In keeping with our Summer Transformation Challenge, following is an article on how Meditation can cause neuroplastic changes to the gray matter in your brain: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12793/how-meditation-changes-your-brain-a-neuroscientist-explains.html
Last summer we proposed the idea of a Summer Transformation Challenge. In short, this is a way to change everything about yourself over the three months of Summer by engaging in daily Embodied Practice and Meditation. Whether your practice is Hatha Yoga, Qigong, Taijiquan, Aikido, Pilates, or walking around the block, if you endeavor to practice daily along with a daily meditation schedule, you will change completely. And if you don't have a specific practice, this is a good way to start one. It is a proven fact that if you engage in said physical practice, your body structure, sense of inherent energy, and fitness level will change. Likewise, if you engage in daily meditation, your brain structure will change. And as an added benefit, the physical and neurological changes will lead to a different orientation to life and the people with whom you engage. So, your body, mind, and life will all change for the better by simply dedicating a set amount of time every day to serious self-nurturing practice. The amount of available time will vary with each person, and often with each day. But it is crucial to make this a priority and set aside the necessary time. 30 minutes is good; an hour is better; two hours is fantastic. To that end, we are offering various workshops and free gatherings throughout the Summer. There are ample opportunities for learning and practicing these arts in our communities. If you are not sure the practice that is right for you, feel free to contact us and we can recommend a teacher or studio in your area. If you don't have a practice, or until you start one, take time daily to walk and sit in silence--nothing fancy, just reconnect. Find your practice and set your intention to begin on Memorial Day and practice daily through Labor Day, allowing one rest day per week. So, don't just dream about change; make change; be change. Or, as the Nike folks used to say, 'Just Do It!' We are now offering the Insight Qigong Program as a workshop package. The first run at this will be over the upcoming Summer (2014) at Energie Works Wellness and Nutrition Center in Asheboro, NC. We will be offering three, 3-hour workshops, one each month in June, July, and August. Insight Qigong is not a new kind of Qigong or even a new approach to Qigong. It is simply a combination program. We are combining our Mindfulness training, usually offered in separate workshops, with the Evidence-Based Qigong Program formulated by Dr. Yang Yang of The Center for Taiji and Qigong Studies. Additionally, we will focus on various strategies for engaged living: embodied stress management; positive thinking; proactive lifestyle regimens, etc... Our ultimate goal with this training is to offer a simple program that anyone can practice that will lead to a healthier, happier, less stressful existence that can be integrated into our busy lifestyles. Happiness, health, and contentment are not commodities that can be purchased or acquired. They are our true nature. The problem is, most of us have forgotten that or have lost touch with that part of ourselves. The Insight Qigong Program offers a paradigm for recovering that and possibly even more. Consider training with us over the Summer and beyond. |
AuthorRodney Owen. Archives
July 2015
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