Autumn Practice: Movement & Meditations
Free Class: August 30 (Sunday 7-8:30pm EDT)
10 Week Series: September 6 – November 15
(Class Time TBD)
The Series
The brilliance of Summer gradually gives way to the quieter light of Autumn. The days shorten, the air becomes clear and crisp, and the Earth begins to gather its energy inward. In the Taoist tradition, this is a season of refinement—a time to release what has completed its cycle and return to what is essential.
Autumn is the season of the Metal element, whose gift is the quiet alchemy of refinement. As ore is transformed into pure metal through fire and time, we, too, are invited to let experience distill us—to release what is no longer true and discover what is enduring. Like the trees that surrender their leaves without hesitation, we can loosen our grip on old identities, lingering emotions, and the habits that no longer nourish life.
These practices are an invitation to enter that rhythm. Through qigong, meditation, breath, and Taoist inner cultivation, we will align with the qi of Autumn, nourish the Lungs and Large Intestine, and cultivate the strength that comes from living in harmony with change. As we gather our energy inward, clarity arises naturally, revealing the quiet wisdom that has been present all along.
May this season be one of graceful release, quiet strength, and a heartfelt return to your original nature.
Practices
Our Autumn journey is grounded in the wisdom of the Five Elements, with special attention given to the Metal Element—the season of the breath, the Lungs, and the transformative emotions of sadness, grief, and courage. Each practice offers a different doorway into cultivating harmony with Autumn’s inward-moving qi.
Five Elements Qigong
Five Elements Qigong is a contemplative standing practice rooted in the ancient shamanic traditions of Taoism. Through a series of held postures, we evoke the elemental forces as they are expressed in the living Earth—the sun setting beneath the ocean, the stillness of mountain ranges, the vitality of forests, and other landscapes that awaken our imagination and our qi.
The practice may be brief or extended. As the body grows quiet and the breath deepens, the body becomes stronger, the tendons more resilient, and the mind settles into stillness. Over time, the landscapes we evoke become more than images—they become teachers, revealing that the same elemental forces shaping the Earth also shape our own lives.
Five Celestial Animals Qigong
The Five Celestial Animals—also known as the Five Heavenly Beasts—are central figures in Taoist cosmology, representing the Five Elements, the seasons, and the living patterns of the natural world. Through movement, breath, and visualization, we enter into relationship with these mythic beings, cultivating the wisdom and vitality each one embodies.
Rather than simply imitating the animals, this practice invites us to experience their elemental qualities from within—the Dragon’s expansive growth, the Bird’s radiant joy, the Tiger’s courageous discernment, the Tortoise’s quiet endurance, and the Yellow Dragon’s grounded stability. Accessible to beginners yet rich enough to deepen over years of practice, this qigong offers a beautiful way to embody the rhythms of nature and the transformative energies of the Five Elements.
The Six Healing Sounds (Liu Zi Jue)
One of Taoism’s foundational healing practices, the Six Healing Sounds weaves together breath, sound, movement, color, and inner visualization to harmonize the energetic life of the organs. Although deceptively simple, this practice reveals profound depth over time, offering a way to gently transform emotional burdens into wisdom while restoring vitality to body and spirit.
Self Chi Nei Tsang
Chi Nei Tsang is a Taoist abdominal healing practice that helps release the energetic knots created by stress, illness, and unresolved experience. Through a simplified self-care approach, we will learn gentle techniques that encourage the organs to relax, restore the natural flow of qi, and embody the healing qualities awakened through the Six Healing Sounds.
Bridging Our Inner Elements with the Living Earth
As our practice deepens, it becomes natural to extend our cultivation beyond ourselves and into relationship with the living world. In Taoism, inner harmony and the greater rhythms of nature are never separate.
Throughout the series we will explore the Five Elements as they are expressed in the world around us: the Wood of our plant kin—from mosses and fungi to towering trees; the Fire of the sun, our hearths, and the Earth’s volcanic heart; the Metal of mountains, stone, and the minerals held deep within the Earth; the Water of rain, rivers, oceans, and the waters flowing through our own bodies; and the Earth itself—the fertile ground from which all life arises and to which all life returns.
These simple rituals invite us to experience the elements not merely as ideas, but as living presences with whom we are in continual relationship.
Tao Dream Practice
This Autumn series will not include Tao Dream Practice. Instead, I will continue offering a separate monthly Dream Practice gathering through the end of the year. By giving dreams their own dedicated space, we can enter more fully into their liminal wisdom, allowing the depth of that work to unfold without asking it to fit within the rhythm of our seasonal practice.