Qigong (chi gung) is a way of bringing forth our natural vitality. Qi (chi) is the energy that moves through all life. Gung is a cultivation, practice and developing relationship with our vitality. Just as we may cultivate a garden or practice a musical instrument, so we may practice qigong to nurture the life force within ourselves.

Embryology is the study of the first 8 weeks of our intrauterine life. Today, our cells hold our experience and embodiment of each moment of our embryological development and how we chose to embody space. Space existed before we came to be. We informed space and space informed us. Though time, particular embryological structures have faded away. We still hold the memory of these early phases of our existence and can re-member the range of foundational vibrational and cellular states.

This class covers some basic principles and forms of qigong and how we may be in-formed through accessing embryological foundations. Opening the body and experiencing simplicity allows us to resolve to the present. This integrated class provides a frame and context for some essential aspects of embryology applied to qigong. No prerequisite of embryology or qigong is needed to attend this web class.

This class is appropriate for:

• The novice with no experience of qigong or embryology
• The experienced practitioner who wants to deepen and expand their practice
• Those interested in applying embryological principles with practical experience

Class topics include:

• Wuji; the emptiness of pre-incarnation.
• Incarnation in stillness, incarnation of movement; interrelationship of egg-mind and sperm-mind.
• Accessing the planes of movement for investing 3-dimensionality; the first three cleavage planes.
• Somatic yielding, tonifying space, and tonifying self; the developing and hatching morula.
• Landing and rooting on the earth; contact, cellular migration, and implantation.
• The yin and yang of the front body and back body; balancing the endoderm and ectoderm
• Utilizing spatial support for stillness and movement; embracing the yolk sac and the amniotic cavity.
• Inner Sea of Qi and Outer Sea of Qi: yolk sac invagination within the amniotic cavity environment
• Simultaneously embracing and transforming yin and yang; cellular coherence and change imprinted by the autonomic fluid rhythm via the neurenteric canal
• The cloacal membrane and the oropharyngeal membrane establishing our central channel; the polarities of hui yin (the perineum of pelvic floor) and bai hui (crown of the head).
• The dantian; our physical center informed by the invagination of the yolk sac.

This highly experiential class will benefit beginners and experienced folks alike. We incorporate embryological moments and transitions based on the embodiment principles of Body-Mind Centering^®. Participants will learn theory and receive guidance for simple and safe movement forms.

At the end of the 6-week class, you will learn and be able to perform:

• An effective opening and closing qigong sequence
• Principles and practices integrating embryological support for qigong
• Other forms and exercises highlighting different aspects involved in qigong

To participate, you will need:

• A well-lit area so that you appear clearly on the screen
• A quiet area large enough where you can stand and freely swing your arms
• Simple comfortable clothing allowing unrestricted movement
• A chair or stool for sitting with your thighs parallel to the floor
• Internet and computer with webcam for Zoom meeting

Qigong of Embryology: Embodying Space and Time

Perinatal and Perinatal 6 session course

Class Descriptions:

1.     The Emptiness of Wuji, Egg Presence, and Sperm Activity

Wuji (emptiness) separates into polarities. The polarities of stillness and movement are embodied in the egg and in the sperm. Union of these brings incarnation and our choice to embody space. We continue to play between these, and other polarities, throughout our lives.

2.     Early Cell Cleavage, Morula, and Hatching

Early cell cleavage aligns us with internal and external spatial dimensions in which we live. Initially contained, cell divisions concentrate our fluids and membranes up to moment of hatching from an early shell; our first birth.

3.     Free Swimming Blastocyst, Contact, Migration, and Implantation

Swimming freely, we make initial contact with the earth embodied by our mother. Cells naturally gravitate toward sustenance and a deeper relationship with source. We develop the ability to bond with earth and with space.

4.     Bilaminar Body and the Meso-Body

The endoderm and ectoderm layers form our inner and outer body surfaces. Each layer has its corresponding sac for nurturance and protection, the yolk sac and amniotic cavity, respectively. These polar structures are necessary for supporting our growth and development. The meso-body arises between the two layers from a highly generative area in what becomes the perineum, hui yin in energy terms. The meso-body creates our substantive body.

5.     Primitive Streak, Notochord, and the Autonomic Fluid Rhythm

The primitive streak arises from the area of hui yin. It gives rise to the notochord which organizes our long axis and our left and right orientations. The neurenteric canal is a vital and temporary passageway through our midline that orients a front-to-back and back-to-front fluid rhythm. The Autonomic Fluid Rhythm impacts the tone and development of our autonomic nervous system and our perceptual bias.

6.     Simultaneous Condensing and Expanding Yield

The Autonomic Fluid Rhythm tone increases and influences the soma, our physical body. Through rhythm, the body becomes organized into a whole. The limbs and trunk become unified through repeated phases of condensing and expanding. Yielding and coming into relationship with this innate power brings us to deep wholeness of an early state of being.

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

~ Lao Tzu