Please click here to learn more and register for your early-special now . . . 

Hey everybody,

Tara and I are working each day on this new course for trauma, anxiety, and stress, and I wanted to share some more of it with you here . . . in case something is helpful for you right now, or might be helpful for the people you’re helping.

Yesterday we were going through some of the themes that are common in tai chi and qigong, that line up with different stages and contexts for trauma and stress.  We talked about things like moving from imbalance to balance, enduring to transforming, from perfection-seeking to seeing what’s here, shifting from “anticipate and control” to being here, and making reality from reality.

We also shared a few stories, from Bessel van der Kolk’s conference (he talked about yoga and qigong, and I led some qigong for the group), and about our new connection with Guardian Revival, an organization that helps veterans. And something I’ve noticed going through this is, predictably I guess, it’s not easy.  Even when I’m writing notes, or writing the paragraphs I’ll share with you below, I would start, then hit some roadblocks.  And then I’d start again.  Which brings something new to mind.

Every day now I’m seeing and writing with old and new friends, yoga and tai chi people, teachers, caregivers, students, moms and dads . . . all coming to be together here, in the group for this new course.  And it’s giving me a new thing to understand, about support.

I’ve been writing and talking about connection – how in later stages of trauma and stress recovery, using tai chi practices for connection with other people, reminds us that these connections can move us to a safer place, and a better place. And as much, these practices show that connection doesn’t mean withdrawing, or sacrificing what we need.  We can move to a safer and better place, all together.

And just like my old teacher always used to tell me, now I’m understanding it all in a new way.  Every year, every decade, he’d tell me he just found a whole new experience in this or that practice, this or that movement, that he’d been doing for the last 20 or 30 or 40 years. I thought he was just being “teachery.” But here I am, figuring out something new, about how much we learn, how much we get to shape and re-shape our lives, from the support we give to each other, in connection.

It’s part of what I was figuring out with the Guardian Revival groups.  And, it’s part of why I’m writing to you here. Because I know how lucky I am, getting to share so much and practice with so many of you, for so many years now.

So if it’s helpful also for you, and for the people in your life, I hope you can be here in this group.  We get started in April, and it keeps going from here . . .

Read more and reserve your early-bird spot here

Thank you everybody so much, for being here, and for supporting each other in all this together.  I hope we get to keep going together here, for many many more years to come.

Mike