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My first Qigong and Taichi Session!

 

Luna in the middle followed by us practitioners on the sides!

I was first surprised to find Taichi and Qigong public events at Couchsurfing. Even though not sure what to expect I decided to try it out because I have somehow always been appealed by the Taoist Philosophy. Having seen Taichi and Qigong flow movements in the movies and popular culture, I wanted to give it a try without a second thought. Thanks to the free session hosted by Luna and Nayeem!

I visit Nagarjun forest/hill/region whenever I feel too clogged in the life within Kathmandu's hustle and bustle. The Nepal Yoga Home is located at the foothills of Nagarjun and at a picturesque location. In a way it is quite a place to host Taichi as well.

Luna and Nayeem greeted me with gentleness and their warm presence. First off, Luna’s choice to practise outdoors was perfect. The fresh air outside was welcoming. And the view to the valley in the distance is a blessing in disguise. Even though I was the only one to show up at the start, I loved their enthusiasm to start the practice right away. When I started with Qiqong at the start, I remember I was present in the session with a bit of tension. Maybe somewhere in my eyes, some restlessness within, and a bit of low-back pain which was nagging me for some time. We are always carrying a bit of stress if we try to notice them. I think it even affects how we interact with people and whether we are comfortable with ourselves or not. It was my first time doing qigong so of course I was quite excited. I loved Luna’s calm and soothing guidance. She was not in a rush. Or maybe she was but at least it didn’t seem so. I love how she started with basic moves and easy steps. It was simple to follow through with her guidance. The music in the guided meditation video in the background definitely blended in because for the next several hours we were all dissolved in the practice so much so that for a brief moment we were transported to ancient China, I felt. I was so absorbed in the practice that I only noticed at the end of Qigong that we had one more participant who had joined us.We all welcomed here and began with the next session.
After qigong we started with Tai Chi practice and our teacher, Luna, had to somehow make our energy as a group come in unison. Maybe that is why she started with us all in a circle and had us practise together in a group. As we held each other and followed her instructions, it felt as though we were sending each other invisible signals we are not aware about. Finally, we had one more participant join in at the middle of the session, but we all blended in the practice quickly.




Then came the most important part of the Taichi flow session. We had to imagine an energy ball around the sacral chakra region and hold it while we made a series of soft movements. As we followed Luna’s instructions, what felt like a complicated set of moves started to come to us naturally by the end of the practice. As she let us try it out for ourselves at the end, we were doing it on our own without her guidance. Luna is indeed quite the teacher. I am very thankful for her lovely session. I have always been interested in the Taoist philosophy and to be able to practice it with a genuine teacher and that too in my doorsteps, as in the comforts of Kathmandu was amazing. In a way it was a perfect introduction to Taichi and Qigong for me. And as for the stress and some tension in my body, they were all gone along with the lower back pain which had reduced quite a lot. I was excited to start the day. I think the sense of me, and my state of presence expanded a bit that morning because of the practice.


To follow Luna's work, please follow her on the following Instagram pages:

@liuhuajin.luna

@chinese.martial.arts.dubai


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