverse and coronal planes. The focus is on good physical alignments, relaxing the body, releasing the nerves and taking the body into circular movement and away from linearity and reciprocal inhibition.About the Teacher
Simon (that's me!) has been training in Aikido since 1980 and teaching since 1985. Currently, I teach martial arts in Knighton at Whitton Aikido. In 1996, I began to study and work with several complementary health and self-development systems and I am a member of the Federation of Holistic Therapists.Having had initial contact with Chi Gung in 2004, I attended a number of short Chi Gung seminars with Taoist Lineage Master Bruce Frantzis, founder of Energy Arts. In 2008, I attended an Energy Arts instructor training course with Master Frantzis and was certified as a Level I Instructor of Dragon and Tiger Chi Gung. In 2009, following a further instructor training, I was certified as a Level 1 Instructor of Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body Chi Gung. I now practise the internal Chinese energy arts almost every day.
Since 2009, I have regularly attended additional training in the Energy Arts system and also undergone regular teacher re-certification with Paul Cavel, a Senior Energy Arts Instructor. In 2023, Paul Cavel ran a Foundational Qigong Teacher Training Seminar and Instructor Upgrade into the new Energy Arts Eight-level Instructor Certification Programme. I certified as a Level 3 Instructor of Foundational Qigong and was re-certified as a Level 3 Instructor of Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body Qigong and a Level 5 Instructor of Dragon and Tiger Qigong. In 2024, I achieved teaching certifications in Tai Chi (Yang style) and Taoist Neigong with The Tai Chi Space.
I am also recognised by the British Aikido Board as a Level 3 Coach, hold the Award in Education and Training and a Level 5 Qualification in Leadership and Management.
About Master Bruce Frantzis
Bruce Frantzis, a Taoist lineage master, studied in China, Japan and India for many years. For more information on Bruce Frantzis and Energy Arts go to
Find out more about Qigong in Craven Arms Shropshire
Find out more about Qigong
in Montgomery and Tai
Chi in Montgomery Powys
What some participants on previous Chi Gung / Qi Gong courses have said:
"If I do my chi gung first thing in the morning, I find it revitalises me for the day."
"Relaxation and more awareness of my body, in terms of what it was doing and what muscles and organs each movement was affecting."
"It was a lot less
intensive than I had thought it would have been… I had
been expecting more of a 200% regime than a 70%
regime, but that was not an unwelcome development. I
occasionally felt things that I imagine could be
described as chi…. Hands feeling resistant or guided."
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Feedback from my teacher, Paul Cavel, at the Dragon & Tiger teacher training in Crete in 2019.
