I discovered the art of Chi-Kung (also spelled Qigong) in 1980, in the heart of London Chinatown. The teacher had flown all the way from Shanghai to teach us and I was the only non-Chinese in the group. The teaching was done in Chinese and it was all but lost on me, but as I later found out, we were all in the same situation, as my companions were Cantonese speakers and the teacher only spoke mandarin Chinese!  

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That story illustrates one of the problems of Chi-Kung: it’s not so easy to access as, say, Yoga or Pilates. Good teachers are not scarce, but you’ll have to make an effort to find them and you might consider yourself lucky if the style they teach is the right one for you, which could range from heavy calisthenics to deep meditation.

After my first attempt, it took me a few years to encounter the “right” teacher, an American master living in the north of England. From that moment on, my life took a decisive turn towards self-discovery and healing. I learned how to become harmonious with nature, sensitive to my needs and respectful of others, not by suddenly becoming a better person, but rather by gradually tuning-in to the flow of nature, and dancing to the cosmic beat.

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My health came back, good humor settled in, and my relationships improved greatly.

As a respect to my teacher, I later decided to help her spread this type of Chi-Kung, which we could call Yangxin: Nurturing the Heart.

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In the program that Alain is hosting, you will learn how to:

• Balance your Autonomic Nervous System, favoring the parasympathetic part, to help you sleep better, digest better, and better be in control of your emotions.
• Gently work on your body, opening the joints, stretching the muscles, easing the tensions, strengthening the tendons and bones.
• Get tuned to nature. The nature out and the nature within. To always be in touch with the present moment, so as to be able to relativize the intensity of feelings in situations of great emotional intensity or difficult challenges, at home or in the workplace.
• To be always open, caring and understanding to yourself and others in situations where you would have been previously judgmental and harsh.

You can find more information in the description of the program in the Mindfulness for Stress and Health Management - Educational Program