Autumn Retreat-Upstate NY 2025

Theme & Practices~

The practices we do, and where we do them, will be shaped by the autumn weather. In addition to Stony Point’s serene grounds, they also have a special Mediation Hall, a Labyrinth and other gathering spaces 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 Stony Point.

~The Metal Element accompanies the forest in the Granit of the Appalachians and Hudson Highlands.

~The Water Element flows by in little nearby streams, echoing the regal Hudson River.

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

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

Our Qigong will be a collection of short traditional sets that evoke the elements to cultivate flow, Qi and healing.

Autumn is a time of releasing and simplifying… but also it’s a time to cultivate our energies to prepare for the Winter. We will practice a collection of Five Element Qigong sets from Wudang, Mount Emei and Medical Qigong (the Temple of Change and Transformation). 

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 moon, what surrounds us and the energy of our group.

And Those Skies…

Solar Eclipses have had many meanings, but simply, energetically, it is a time when the Moon covers part of the Sun… Energetically, “Yin” is over “Yang” –an inversion of the “natural order” which can offer a time of opening and change.

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~

Sony Point is about 2.5 hours from New York City by bus. Cost is about $30 each way and the buses are quite frequent. We will coordinate transport from the bus stop to the center. 

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 15: $575
Full Fee: $625
Single Supplement: $150

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