RETREATS: Mingtang Claire Karen
One of Mingtang's previous retreats
FIVE-DAY INTENSIVE RETREAT WITH GRANDMASTER MINGTANG XU
The 9th annual retreat is June 21-25, 2009
(with Private Student Workshop on June 26-27)
at Still Meadow Retreat Center in Clackamas, OR
In addition to meditations and lectures led by Grand Master Mingtang Xu, this year's retreat will feature a lecture by Zhao Fuxue, Professor and TCM Doctor at the Kundawell Institute in Beijing.
The duration and setting of our five-day residential retreat offers a concentrated experience that can go much deeper than is possible in a shorter workshop. A retreat enables Mingtang to teach more intensively, and students learn more deeply. This retreat is open to beginning and intermediate students. If you are planning to go to Shaolin, China, it is highly recommended that you attend this retreat, which prepares you for Level III at Shaolin.
Who should take part in the retreat?
- Spiritual development seekers: Explore the mind, consciousness and other spiritual matters.
- Energy and spirit healers: Develop healing power and diagnostic abilities.
- Health seekers: Learn to regulate and strengthen your physical, energetic and spiritual immune systems.
- Professionals: mainstream and alternative health care providers
What are we going to do?
Mingtang tailors his teaching to the attendees' needs and abilities in order to:
- Absorb, generate and flow qi.
- Balance and strengthen the qi system (Big Tree Standing Meditation, Refine Qi, Microcosmic Orbit).
- Improve sensitivity for spiritual development and healing (Achieve a deeper calm state, develop the second respiratory system).
- Learn energy diagnosis and healing.
Where will we stay?
Still Meadow Community with its beautifully landscaped grounds, supports healing, renewal, reconciliation and creative personal work. Located in rural Clackamas, it is only a half hour from both downtown Portland and the Portland International Airport. Lodging is in the bed-and-breakfast style: comfortable rooms with shared baths. Guest rooms are integrated into the residential community, offering a mini-community experience while respecting the need for privacy. Standard rooms are shared and double occupancy.
Special Requests
Please contact us if you have special requests. For example, requests for a vegetarian, dairy-free, or wheat-free diet may be accommodated.
Registration/Payment
The prices listed below are per person. A minimum desposit of $300 is required for a reservation ($150 is non-refundable with payment or deposit). Full payment is due May 15, 2009. Rooms are assigned on a first-come basis once full payment is received.
Retreat Only Option
| DOUBLE ROOM (2 beds / 2 people): | $875.00 |
| PRIVATE ROOM - SINGLE (1 bed / 1 person): | $925.00 |
| PRIVATE ROOM - COUPLE (1 bed / 2 people): | $800.00 |
| DORM SETTING (mattress on floor): | $775.00 |
| CAMPING (bring your own tent): | $725.00 |
| SEMINARS ONLY (no accommodations or food): | $500.00 |
Retreat Plus Private Student Workshop Option
| DOUBLE ROOM (2 beds / 2 people): | $1075.00 |
| PRIVATE ROOM - SINGLE (1 bed / 1 person): | $1125.00 |
| PRIVATE ROOM - COUPLE (1 bed / 2 people): | $975.00 |
| DORM SETTING (mattress on floor): | $900.00 |
| CAMPING (bring your own tent): | $825.00 |
| SEMINARS ONLY (no accommodations or food): | $550.00 |
To register, fill out one registration form per person and send it with check or credit card information to ZY Qigong (4033 STONE WAY N, SEATTLE WA 98103). If paying by credit card, you may fax us the form(s) (The fax number is on the registration form). Also, if paying by credit card, be sure to provide all credit card information, including the name as it appears on the card, billing address and telephone number.
Refund Policy
Refunds must be requested in writing (letter, fax or email. Refunds minus a $150 non-refundable deposit will be given for requests received by May 15. As an alternative to a refund, you can transfer your deposit or full payment to another person.
Daily Schedule
Day 1: Sunday
| 11:00 am - 3:00 pm: | Check-in |
| 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm: | Lunch |
| 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm: | First Session with Mingtang |
| 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm: | Dinner & Free Time |
| 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm: | Evening Session |
Days 2, 3 & 4: Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday
| 7:00 am - 8:00 am: | Morning Exercises |
| 8:00 am - 9:00 am: | Breakfast |
| 9:00 am - 12:00 pm: | Morning Session |
| 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm: | Lunch & Free Time |
| 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm: | Afternoon Session |
| 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm: | Dinner & Free Time |
| 8:00 pm - 10:00 pm: | Evening Session |
Days 5: Thursday
| 7:00 am - 8:00 am: | Morning Exercises |
| 8:00 am - 9:00 am: | Breakfast |
| 9:00 am - 12:00 pm: | Morning Session |
| 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm: | Lunch & Checkout for Retreat-only People |
| 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm: | Board Meeting (Everyone Is Invited) |
| 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm: | Dinner |
Days 6 & 7: Friday & Saturday(Private Student Workshop)
The schedule for these two days (including meals) will be determined by Mingtang and the participants.
"To achieve ultimate relaxation, all three systems in a
person need to be integrated: physical, energy and mental.
- You have achieved relaxation physically when energy flows easily in your body.
- You have achieved relaxation in your energy when there is no resistance in your energy flow.
- You have achieved relaxation mentally when the mind stops suddenly. You will feel strong vibrations shake the soul in your body.
At a five-day retreat, you may learn to stop the busy mind." - Mingtang
RETREATS WITH CLAIRE JOHNSON
Breitenbush Hot Springs, Oregon - October 8-11, 2009
ZY Qigong: The 7,000 Year Old Practice
Qi (vital energy) is the web connecting the body and mind, holding a record of all one’s physical, emotional and spiritual lessons. This map determines how we think, heal, live and die.
Claire is known for her presence in guiding students into their own innate power and their own extraordinary abilities, gaining mastery of their health, happiness and life. Students often say they have "experienced something (they have) never experienced before."
Using simple, gradually evolving qigong movements, sounds, breathing and meditation, she brings people into a profound state of release, changing patterns in their physical, emotional, mental and spiritual being spontaneously that they thought were "impossible" and "miraculous". These tangible understandings empower students in healing themselves, and in healing others.
Students and practitioners of all levels receive what they need from the direct transmission of this ancient system.
Email us for information or questions. To register, call Breitenbush at 503-854-3320.
Tuition $300 ($360 after September 8) plus lodging (see Breitenbush's website for the workshop's description, lodging options and costs).
In February 2006, we held our first weekend retreat at Breitenbush Hotsprings near Portland, OR, kicking off a semi-annual retreat offering. The energy at Breitenbush is powerful, bubbling up from the earth much as the natural hot springs. In addition to the hot springs, the food was fabulous, the surroundings beautiful, and the vibe was positive and relaxed. Led by Claire Johnson, the practice was potent and deeply felt by all.
Breitenbush in February 2006
What are the spots on the photo?
Could they be
the energetic manifestation of awakening Original Spirit?
Original Spirit and Ordinary Spirit
A state of being in qigong practice is awakening our Original Spirit. When we are born into this relative realm, the physically manifested realm, the Ordinary Spirit begins to grow within the open expansiveness of our Original Spirit. Our Ordinary Spirit begins to collect existing knowledge that comes from this world. From this knowledge, desires grow. The Ordinary Spirit is yin, the denseness that balances yang, the space and lightness that is our Original Spirit. This yin-yang balanced being is able to exist in this world. In order to know our Original Spirit which is beyond the relative realm, we must truly know our Ordinary Spirit and tame it, so we can flow freely in between the relative and the absolute.
To do so, first we need to let go of preconceived notions and existing understanding--our Spirit of Knowledge, which is was the first development of our Ordinary Spirit. Then we release our external desires--our Spirit of Desire, which is formed based on the Spirit of Knowledge. When we come to ourselves with openness and curiosity, with no goals or results to pursue, the internal process of awakening our Original Soul starts all on its own. Daoist internal alchemy uses time tested methods to facilitate the process of returning to our Original Spirit.
QI DANCING: INTEGRATING SOUL, BODY AND QI THROUGH DANCE WITH KAREN FLETCHER
at Breitenbush Hot Springs, Oregon
Dance! Dance! Dance! Through movement we awaken our joy, our hearts and our Qi - vital life energy. By deepening our awareness of Qi, we connect to our body's wisdom and creativity. From this space, we can dance our stories, dance wildly with abandon, and through our ecstatic movement, we come home to our inner stillness. Qi dancing is a dynamic meditation. We discover our stillness and strengthen it through movement. Suitable for beginners and all levels.
In this workshop you will:
- Feel Qi-energy!
- Learn simple techniques to cleanse, activate and circulate Qi throughout your body.
- Experience the ecstatic and transformative power of dance.
- Dive into the creative discovery of your body's vocabulary of authentic movement and wisdom.
This weekend workshop begins Friday at dinner and ends Sunday at lunch. The tuition for the workshop is $150 ($175 if registered after the early registration date) plus lodging.