Qi Gong Teacher Training

Many of you might not know that I am in a course here in Israel to become a Qi Gong instructor. I started practicing qi gong outside in the garden at Ramat Hanadiv soon after we moved to Zichron. I have done so many different types of exercise over the years, but somehow I felt immediately connected to the practice of qi gong. It was impossible not to feel inspired, surrounded by all of the natural beauty, doing energy exercises and moving meditations with a crowd of friendly locals. Years ago, I studied Kripalu yoga with a couple of friends at the Boulder Rec Center. We continued to take the beginners class again and again because we loved the slow-paced, meditation in motion that the instructor taught. I always felt compelled though to do something high impact as my “real exercise”. It wasn’t until recently that I realized that all of the running, weight lifting, and sweating wasn’t actually changing anything about my life. Qi Gong is strengthening and introspective. I feel free of pain after practicing, and calmer in my interactions throughout my day.

Outdoor Qi Gong pre-pandemic

When coronavirus hit, our outdoor qi gong sessions were moved to zoom, and I began practicing from home. It was actually nice to be able to play the recorded sessions anytime I wanted. I also found teachers on YouTube who I followed, and was able to learn different styles and exercises in English. When we were able to meet in person again, the instructor handed out cards advertising his teacher training course. I took one, out of curiosity, and thought about it a lot. My main fear, aside from more lockdowns shutting down the program, was that my Hebrew wasn’t fluent enough to understand. When I randomly ran into the teacher a few weeks later, I mustered the courage to talk to him, and he immediately said we should meet to discuss the course.

When we met, he was very excited to speak English (like most Israelis are) and it turns out that he was in the army with an Israeli friend of mine from Boulder (of course). We spoke in Hebrew for a few minutes, and he said I should be fine in terms of understanding the content of the course. Most of the class is movement based anyway, so it is easy to follow along without specialized vocabulary. He also invited me to an open house the following week where I could hear more about the program and meet some of the other students who were considering joining the class.

Visiting the studio for the open house, I felt comfortable and relaxed in the space. The other prospective students were welcoming. The instructor said he would be inviting 8 people to join the course so that with the student teacher, we would only have 10 people in the studio (in keeping with the coronavirus restrictions at the time). The course was set to begin right after the high holidays, in October, but our start date was pushed back by a few weeks due to the second national lockdown here in Israel.

We are now almost halfway through our second semester of the program. We moved to zoom for several weeks during the third lockdown, which wasn’t ideal, but at least we had the technology to continue in that way. In February, we had our end of semester day-long seminar. I was so nervous because each of us had to teach 4-6 exercises to our classmates. I practiced for Danny and the kids, and even went through the routine with a friend on zoom in New Zealand!

Practicing at the Red Canyon near Eilat

When it was my turn to teach the class, I asked in Hebrew if the group would mind if I taught in English. They were SO excited – they said they felt like they were on vacation abroad. What I thought of as a cop-out, they saw as a huge benefit. When I had to teach the second time, the class was looking forward to hearing me in English. My next challenge, coming up next Monday, is to put together a 40 minute routine to teach an entire session. Anyone who is interested in helping me practice, please let me know. I’m happy to plan some online zoom sessions for friends around the world!

Class in the garden this spring