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Hey everybody,

After talking with so many of you this last weekend, I wanted to share some more with you all now. Tara and I have been working on a new course, to help through trauma, anxiety, and stress, and so many questions are coming up.

In qigong and tai chi, there’s an idea about transformation. It says . . . Never suffer a bad position. Change it.

And then it gives us concrete practices, to make this real, for real life. It’s a big promise. And with trauma, it brings up some questions. Is making where we are into something better, possible? Is healing possible? And, how do we do this? How do we help ourselves to heal, find balance, feel better, and even, to thrive.

So much of this is why we’re here together. Which had me thinking over the weekend, I want to share something more with you now, about how we got here.

It was about 5 years ago that we created our first course in Healing and Teaching Support for Trauma. Right around then, we had been asked to share qigong practices, as part of Bessel van der Kolk’s trauma conference. One thing I remember, is Bessel talked about his experience with yoga. He said the teacher would put him in a pretty uncomfortable pose, so here he was feeling kind of awkward, and wanting it to be over. And the best part, he said, was that in each pose, the teacher would count to 5. So he knew, this would be over.

Bessel went on to share that in certain stages with trauma, we lose the sense of timing. We lose the understanding that, this too shall pass. Which is what he liked about this yoga class. He didn’t like being here. It made him feel awkward, and uncomfortable. But with the teacher counting, he knew he’d get a break. This wasn’t forever.

And then Bessel kept going, because in a way, this was an introduction to the next part, where he talked about qigong. This was something very different for him. He said what he loved here was, it was simple, it didn’t feel awkward. And maybe most of all, he picked up on something about qigong, and tai chi as well. These practices are about transformation. If where you are isn’t good, the practice tells you how to change it, so it gets better, right now.

Many of you know I was a rescue worker when the World Trade Center fell. It’s odd. I’m writing this, and it’s so long now, but I still felt my writing stop. I really didn’t want to write more than that first line. But it’s part of why we’re here, and what we can do together, to make things better. So I’ll go forward, to this last year. Tara and I got involved in an organization called Guardian Revival, which gives all kinds of support for veterans. Tara was here to help. I was here to be helped. And there was a guy who had been here a while, who knew how. It had something to do with, falling apart, just enough to know that something needed help. And from here, to begin.

For so many, veterans, law enforcement, first responders, people who have suffered all kinds of abuse and trauma, and stress and challenge in everyday life now . . . I think we’re holding it together. At least, a lot of the time. And I’ll write this now, for me. I’ve held it together enough that I could say there’s no problem here. That’s even what I told this guy at Guardian. He just knew better. He was like my tai chi teacher of 40 years, who died in 2023. He knew what was in there.

In tai chi there’s this saying. You make reality from reality. From pretend, you can only make pretend.

There was a time when I thought this was a little harsh or tough, to say. But it was a way of saying, once you’re safe, slow down, and feel what’s here. We’re not looking for perfect. Feel what’s really here. And once you do, then you can begin to make here better. You can make reality better from reality.

This guy at Guardian Revival didn’t know about tai chi or qigong. But he knew this, because it’s true. He’s made it work in his own life. And now he’s helping so many people this way, who need this help. We got to do some qigong together, because he’s been carrying so much pain in his hands. And for me, he got me to breathe a little deeper, remember to feel what’s here, even the old stuff, and transform. Make here better, and make it better to be here.

It’s a long way of saying, so much has gone on since our first course, and there’s so much that has come up, in so many places, that points to how powerful these qigong and tai chi practices are . . . for trauma, stress, anxiety, and all that’s challenging, that comes up in our lives. Maybe most of all, it’s reminding me that we don’t have to endure it and suffer through. These practices are making real changes in real life. We can transform where we are into something better, together.

I hope you’ll join Tara and me in this new course, Healing and Teaching Support for Trauma and Stress, with Tai Chi and Qigong. There’s an early-bird special right now to help, and always if you need more help with being here, that part is easy, just let us know.

Read more and reserve your early-bird spot here

Thank you so much everybody for being here, I hope some really good things are heading your way now, I hope also Tara and I have many more chances to share together with you really soon.

Mike