Apricot Grove In-Person Qigong Courses

Fall Courses

Dancing with the Rivers:
Opening the Acupuncture Channels

  • Anyone with a body and an interest in embodied practice!

  • The rivers of the body, better known as acupuncture channels or meridians, are a living, breathing aspect of every person's body and can be felt directly. In this course, we will explore a simple but profound practice that teaches us to feel into these embodied rivers, gently get to know them, and gradually unwind and clear any regions of impairment.

    Initially, we will learn the structure and postures of the Willow Dance. This sequence of postures teaches us to feel into all twelve of the regular rivers. While touching in with them, we begin to make friends with the varieties of openness, sluggishness, stagnation and other subtle sensations that arise. Once we're comfortable with how these rivers feel, we'll begin to allow for a subtler awareness by exploring a simple, step-by-step approach to progressive relaxation. This approach can then be used in any region of tension or guarding in our body, and allows for open and relaxed states to permeate our whole being. Once we are comfortable with settling into the body, we will explore the nature of the Nine Qi Wounds and their different embodied sensations. Finally, we will consolidate the practices into a personalized daily practice that ensures the rivers remain flowing and flourishing for as long as we desire.

    The practices and teachings will take place over 4 separate 90 minute classes on Saturday mornings. There will be a combination of warm-up, teaching, and then integrated practice followed by time for questions at the end.

  • 4 Classes

    September 6, 13, 20, 27

    10am-11:30am

  • 350CAD

  • Registration for this course is now closed. If you are interested in taking this course in the future, please let us know and we may run it again.

Settling Into Stillness:
An Introduction to Daoist Heavy Hands

  • Anyone with a body and an interest in embodied practice!

  • Winter is a time where the world slows down and we naturally slow along with it. For generations, it has been a time for personal practices to shift into stillness and waiting; traditionally this involves standing Qigong (Zhangzhuang). The Heavy Hands practice is an excellent doorway into the practices of standing and the main entry for most other Qigong practices taught at Apricot Grove Canada. While originally developed as part of the Shaolin Iron Palm system by Gu Ruzhang, this system has been adapted over time making it a strong pillar for health and longevity. Its twelve static postures cover a profound combination of useful structures for every day life (and martial arts) and restore the entire body when practised correctly.

    Throughout this course, students will be introduced to the twelve postures of the Heavy Hands practice and the core principles of standing Qigong. Once they are comfortable with the foundations, they will be guided through several "passes" or layers of increasing depth that will prepare them for the 100 day initiation at the end of the course and give them years of material to practice.

    The Heavy Hands practice is one of DJ's most precious practices, it was his first in depth practice and was the first system he was given permission to teach. With over 10 years of experience in the system, he is thrilled to be able to transmit the practice and share the benefits with others.

    The practices and teachings will take place over 4 separate 90 minute classes on Saturday mornings. There will be a combination of warm-up, teaching, and then integrated practice followed by time for questions at the end.

  • 6 Classes

    November 8, 15, 22, 29

    December 6, 13

    10am-11:30am

  • 450CAD

Physical Culture Classes

QiGong - Beginner/Casual

QiGong is a term that is used to describe a wide variety of Chinese health practices and exercises based on refined movement and breathwork. In these classes, students receive thoughtful and detailed instruction on various therapeutic exercises and routines that help to balance the body and guide the individual to abundant health.

These classes focus on the basic principles of all Qigong systems in straight forward, easy to grasp ways. They are excellent for those who are new to Qigong in general and looking to dive deeper, or for those looking for some guided casual practice.

At the introductory level, we focus mainly on ideal body mechanics and movement patterns and simple breathing methods. The main forms that are practiced include standing meditation (Zhan Zhuang 站桩) from the Daoist Heavy Hands lineage, simple movements from Xu Gongwei’s Taiji Qigong, and various single movements derived from other systems.

Chinese Internal Martial Arts - Beginner

TaiJi, XingYi, and BaGuaZhang, among others, are known as the Chinese internal arts. They focus on using soft, relaxed power to overcome sometimes stronger opponents. Many practices for the internal arts are derived from or have developed their own QiGong methods as well. In these classes, the focus is on the martial and self-defense aspects of the training. Practicing the internal martial arts are a great way of getting sometimes vigorous exercise for people who like a little more rough and tumble kind of activity and who like to “blow off steam” in a way that brings them into deeper relationship with themselves.

DJ has mainly studied under Kevin Wallbridge, Michael Smith, and Jason Deatherage.

Timing and Locations

Weekly classes are currently on hiatus. If you are interesting in pursuing Qigong or Martial Arts training with us, please reach out and we’ll let you know when they will resume.