Healing Dragon
Steven Cardoza, M.Sc., L.Ac.
2023 Fall Class and Workshop Schedule
All new classes are kept small so that everyone will get individual attention and feedback, and so everyone's questions can be answered during class. Class recordings will be made available to you for download soon after the end of each class, for your future reference.
The Wu Style Taiji (Tai Chi) Short Form
A hybrid class in person and over Zoom
The Wu Short Form contains none of the difficult, physically challenging movements of the Long Form, while providing almost all its health benefits. It is suitable for people of all ages, level of health and fitness, and for complete beginners and experienced students alike. Once learned, the entire form can be performed in just five minutes.
In the western world, taiji is the best-known and most researched of the Chinese internal arts. While both a martial art and a healing art, we will primarily be focusing on its health building aspects.
Known Benefits
Often described as a moving meditation and likened to “swimming on dry land”, taiji is highly regarded for its ability to foster harmony among body, mind, and spirit, reduce stress, and promote a healthy longevity.
Western research has proved that taiji improves balance, maintains bone density, increases flexibility and cardiovascular and respiratory function, and boosts the immune system, among other health benefits.
Long known to support healthy aging, newer research has verified that it reinvigorates stem cells, one mechanism through which it facilitates healing and increases longevity.
Class Content and Progression
In each class, you’ll be carefully guided through the intricacies of each posture in the form. You’ll learn supplementary exercises (Ji Ben Gong, Basic Foundation Work) to build a strong foundation, more quickly improve health, and clarify the subtleties within each movement, gradually revealing the hidden neigong (internal work) that makes taiji such a powerful practice. Partner exercises will be a part of most classes, to provide kinesthetic feedback that will assist you to more fully and accurately embody each movement and its neigong components.
As you progress, you’ll be introduced to the four main energies (Four Jings) within taiji, and will learn to feel your qi with increasing clarity and confidence as it manifests in your practice.
The First Class
In the first class, you’ll learn the opening movement of the form, called Commencement. Here you’ll be introduced to many of the neigong components contained within the entire taiji form, as well as get a basic understanding of the Four Jings and a simple experience of qi induction in that movement. This will make Commencement a valuable stand-alone qigong, something you can practice for years to come even if you do not learn the taiji form. This will also give complete beginners a deep insight into all the unseen elements that are contained within taiji, and will be a useful reminder for experienced students.
All classes are recorded, so both in-person and online students will get links to the video for online viewing or download. This will both remind you of and allow you to practice along with everything we cover in each class.
Q & A is a part of every class for live and online students alike. For the first few months I’ll schedule a free monthly half hour zoom group Q & A for online students only, probably on a weekday early evening, in case there are things you could not clearly observe or understand during class time. If that proves especially useful, I’ll continue that indefinitely.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to scheduling conflicts at The Arlington Center, for the first three months, October through December, there will be only one 3 hour class each month, 2-5 PM on Oct. 22, Nov. 26, and Dec. 17.
Since taiji has an extensive choreography, four class hours each month provide the optimal level of training for most people. Four one-hour classes on a weekly basis would require more travel time for local students and possibly more scheduling conflicts for local and zoom students alike, so beginning in January, 2024, we’ll meet twice a month for two hours, on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Meeting twice a month will provide a smooth progression of growth within the form, answering questions and giving corrections and other feedback approximately every two weeks.
DATE: Sunday, October 22
TIME: 2-5 PM ET
(2:30-4:30 ET beginning in January)
LOCATION: The Arlington Center
369 Mass Ave.
Arlington, MA 02474
And online over Zoom
TUITION: $140 USD for each of the three-hour workshops in October, November, and December.
Beginning in January, $175 covers both two-hour workshops each month.
Your tuition payment reserves your place in class. Tuition includes a recording of the class, and the additional half hour per month Zoom Q & A for online students.
TO ENROLL:
Send tuition for the first class either through Paypal or Zelle.
Paypal: daoist1@dslextreme.com
Zelle: daoist2@dslextreme.com
After the first class, local students attending live may elect to pay in person at the beginning of each class, cash or check only.
Payment is requested by October 8 for the first workshop. This will be helpful to me in determining enrollment. If you want to attend but are unable to pay by Oct. 8, please let me know ASAP, and you can pay me any time before the class date.
If you're not currently on my mailing list and are attending online, please make sure you include your email address with your payment so I'll be able to send you the Zoom invitation. You'll receive the Zoom class invitation on or around Oct. 15.
Refund Policy:
The full workshop video will be available for download or online viewing for one month, no refunds are offered after enrollment.
New Classes Beginning Soon!
The following are classes I’m looking forward to teach soon. Due to scheduling constraints, I won’t be able to teach all of them this year, just two or possibly three. Let me know your class preferences. I’ll put your name on the Wait List for those classes, and the ones with the most interest will be the first to be offered. Except where otherwise noted, all classes will take place over Zoom, on Sundays (one class per month) from 2-5 PM ET. More in-person/zoom hybrid classes may be available soon.
• Dragon and Tiger Medical Qigong
• Opening the Energy Gates Qigong
• Gods Playing in the Clouds Qigong
Details about these and other classes can be found on the Qigong and Taiji Classes page of this website.
Join my mailing list to be among the first to learn about all new class offerings. Otherwise, please visit this site regularly for updates.
Ongoing Classes and Workshops
The continuing classes are open only to students with some experience in these practices. They will remain in session approximately through the end of 2023. If you would like to join, please contact me as soon as possible to be included on the class roster. Tuition is expected no later than one week prior to each class.
All continuing classes are kept small so that everyone will get individual attention and feedback, and so everyone's questions can be answered during class. Class recordings will be made available to you for download soon after the end of each class, for your future reference.
Daoist Breathing for Health, Longevity and Meditation
Breathing is fundamental to life, to all qigongs, and to deeper spiritual and meditative practices. Most of us give it no thought as it happens spontaneously, 24 hours a day. Since we can also control this automatic, largely unconscious process, it becomes a unique avenue into increasingly subtle aspects of our being, influencing our internal organs, blood and other fluid circulation, nervous system, emotional well-being, and consciousness itself.
Part 1, Daoist Natural Breathing
In Part 1 of this series, you’ll learn the core Daoist breathing practice, including breathing directly into your belly, sides, and low, mid, and upper back. This will pressurize all your internal organs, effectively massaging and cleansing them from the inside, increasing cellular oxygenation and detoxification. At this stage, you’ll achieve numerous health benefits long known to Daoists and now recognized by contemporary western medical science, including:
• increased energy
• decompression of the spine, reducing back pain
• a strengthened immune system
• improved mood and emotional balance
• a lowered risk of cancer, stroke, heart disease, neurodegenerative and other diseases, all linked to hypoxia (sub-optimal oxygenation).
You’ll also learn a few simple breathing techniques specifically designed to:
• reduce stress and anxiety
• improve fitness and endurance
• promote restful sleep.
This is a reclamation of the way we all breathed when we were born, so once learned, you can breathe this way naturally and continuously, even while you sleep. Some people may choose to stop here and enjoy these substantial health benefits. For people wanting to learn more, this training will continue.
Part 2, Transforming Breath to Qi
In Part 2, we’ll deepen everything in Part 1, and introduce how breath becomes a bridge to qi. Some of the practices taught include:
• Slowing and lengthening the breath
This will increase breathing capacity, and with experience, can be used to sequentially rejuvenate the internal organs, the nervous system, and ultimately the glandular system. This is one of the most important ways breath is used to dramatically increase healthy longevity.
• Daoist Yoga and breathing
Some Daoist yoga postures will be used to release unconscious held tension and more deeply open the internal organs, allowing the breath to penetrate more fully, laying the groundwork for transforming breath to qi, to directly move fluids (blood and interstitial fluid) within and around the organs.
• Breathing through the Five Extremities
This begins the process of transforming breath to qi. At this stage, you’ll learn to use your qi to move body fluids through your hands, feet, and head.
• Breathing into the internal organs and the brain
This is a significant deepening of breathing into the organs learned in Part 1. As breath is transformed into qi and they become more clearly experienced as one thing, it’s used to directly move and otherwise influence fluids throughout the body, including blood, lymph, interstitial fluid, synovial fluid, and cerebrospinal fluid. An important step in optimizing the health and functionality of the internal organs and other body tissues.
A few simple breath-centered meditations will be taught during the Part 2 training.
Daoist Breathing may be used as your primary self-care practice, since it profoundly influences health on every level of our being. It may also be used to greatly amplify the benefits of qigong, taiji, yoga, or any other moving practice you may have.
A video recording of each workshop will be available for download or viewable online for one month. If you’re not able to attend but would still like access to the video, just send your enrollment tuition and the video link will be emailed to you soon after the end of the workshop.
DATE: This workshop series meets on the first Sunday of each month. Part 1 began in April.
NOTE: Part 2, Transforming Breath To Qi, will begin soon, in August or September. If you know basic Daoist Natural Breathing, you may be eligible to join this workshop for that advanced training. Contact me for more information.
TIME: 2-5 PM, ET
LOCATION: For now, this is an online-only workshop series, over Zoom. All classes will be recorded, and everyone enrolled will have access to the videos to download and keep for future reference.
TUITION: 135 USD for each 3 hour workshop
Payment is accepted through Paypal or Zelle. If you don’t already have my Paypal or Zelle information, please contact me for those details. Your tuition payment is required to reserve your place in class.
TO ENROLL: Send tuition to me through Paypal or Zelle. As this is an ongoing class, please contact me before sending in tuition payment. Thanks!
Paypal: daoist1@dslextreme.com
Zelle: daoist2@dslextreme.com
Please include a note with your name and “Daoist Breathing” so I’ll know it’s from you, and for this workshop. If you're not currently on my mailing list, please make sure you include your email address with your payment so I'll be able to send you the Zoom invitation.
Your tuition reserves your place in the workshop. You’ll receive the Zoom class link by email on or around Feb. 26.
Refund Policy:
Monthly course videos will be available for download or viewing for one month, no refunds are offered after enrollment.