Our December meeting was a great fit for the season. Ann Duvall (bio here), was our guest educator on the subject of Qigong. We moved the meeting to a larger space in our meeting facility to have room to stretch and learn some of the movements. Ann began by describing her personal path that led her to learn, practice and eventually teach the ancient art of healing, involving movement, deep breathing and meditation. We spent an hour or so learning about Qigong and practicing it and everyone felt very relaxed and mellow by the end.
Whether you attended or not, you can see some of what we did at the following link to this video provided by Ms. Duvall, “Gathering qi from the universe”.
She also provided another link to a Spirituality and Health Magazine article. The difference from when we did it is the additional step “patting” (swiping motion ) towards the Earth at the end.
Finally, Ann sent me a “crib sheet” on the Grief Release” Qigong movements she took us through and has given me permission to send that information to any member who requests it.
ON ANOTHER NOTE, at the last meeting, we also discussed speakers at the December meeting – the quality and the quantity, what we get from them and what they cost us. The upshot of the discussion was that the speakers have tended to be very educational and varied widely on subject. The problem is that we are a support group not a lecture series and by definition, we need to have time to relate to one another, to share our experiences and our frustrations, to connect on a personal level and, occasionally share a joke or two. Based on that, we will try to have speakers at most every other month. If we get offers too good to pass up, we will try to keep the first half-hour of the meeting time reserved for member contact/update.
OUR NEXT MEETING is January 6th, 2016. Our guest speaker is YOU so mark the date and try to join us. Just in case our winter actually arrives, please note our Weather Cancellation Guidelines page from the first page of the site. Note that we are more conservative than the schools and our facility. If they are closed, the meeting will be cancelled. But even if they’re open, look for a call, email or post that will verify our status.
On a personal note, this fall has been one of the most challenging I’ve ever faced. As someone who tries to not be any trouble for people, this time I fought that instinct and said ‘yes’ to any or all offers made: The blessings heaped on us because of that decision provided us with 12 people who waited with me through my husband’s surgery, 11 wonderful cooks provide us with meals including some of the best chicken noodle soup and salmon we’ve every enjoyed, at least 10 of my spouses co-workers came by after work to check on and visit him, 9 people dropped by with puzzles, movies, books and a Nerf gun (!) to help him stay amused, 8 friends offered to run errands and mostly were used, at least 7 kind folks became pen-pals or frequent callers to check on him and on me, 6 of the best doctors made sure my husband would have a successful recovery, 5 close friends of his dropped by to visit with him after their long-standing Saturday sport reservation, 4 of the most wonderful children ever mowed the grass, cleaned the garage, brought us food, let me be a houseguest, 3 of my siblings were there for us regardless of category,my 2 best friends did everything that I didn’t know needed to be done …everything BUT a partridge in a pear tree. In this season of giving, remember to say yes and allow others to help. It’s a blessing all around.
The best to you and yours through this holiday season!