Jump to: Sea of Qi & Gate of Life (class)
Jump to: Body-Mind Centering® SME program in Taiwan
Qigong for the Hips and Low Back
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 the kua 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 Hips and Low Back class
Sea of Qi & Gate of Life
Online series (4 classes)
The Sea of Qi describes the dantian in the belly, the Gate of Life describes the mingmen in the lower spine/ waist. These different areas are in direct relationship with each other. Open mingmen and collect (tonify) in the dantian. How do we integrate the abdomen, lower spine and waist?
The dantian forms in utero as the gut tube forms. This is a process of incorporating the external sea of qi (the yolk sac) into our body to become the internal sea of qi (the dantian). This occurs while encompassed by the amniotic sac, which may be considered a greater Sea of Qi. We can explore this as support for the dantian and mingmen.
The mingmen is generally located just below lumbar vertebra 2. It manifests in the area between the kidneys, the stores/ supply of our foundation of energy. Understanding the early development of the kidneys combined with conscious practice can help us (re)discover this space for life to flow within.
There is a lot of information “out there” about these vital areas. We will engage in activities to directly experience and more fully inhabit our dantian and mingmen. Class will consist of integrating aspects of embryology and anatomy with qigong principles of movement, stillness and breathing.
Embryology and early development we will explore:
- Yolk sac invaginating to form the lower gut and dantian
- Kidney development informing the mingmen
Some basic principles and forms we will do:
- Sitting and standing
- Open and closing movements, twisting movement
- Initiating movement from the dantian and mingmen (simply the “waist”)
- Breathing into the dantian and mingmen
Classes are recorded for review by all; no need to be present at the live class. All registered will receive a link after class. Recordings will be accessible for the unforeseen future with no plans to limit access.
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; recordings available to all registered
Fee: $60 cash, check, Zelle or Venmo. $62.50 credit card or PayPal.
Go here to pay and register for Sea of Qi & Gate of Life class
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.