Student Shares After Completing – Live 15 CEU Workshop – Golden Dragon Medical Qigong Intensive – Reducing Acute & Chronic Inflammation
Dear David,
I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude for the wonderful experience at the workshop this past weekend. Your teachings resonated deeply with me on both a metaphysical and spiritual level, and I’d like to share a few reflections.
Your emphasis on the necessity of failure for realignment was particularly enlightening. It reminded me of the idea that real danger lies not in aiming too high and missing, but rather in aiming too low and succeeding. Embracing failure as a growth opportunity has inspired me to view recent setbacks in a new light. Some of those setbacks also have me thinking about the importance of the lower Dantian, and how I may have unknowingly been supplementing someone elses jing?
The experience of feeling magnetic energy in the room was powerful, it reminded me of trying to push two positively charged magnets together—a sensation of palpable, yet invisible, force.
The concept of “holding the teacup” resonated deeply, as that move reminded me of learning primary marksmanship in the Marine Corps. We were taught the same sort of body mechanics to hold our rifle steady and true for long periods of time.
There was also part of your lesson on day two, discussing molecules of air that took me back to Haiti when I volunteered at an orphanage after the 2010 Earthquake. I was assigned to teach a series of science lectures and attempted to demonstrate the idea of the immovable object/ irresistible force, through some basic science fair demonstrations, like blowing out a candle across the room using a coffee can. Air molecules banging together. I can also demonstrate the mechanics of how a mirror works using ping pong balls.
Thank you once again for sharing your wisdom and creating a space for profound learning and growth. I look forward to continuing this journey and deepening my understanding of Qigong.
Warm regards,
A second update from Arien…
Hi David,
I just wanted to share one of the more unexpected moments from my Qigong journey.
A few weeks ago, I gave a session on stress management and breathing at a regional Mental Health and Substance Misuse Summit. As it turned out, the director of one of our local Chambers of Commerce was there. Last week he reached out and asked if I’d be willing to teach some simple breathing and stress reduction techniques to the staff at one of the restaurants his family owns.
So tonight, I found myself teaching Qigong to the wonderful staff of a local Chinese restaurant. I couldn’t help but smile at the irony—a German-Polish kid from Buffalo teaching a Chinese healing art to Chinese chefs from Taiwan.
They were warm, welcoming, and genuinely engaged. Several people told me afterward they felt noticeably more relaxed, and they invited me back. They even sent me home with dinner.
A couple of years ago, I never would have imagined opportunities like this. It’s incredibly rewarding to see these practices finding their way into everyday places where they can make a real difference.
Practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes peace.
Warmly,
Arien
