Autumn Retreat in Upstate New York

October 27-29~

Our time together will begin Friday after 4:00pm (Oct 27) with settling in, dinner together, then evening class.  Our Saturday will alternate between Qigong, meditation and relaxation.  On Sunday (Oct 29) we’ll continue our practice rhythms, heading home in the late afternoon.

Theme & Practices~

The practices we do, and where we do them, will be shaped by the late October weather. In addition to Sky Lake’s serene grounds, they also have two shrine rooms for indoor practice—so we will be well met regardless.

The Five Elements will embrace us –perhaps more vividly than in the city or in our rushed daily lives:

~The Wood Element will surround us in the gentle forest around Sky Lake Lodge.

~The Metal Element accompanies the forest in the nearby Shawgunk and Mohonk Mountains.

~The Water Element flows by in the little stream behind the Lodge, echoing the regal Hudson River.

~The Fire Element shines down from the Sun in the day and the Moon at night. (The Yin Fire of the Moon is particularly powerful with the partial eclipse (visible or not) and the Full Moon.)

~All this sits on the ancient soil of the Hudson Valley’s Earth Element.

Our main Qigong will be Kwan Yin Standing

Bringing imagery of nature and the moon and stars through its beautiful fluid movements. (And I’ll be able to polish your practice with hands-on refinements!). We will also enjoy shorter self-care Qigong practices from Wudang and other traditions. 

We’ll call on the Elements for inner cultivation and self-healing

–The Six Sounds practice – returning to the foundations or cultivating the heart and spirit versions (depending on the experience level of the group).
–Self Chi Nei Tsang – Using this abdominal massage to bring the Six Sounds healing to the physical body.

Bridging our Inner Elements to the Elemental Earth

A simple definition of Ritual is to bring what is inside us outward.
–The shape of our ritual practice will be determined by the weather, but we will devise ways to celebrate and honor the eclipse, the full moon, what surrounds us and the energy of our group.

And Those Moons…

Lunar Eclipses have had many meanings, but simply, energetically, it is a time when the Earth is between our Sun and our Moon… between those two deeply powerful “treasures of heaven.” The next day, we have the “Harvest Full Moon”. All full moons are times of releasing the completed. With the Harvest Moon we can contemplate what we have “Harvested”, celebrate and turn toward Winter’s preparations.

Cultivating our Earth Connection using the Elemental Lens, we will choose from Qi Energetic Practices

–Moon Meditation
–I Chuan / Embracing the Tree Meditation
–Walking Meditation through the Trees
–Big Dipper Star Meditation
–Yu’s Star Stepping

In Person Transmission

Lastly, we will follow energetic practice with the Microcosmic Orbit Meditation to balance and digest, but also so I can offer you direct transmission like I received from Mantak Chia, Masahiro Ouchi and other Tao teachers. This energetic thread through time, heart-to-heart, is a beautiful part of a Tao path that can’t be replicated online. Through it, we carry a connection to our teacher’s teacher’s teacher… It is the “line” of lineage.

Location~

Rosendale is about 1 hour 50 minutes from New York City by Trailways/ Pine Hill Trailways Adirondack bus to “Rosendale Park & Ride” stop. Cost is about $23 each way and the buses are quite frequent. Sky Lake can provide pick up from the bus stop for a $5 fee. 

Tuition/Fee~

Included in your tuition are all teaching fees, meals and shared room accomodation.  We will be a small group, so you can request to share with a friend or one will be assigned. You can be waitlisted for a single room, but they can’t be offered until later.

Early registration Until August 30: $530
Full Tuition: $580
Single Supplement (if available): $75

If you would like to pay in 3 payments of $177, this can be done if completed by August 30. The payment dates will be spread out between your first payment and August 30.