Qigong for the Hips and Low Spine
In-person class: Chapel Hill, NC
Wednesdays evenings in May, 2026
Are you curious about qigong (energy work or life force skill)? Check out this 4-session in-person class on the legs, hips and lower back. This class is great opportunity for folks who want to foster a bodymind connection for improved physical and mental health.
The deep joints and tissues of the hips are essential for stability, alignment, and power for movement. The hip area or kua incorporates the hip joint as well as surrounding muscle, fascia, organs and vessels. The leg itself does not stop at the hip; it includes the pelvis to complete an entire integrated unit. The pelvis connects to the sacrum > lumbar spine for a continuous connection with the earth. Over time, injury and compensatory patterns may cause imbalance and discomfort in these areas and affect stability and mobility.
Gentle qigong forms and principles allow us to engage and integrate thekua and lower back. Practice helps increase hip flexibility, strength, and integration into a fuller whole-body presence. Stable, aligned legs give structure for a healthy back and ease of movement. Shifting weight and spiraling through the kua can stabilize our connection with the earth and improve balance. Principles and class activities can be applied to the internal arts, other movement systems (tai chi, yoga, sports) and to everyday activities and presence.
Class. This class focuses on the lower body- the legs, pelvis and lower spine. We will consider body mechanics, form and flow. Each class begins with arrival time, a warm-up time for both body and mind (or one bodymind). We then look at some principles and activities to apply to form. The forms we will do are simple so there’s not a lot of choreography to remember. You can easily practice them at home.
This class incorporates principles of qigong, Body-Mind Centering© developmental movement and experiential anatomy. We all engage with the material at the level we are at. Groups are small so there will be time for personal questions and suggestions.
Arriving:
Our ‘warm-up” sequence
Forms:
Zhan Zhuang (a simple standing practice)
Wave Hands (aka Cloud Hands)
Press Waves
Empty-step
Walking
Skills:
Song (“relaxation”, release, yielding)
Folding and unfolding the kua (hip area); double leg, single leg
Opening mingmen (The Gate of Life) in the lumbar region
Full and empty
Shifting weight: side-side, forward-back
Date: May 6th – 27th 2026, (4) Wednesdays
Time: 5:30 – 6:45 p.m., Eastern Time
Fee: $60 cash, check, Zelle or Venmo. $62.50 credit card or PayPal.
Location: Ellen Place, Chapel Hill (address provided on registration or contact me)
Not sure? Come to the first class. If you like it, pay for the month. If not, thanks for checking it out.
A bit about me. I have been studying somatic work since 1984. Body-Mind Centering® developmental movement and experiential anatomy is the basis of my embodied understanding. I have been integrating these principles into qigong practice since 1992. Classes I lead offer emptiness, form and flow, wuji, yin and yang as basis for practice and teaching.
Go here to pay & register for in-person class
Sea of Qi & Gate of Life
4 live online Qigong classes
May 2026
The dantian (Sea of Qi) is located in the belly. Mingmen (Gate of Life) is located at the level just below the second lumbar vertebra.
We will consider the early origins of these areas in embryological development. Practically, we will engage in activities to help locate and more fully inhabit (embody) these essential areas of the body-mind and their relationship to each other.
Details and registration to come.
Topic: Dantian (Sea of Qi) & Mingmen (Gate of Life); Early Formation and Development.
Date: May 4th – 25th 2026, (4) Mondays
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. Eastern
Format: Zoom online
Fee: $60 cash, check, Zelle or Venmo. $62.50 credit card or PayPal.
View video: Relaxation, Yield, Song
Body-Mind Centering® Somatic Movement Educator Training
Body-Mind Centering® courses at the Somatic Education Society of Taiwan begin a new cycle in August 2026. If you are interested in joining the Somatic Movement Educator Program in Taitung City, Taiwan, our next program runs August 2026 – January 2029. You may register for a single course or the entire SME program. Click here and go to the Registration tab.