Despite the rain on Friday May 29th, more than 40 ladies arrived at the Yokohama Shimin-Katsudo Shien Center to find out how to practise Qigong and to learn interesting facts about this ancient method of improving your health and maintaining a balance in your body.

Mr Alain Stoll was our instructor, who has practiced martial arts since he was a teenager. He now teaches martial arts including Qigong and Tai ji here in Japan. Altogether, he has over 40 years of experience in teaching including time in France and Germany. His wife Dr Aoki assisted him in the workshop not just as a translator, but also in showing us how to do different movements and excercises. She has practiced Qigong herself for 15 years.

We started our workshop with some relaxation excercises and then moved on to special Qigong movements. We learnt 5 different series of excercises, called Suwaiso (Pendulum), Tori (Bird), Kame (Turtle), Ryu (Dragon) and Kuma (Bear). Between each of them we had to practice breathing and in the end we had to use our voice, too! One had to use lots of imagination, for example when we had to move and lift an imaginary balloon from left to right. We also imagined holding a heavy ball above our heads. Mr Stoll corrected my position and told me to relax, but I told him that the ball was so heavy and I was worried that I would drop it!

So, we learnt that correct breathing and staying relaxed in every excercise is important, as well as it being possible to meditate during the excercise. At the end of the workshop Mr Stoll showed us a Taikyokuken (Tai ji) demonstration. It was almost magical to watch his movements and one could feel the Qi circulating around the room!


During tea time one could hear the lively conversations and see the relaxed and happy faces; Qigong had worked! Merci beaucoup a M. Stoll! And thanks to Iezaki-san, Linda-san, Nagayama-san, Watanabe-san and Yamashita-san for a well organised May meeting.

Report:Anita T Pictures: A.Motegi

Information

We are planning to have Qigong Workshop.
Everybody must have suffered from stiffness in shoulders before. By doing Qigong exercises we can release our fatigue.
Qi means air in Chinese and by extension, life force, dynamic energy or even cosmic breath. Qigong is practiced for health maintenance purposes that involve methods of circulating, accumulating, and working with qi or energy.

The instructor is Mr. Alain Stoll who worked as a police officer in France and has coached in martial arts, qigong, and Tai chi chuan (Internal Chinese martial arts) for more than forty years in his country France, Germany and Japan. First he demonstrates and we will exercise with him.

So please donft miss this wonderful opportunity!

Date:May 29(Fri.) 2009
Place:Yokohama Shimin-katsudo Shein Center( Clean Center ) 4F
Tel: 045-223-2666
Refer to the information paper by Minami circle May Meeting group for the map.

Schedule:9:30--10:00 Reception
10:15--12:00 Demonstration and Workshop
12:00--13:00 Tea Time ( Please bring your own cup )

Fee: Members 500 yen Non-members 1,200 yen

Number limit: 70 persons ( First come and first served )

Reservations:From March 13 till May 18

Contact:Ms.Miyoko Ito ( in Japanese)
Linda Bellini & Ms. Masako Nagayama ( in English )

Cancellation: Must be made by May 19.

Please wear comfortable Clothes & shoes

Minai Circle