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Self Healing & Self Development
About Brendan Thorson, "Seattle's QiMan"
From 1993-1999 he was continuously studying Yoga, Chi Gong Exercise, healing meditation, and Taoist Tai Chi. During that time period he was a dedicated student and took many classes from highly respected Seattle teachers. The common theme he heard from all of his teachers and the books he read during that time period was to focus on the qi/energy. But neither he nor any of the fellow classmates he spoke to ever clearly felt this “qi”. His instincts told him something was missing, therefore he continued changing from one form of exercise to another, searching for this elusive energy. Then, in 1999 he took his first class of Yi Ren Qi Gong from Dr. Sun and almost immediately, in that first class, began to clearly feel this energy he had only heard about before and the positive impact it started to have on his mind and body. Since, his first Yi Ren Qi Gong class he has made it a priority in his life, took as many classes as possible and has a dedicated daily practice. In addition, he became part of a teacher training group in the Fall of 1999. As a result of his Yi Ren Qi Gong practice his health and quality of life has dramatically improved. Since 2001 he has been teaching Yi Ren Qigong, the greatest gift of his life, to many beginning and advanced students including teachers and students from other qi gong and Taichi groups. Brendan is a certified YiRen Qigong teacher and completion of his classes apply as prerequisites for taking advanced classes from his teacher Dr. Guan-Cheng Sun.
Brendan Thorson LMP, graduated from Brenneke School of Massage in 1997 and maintained his own private practice from 1997-2004. Now, in 2008 after an extended break he is a practicing Massage Practitioner again and he specializes in a connective-tissue type of massage. Most of his connective-tissue training has come from both the Rolfing and Hellerwork community. His connective-tissue type of massage integrates what he learned from the Hellerworker’s and Rolfer’s with some Eastern styles like Shiatsu. He uses his connective-tissue type of massage to help people overcome all sorts of physical problems including muscular and skeletal issues, like back/neck pain, stiff limbs and postural problems.
For many years before Brendan began learning Yi Ren Qigong from Dr. Sun he suffered from insomnia, anxiety and mild depression. They all started out very mild and as time passed they progressed and became stronger to the point where his health and body inversely became weaker and weaker. As a result, his life became very difficult and frustrating and his vitality continued to degrade as every month and year passed. Every system of his body became weak and fragile. He suffered from many weaknesses associated with every organ system. In addition, a few of the ones that stand out for him were the “chronic pains” fibromyalgia, he lived with throughout his body, the depleted immune system that caused him to get sick almost every week with a cold, Flu or serious allergy/sinus problems and the “exhaustion”, chronic fatigue syndrome. To summarize, he experienced an extreme case of how stress can negatively affect the quality of one’s health and life.
About Qigong
What is Qigong?
Qigong is the practice of cultivating our inherent potential and well-being based upon the natural laws of human consciousness and internal energy flow in the physical body. These laws were observed over the centuries and many systems of Qigong flourished. Gradually, the masters refined and modified their methods until Qigong evolved into a practice that effectively restores harmony and vitality to our bodies. The word "Qigong," in Chinese, is composed of two characters: the first character,"Qi,"（气） represents the life force, or vital energy; the second character, "Gong," （功） means the results or achievement of practice.
Although relatively new to the United States , Qigong has a long history in China where the practice has been used to improve health and physical strength and increase longevity. The theoretical basis of Qigong relates to the energy patterns in and around the human body, or Qi, which is the foundation of all the martial arts, of energetic healing, of Chinese medicine, of Chinese philosophy, and of Chinese culture
Yi Ren Qigong Developed by Dr. Guan-Cheng Sun
About Dr. Sun
Dr. Guan-Cheng Sun originally learned a QiGong system from his grandfather at age nine. Dr. Sun has spent over 30 years refining his skills and has developed a new system called Yi Ren QiGong.
After earning his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the Graduate University for Advanced Studies in Japan in 1993, Dr. Sun was awarded a fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. During his years in Japan, he also began teaching his QiGong system. In June 1994, Dr. Sun came to the University of Washington where he continued his research of the endocrine system at the molecular level. This research into the hormonal balance and transformation of the body has enriched Dr. Sun's theory and practice of QiGong. In March of 2000, Dr. Sun accepted an invitation to lecture at the Mayo Clinic on integrating traditional Eastern healing arts with modern concepts of physiology. Currently Dr. Sun is researching the benefits of qigong on diseases like type two diabetes and occasionally teaches day long seminars for advanced Yi Ren students.
All of the Yi Ren Qigong classes taught by Theqiman are approved from Dr. Sun for taking his advanced level workshops. For example, if the prerequisite is the completion of level 2 class for Dr. Sun’s workshop and you have completed at least level 2 with Theqiman, then you have met the requirements to register for Dr. Sun’s workshop.
What is Yi Ren Qigong?
Yi Ren Qigong is the practice of cultivating our inherent potential and well-being through a growing awareness of "Qi"--the energy-information field within us, as well as surrounding us. In Chinese, the character "Yi"（易）means change, the upper part symbolizes the sun and lower part symbolizes the moon. Through the dynamic interactions of Yin and Yang, the character "Yi" graphically suggests the Tao of change, the laws of different energy interactions in the natural world. The character "Ren"（人） means human. With Yi Ren Qigong studies and practice, we become increasingly aware of energy flow and interactions in our physical body, and in our environment, and start to live in accord with the Tao, the laws in the nature.
The Yi Ren system of Qigong is designed to support an individual in the exploration and expression of the intelligence and wisdom already within the body. It helps one become consciously aware of and understand the body's functions at different levels, including energetic, informational, emotional, conscious and subconscious levels. A regular and disciplined practice of Yi Ren Qigong helps individuals increase harmony within Qi-Mind-Body, which leads to self-knowledge, self-healing, self-reverence, self-mastery, and self-actualization.
Yi Ren Qigong includes two basic components or areas of emphasis: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Qigong. Intrinsic Qigong refers to communication and interaction between the mind and the body; Extrinsic Qigong encompasses communication and interaction between individuals and their environment, including other people, society, and nature.
This natural and non-Invasive system has a great capacity for strengthening our physical body and for enhancing the process of fulfillment of inherent potential through Qi-Mind-Body integration. For example, the internal power of "Jing"（劲） is a dynamic current in the body which can be developed by integrating our Qi with the force of the muscles. The power of "Rou" （柔） is the strength of our tendons, which can be developed by integrating our Qi with the nature of the tendons. The power of "gang" (刚) is the quality of sturdiness of the bones, which can be developed when the bones get nourished with the refined Qi within. At our mental level, the power of “Zhi” （智）is the power of insight and perception, which can be enhanced when the intellectual mind is nourished with the Qi. The power of “Hui”（慧） is the power of direct knowing, and direct communicating, as well as corresponding, which can be developed by integrating the Qi with our intuitive mind and internal organ network.
Regarding Extrinsic Qigong, we learn how to integrate the knowledge of I Ching （易经） with our personal intuitive system, which enables us to recognize and identify different energy interactions, and anticipate what these interactions will create. With extrinsic Qigong practice, we are increasingly aware of what kind of energy nourishes our inherent nature, and what kind of energy impairs our intrinsic nature. Thus we can choose more appropriate community and more conducive environments which foster our personal growth, and support us in the process of fulfilling our highest potential, and achieving self-actualization.
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Unlocking the body's wisdom to transform life
