Category: Event

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Mawangdui Daoyin Seminar

Mawangdui, translated as 'King Ma's Mound', is an archaeological site located in Changsha, China. The site consists of two saddle shaped hills which contain three tombs. These tombs were initially thought to be those of Ma Yin, ruler of the Chu kingdom between 853 and 930AD, giving rise to the erroneous name Mawangdui.

It was subsequently established that the tombs actually dated back to the Western Han dynasty (206 BC – 9 AD) and were those of the Chancellor Li Cang, his wife Xin Zhui, and a male believed to have been their son. It's now thought that the original name may have been mis-interpreted and should in fact be the similarly sounding "Ma an dui" meaning "saddle-shaped mound" in reference to the geography of the hills containing the tombs.

The tombs contained well preserved mummified remains and a wealth of other artefacts including a number of Chinese philosophical and medical works written on silk. Known as The Mawangdui Silk Texts, they include some of the earliest manuscripts of existing texts such as the I Ching and the Tao Te Ching. In addition to these and other works were numerous previously unknown medical texts. These medical texts included depictions of Daoyin (Qigong) exercises which are today known as the Mawangdui Daoyin Shu.

Ancient Illustration of the Mawangdui Daoyin Shu Movements

Consisting of 12 easy to learn, graceful movements, the Mawangdui Daoyin Shu  movements work with the flow of Qi through the meridians and encourage connection between the external movements of the body and the internal activity of the mind. Through rising and squatting, extending and withdrawing the limbs, bending and stretching, the movements help maintain health and cultivate the spirit.

We're delighted to be able to announce that guest instructor Feixia Yu from the UCLAN Confucius Institute will be joining us at the start of October to share this ancient Qigong sequence with us.

You can find a demonstration of the sequence on YouTube, here.

The seminar will be held in St. Aidan's Church Hall on Station Road in Bamber Bridge on Saturday 1st October between 1 - 4pm and is suitable for adults of all ages and abilities with no previous experience required. For more information, or to reserve a place, please visit our seminars page, here.

 

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Free Jubilee Qigong Session

Feixia Yu, Director of the UCLAN Confucius Institute and fantastic Qigong instructor, will be hosting a free Daoyin Spine Alignment Qigong session in the New University Square (which used to be the Adelphi Roundabout) next Wednesday 1st June 12:30-1:00pm. Details Below

Tai Chi in the Square

Everyone is welcome to come and try the art of Tai Chi and Qigong in this short session for UCLAN staff, students and the wider community of Preston.

Please note: There is no booking required, simply turn up! The session will be held outdoors so please dress comfortably and appropriately for the session.

Modern sedentary lifestyles coupled with long hours of screen time have resulted in common complaints of headache, sore neck, tensed shoulders, or lower back pain, which are often caused by poor alignment in the spine. This can be corrected with regular practice of many of the Tai Chi and Qigong routines which consist of gentle but effective stretches.

Join this FREE class delivered by Senior Instructor Feixia Yu. The gentle movements coupled with deep breathing also calm the mind and release both physical and mental stress.

Location: University Square, Preston

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Commencing on Wednesday 25th May we will be offering fortnightly Qigong sessions at The Kurloon Source Wellbeing Retreat in Pilling. There will be two consecutive 50 minute sessions of Qigong for Health which will involve a variety of exercises including the ancient Ba Duan Jin sequence and a selection of movements from the Yang Shi Ba Shi sequence. In addition to the exercises will include both standing and guided meditation.

To book a place at one of the sessions, please contact Sue at Kurloon via her Facebook page. The logo below links to the event for the first session.

Kurloon Source Wellbeing Retreat

 

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Free Online Qigong

In addition to our regular weekly sessions, we usually host two or three seminars each year. A favourite guest instructor is Feixia Yu of the UCLAN Confucius Institute who will be returning for a Saturday afternoon Qigong session later in the year. Feixia is an accomplished practitioner and brilliant instructor, but you don't need to take our word for it, you can find out yourself by joining one of her free twice weekly online sessions.

Details of the sessions are on the poster below which links to a YouTube video which, if you click it, will lead you to a demonstration of some of the exercises Feixia will be covering at the online sessions.

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Free UCLAN Ba Duan Jin Seminar

In addition to our own regular weekly classes, we try to run a few seminars with guest instructors each year. One of our favourite guests is the wonderful Feixia Yu who is offering a free face to face session next Thursday 10th March, where she'll be running through the Ba Duan Jin Qigong routine. I can't recommend this session enough. Here are full details of the session and how to get involved...

 

I will be delivering a workshop on Baduanjin at sir Tom Finney Sports Centre from 2-3pm on Thursday the 10th of March.
 
Most of you will be fairly familiar with Baduanjin already. Classic Baduanjin Qigong is also sometimes called Mini Tai Chi. It is an ancient and most widely practiced wellness exercise from China. It consists of eight simple movements of gentle to medium intensity, making it easy to learn, and suitable for all ages and all levels of fitness. The routine synchronises deep breathing with gentle twisting and mindful control of the body, making it an ideal mindfulness exercise for physical and mental health.
 

In this one-hour workshop, we will be able to go into more details of the movements and their functions. I will also be able to help you make minor corrections to the movements so your practice is more effective. The event is totally free and you only need to book your place at Eventbrite, please click the image below:

 

 

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恭喜发财 Gōngxǐ Fācái

Gōngxǐ Fācái

恭喜发财

Happy New Year to one and all!

Just a quick reminder that we’re gathering at The Guild pub on Fylde Road, Preston for a drink or two before heading to Tang Chinese Restaurant for a glorious banquet on Saturday night to see in the Year of The Tiger.

If you want to join us head to the seminar page and book your place, just make sure you’ve signed up by Friday so we know numbers.

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Celebration of the Year of the Tiger

After 2 long years, this year sees the return of our Chinese New Year celebrations in the form of an afternoon seminar followed by a Chinese Banquet in the evening.

 

We'll be joined by Michael Singleton from White Tiger Northwest for an afternoon practicing the first 15 movements of Xin Jia at Valley Church in Bamber Bridge 1 - 4pm.

 

In the evening we'll regroup in Preston for a Banquet at Tang Chinese Restaurant on Fylde Road.

 

This is always a popular event and the ongoing Covid pandemic means places will be limited this year, so to reserve a place at the seminar, the meal or both visit the seminar bookings page

 

 

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A Saturday afternoon well spent...

Last Saturday 27th November saw us welcome guest speaker Feixia Yu of the UCLAN Confucius Institute for an afternoon of Qigong.

The afternoon was dedicated to the ancient Shaolin Qigong sequence known as Yi Jin Jing. The English translation of the name  is "change muscles and sinews" and the sequence can be challenging, with deep stretches and difficult to maintain postures. As with most Qigong, it can be practised in a less strenuous form for health purposes and Feixia made sure that everyone was able to challenge themselves individually, regardless of their experience. The group, aided by periodic breaks for custard creams and green tea, worked really hard and, judging by the smiles on the faces at the end, everybody had a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon.

We hope to welcome Feixia back for another session in the New Year so keep an eye on our Seminars page for updates about planned events next year.

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Just a few weeks until we welcome the wonderful Feixia Yue from the UCLan Confucius Institute for an afternoon studying the ancient Shaolin Yi Jin Jing Qigong sequence.

The seminar is taking place at St. Aidan's Church Hall in Bamber Bridge and starts at 1pm on Saturday 27th October. In order to maintain social distancing places at the seminar are limited, however there are still a couple of spaces left. If you'd like to grab one of them, head over to the Seminars page to book your place.

If you haven't encountered the Yi Jin Jing before, the video below features Master Faye Yip, president of the British Health Qigong Association, performing a truncated version of the form.

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Seminar Venue Change

*** SEMINAR VENUE CHANGE ***

 

Due to a double booking at Valley Church, Saturday 27th November's Yi Jin Jing Seminar will now take place in St. Aidan's Church Hall (immediately next to Valley Church on Station Road, Bamber Bridge).

Click picture for map/directions

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