QIGONG: Moving and Speaking
When the sun rises over Sunset Park, the highest point in the borough of Brooklyn, the light is soft, the leaves on the stone path listen, the benches wait, and groups of people practice qigong. They move in unison, reaching arms out, sweeping, lifting, balancing. They move slowly like cranes in a gentle walk along a river, like sea turtles, hovering or soaring in the blue.
I’d often take a morning jog through Sunset Park. I liked to see the men and women in their qigong practice. Sometimes, a group of six or ten people would practice together. Sometimes, two people would face one another, mirroring movement. Sometimes, one person would flow alone as if singing silently to the sky. I admired the people as they moved gracefully through their qigong, separating themselves from the noise gathering and thickening in the city streets below. It seemed they were speaking in a silent language with the waves in the river, the boats, the eyes of buildings winking in the sunlight. I wanted to be like them. I wished I could join them. I wished I could say more than thank you and hello in Chinese so I could ask them to teach me. Perhaps I should have been bolder.
I still haven’t found a Chinese language partner, but I have found Root. Here, opportunities to learn abound. More importantly, opportunities for self-care and self-discovery exist within a unique, warm wellness community. So, I will be at Root, Sunday, June 26th at 2pm for Moving Meditation: A Qigong Workshop. I hope to see you there. Be sure to check back in after the workshop for more thoughts on qigong.
Read more about qigong here.