Qi Gong

Sunday, Sept. 16, 10 a.m., Free Thought Forum: Qi Gong, Jo Chern from Small Change Personal Training will talk about and demonstrate Qi Gong.

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From Jo Chern: After receiving my master's degree at Ohio State, I spent 20 years teaching English at several different universities, most recently at UW Green Bay until 1996. I then moved to Madison where for the next 12 years I owned two coffee shops--not the best move for someone with no business brains, admittedly. After being diagnosed with cervical and lumbar vertebrae deterioration, I began working with a personal trainer and practicing Qi Gong, a gentle movement exercise with a meditative component. The results were amazing in relieving my own pain, so I became certified through The American Counsel on Exercise as a Personal Trainer and began serious study of Qi Gong. I now have my own personal training studio, focusing on clients with various health compromises, from skeletal and muscular to weight problems and even mental illness. I teach Qi Gong classes at The Colonial Club Senior Center in Sun Prairie and at The Gathering Place in Milton and will begin a six week course at Edgerton Hospital in mid-September.

I refer to Qi Gong as "The Gentle Mother of Tai Chi." Qi Gong has been practiced as a form of healing in traditional Chinese medicine for about 3000 years. As martial arts practitioners saw how these movements helped them, Tai Chi spun off as the martial arts form of Qi Gong. However, Tai Chi has very rigorous, prescriptive forms and movements that must be done in an exact pattern and poses that must be "hit" perfectly, making it much more difficult to learn and really appropriate only for the very fit. While you often see Tai Chi being taught at senior centers, it is usually a "light" version and even then, my Qi Gong students who have tried it haven't been able to do the full session. Qi Gong, on the other hand, emphasized doing only what feels right for your body. The practice focuses on breathing, opening and loosening the joints, and flowing movements designed to help the body move with less tension, both relaxing and rejuvenating body and mind and incorporating some meditative flows as well. Because the practice requires no special clothing other than comfortable flat shoes or a willingness to go barefoot and because it can be done standing, standing with support or sitting, it is perfect for all ages and levels of fitness.