TAI CHI WORKSHOP
Engage The 5 Vital Energies Within You and Activate Your Breath Body through Tai Chi

June 14, 2008, 9:00-4:30 PM
Call Blessings, 336- 724-9393 to register.
Location: Blessings, 823 Reynolda Rd, WS

Did you ever wish to be more in touch with the guiding light of spirit? What if you discovered that within your very own being there were five wise guides just waiting to be invited to share their wisdom with you about your relationships, your work life, what to eat, how to exercise your body, and the best way to nourish your spiritual life?

For many years, the Western mind has limited consciousness to the human brain, and assumed matter itself, including the body, to be incapable of communication. Yet for most of human history, men and women interacted with a living universe – intelligent matter – that was personally engaged in the everyday details of their lives.

In recent years, radical new insights from within our Western scientific community have emerged and suggest a new paradigm that supports the intelligence of matter. Research scientists such as Candace Pert, author of Molecules of Emotion and PhD in the Department of Bio-Physics and Physiology at Georgetown University, and Paul Pearsall PhD, Psychoneuroimmunologist, and author of The Heart’s Code, report to us amazing instances of intelligent communication from organs of the body.

Remarkably, this new scientific information affirms the world view of ancient Chinese Medicine, which described an intimate relationship between individual human beings and divinely constructed vital organ spirits. These spirits were believed to have been given to us at the time of our conception, having come to dwell within our bodies during our lifetimes to give us guidance and help throughout our lives, up until and through the time of our deaths, at which time they then returned to the world of spirit. These “organ spirits,” neither spirit nor matter, nevertheless mediated between the two, and were able to affect both.

Each of these five major internal organ spirits resonates with one of the five earth elements – fire, wood, earth, metal, and water. Furthermore, each performs a psychological function and oversees the functioning of a bodily system, as well as relates uniquely to one of the heavenly planetary bodies.

Cultivating our relationships with these wise guides during our lifetime leads to health of body and spirit, and the sense that we are living our life with purpose, energy, direction, and intention. Neglecting or isolating our organ spirits tends to set us up for suffering from physical, emotional, and spiritual problems and a sense of frustration that we cannot find our way in the world, or at least the way that is just right for us.

In this workshop, Three Treasures instructors will introduce the following cultivations:

• Physical practices for activating the 5 Spirits; feeling the unique qualities of their chi; learning how they like to move and express themselves through our bodies and in sound; and how they can help us to fully open the six directions of our breath body.
  
• Meditative practices for navigating our infinite, inner body space; experiencing the intelligence and vitality of the 5 Spirits; recognizing their voices speaking to us even in the midst of the superficial chatter of our minds, which are busily focused on acquiring happiness from the outer world.
  
• Healing practices for aligning, connecting, balancing, and harmonizing the physical systems within our bodies with the earth’s energies; waking up the consciousness of those parts which have gone to sleep; and listening and responding to the needs of our most wounded places.
  
• Alchemical practices for embracing the tension of the opposites within our lives, and for understanding how our lives break apart only to create the potential for reorganization of these scattered parts and broken fragments into a new and reconciling whole of greater complexity and value than the one that was lost; and to connect us with the single unifying force that dissolves our illusions of separation from other and cosmos and reveals a magnificent unbroken whole.

While Tai Chi traditionally is known as a martial art, a time-honored means of developing personal power, indomitable strength, and extraordinary skills of attack and self defense, this class is based on a lesser known aspect of Tai Chi as an ancient healing art, an alchemical practice with ability to transform and cultivate body, emotions, soul, and spirit. These ancient roots of Tai Chi go back over 5,000 years to the simple practices of Chi Kung, a varied series of basic movements that arose from the imitation of animals, plants, and the elements of nature.

All of the teachers affiliated with Three Treasures Tai Chi LLC have backgrounds in various health and human services careers, and share a common dedication to the practice of Tai Chi as a peaceable art as well as a vehicle of healing for individuals and communities.

For more information about Three Treasures Tai Chi LLC, go to www.threetreasures.org or call 336.659.1599.

INSTRUCTORS:

David Harold, MDiv, LCSW, has over 25 years of commitment to psychotherapy and to teaching personal and spiritual growth. As an NLP Trainer since 1989 he has taught hundreds of students ways to increase their interpersonal acuity, flexibility, and effectiveness. David has practiced and taught Tai Chi Chuan since 1975, and has an enduring interest in applying Tai Chi principles to ordinary life to accomplish more peaceful outcomes.

Sandy Seeber, LPC, CHTP is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Certified Healing Touch Practitioner (CHTP), and Associate Healing Dao Instructor. She also holds certifications in Energy Diagnostic Treatment Methods (EDxTM), and Enneagram Technology through Lifeworx Learning, Inc. Sandy currently is in private practice. www.sandyseeber.com

Alan Graham, DC is a chiropractic physician, consultant, and Associate Healing Dao (Tai Chi) Instructor. He currently is in private practice in Winston-Salem, NC. His main chiropractic practice interest is treating musculoskeletal pain using myofascial release and active rehabilitation. His consulting interest is in combining scientifically based CAM modalities, especially chiropractic with conventional medicine. www.alangrahamdc.com

Beverly Isley-Landreth, MDiv, ThM, CHTP, is a clinical chaplain in private practice, who utilizes Spiritual Direction, Guided Meditation and Chi Kung with those who are actively seeking growth and integration in their spiritual path. Beverly works with diverse patient groups around issues related to pain management, grief, and depression, and is also a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner.