Practices draw on chinese energy arts, buddhism, deep ecology & somatic movement.
Lotus Flow brings a diversity of self-cultivation practices to develop present-moment awareness, and lead to a greater sense of interconnectedness with the world around us.
07/05/2023
AUTUMN AND WINTER SERIES (indoors)
The coming seasons resonate with descending energy, as the expansive yang energy contracts and descends into yin energy. It’s a good time to slow down, conserve, and also strengthen you vital life force. We will focus on both seasons and their corresponding resonance in the body. We will also focus on the immune system to strengthen it and make sure we are well prepared for the usual pathogens that seem to afflict us over the colder months.
No experience, or levels of fitness necessary. Come along if you are curious or are already a practitioner, everyone is welcome. Wear loose fitting, warm clothes and comfortable shoes, we will be practicing inside over the cooler months to help keep the chilly temperatures at bay.
Meet at the Scout Hall in Lincoln, entrance is around the back. Start time 5.30 - 6.30. Koha welcome.
19/02/2023
Another sunny summers day ☀️☀️ Qigiong for Summer is on today at 5.45pm in Lincoln, 236 Boundary Rd. All welcome, no experience necessary, wear comfy clothes and shoes, we will be practicing outside under the trees. 🌴🌴
29/06/2022
WINTER SERIES
Join Lotus Flow Qigong for a weekly winter, koha-based one hour session at the Roimata Food Commons, Radley Park.
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Gather your willpower, wrap up warm, and immerse yourself in the vital energy of winter!
Winter is an important energetic phase for nourishing our qi (energy/life force), yet we can often swing out of balance by too much sleeping, eating and 'hibernating' in the warmth of home. Qigong movements that energise the qi in the body can help to fight off the cold that weakens the immune system, and allow us to make the most of the short winter days by keeping us internally warm. By practicing in winter, we can also develop willpower and determination, which helps to build internal resilience in the face of challenges.
We will work with practices that warm the limbs and organs, ignite digestive fire, and generally support the nourishment and circulation of qi in the body. Sessions will include breathwork and bone breathing techniques, along with grounding, purging, tonifying and circulating movements.
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Time: 2-3pm, Sunday 3 July
Place: Radley Park, Woolston - meet by the shipping container at the Roimata Food Commons
No experience, or levels of fitness necessary! Come along if you are curious or are already a practitioner, everyone is welcome. Just bring yourself, wear warm, comfortable clothes and shoes that allow for easy movement, and a smile :) There are no physical adjustments in qigong, so you will be free to do your practice in a space that is comfortable for you. We will be practicing outside, but as there are no sitting or lying postures in the practice, we don't need to concern about wet grass :) If raining, the session will be cancelled.
21/03/2022
Come and join Koha-based Qigong down at Roimata Food Commons this Wednesday with Lotus Flow Qigong! Starting at a new time of 5.30pm - 6.30pm, to make the most of the late afternoon light :) Social distancing will be in place - we have a huge space to practice under the trees and the open sky. There are no physical adjustments in qigong, so you will be free to do your practice in a space that is comfortable for you.
This week will focus on the spine, and if there is one thing you can do to improve your health and wellbeing, it'sto move your spine!
Our sedentary lifestyles, stress and repetitive exercises can all contribute to physical and energetic stagnation, and if you have experienced any discomfort, stiffness or pain in the spine, you will know just how much it limits movement and impacts other parts of the body and your emotional wellbeing. How many people can feel joy when they have difficulty to get out of bed in the morning?
Movement of the spinal column also has a range of benefits beyond functional movement, supporting emotional and psycho-spiritual wellbeing: through regulation of the autonomic nervous system which anatomically branches down the spinal column. In some Indian and Chinese wisdom traditions - including Qigong - energetic movement through the spinal column is also an important pathway for refining and transforming consciousness.
So come and move some qi! Meet by the shipping container in Radley park, at the new time of 5.30pm, just bring yourself and some comfortable and warm clothes. 😎😎😎
13/03/2022
Come and join Koha-based Qigong down at Roimata Food Commons this Wednesday with Lotus Flow Qigong! Social distancing will be in place - we have a huge space to practice under the trees and the open sky. There are no physical adjustments in qigong, so you will be free to do your practice in a space that is comfortable for you. During the practice, we will be standing and doing easy, mindful movements together, no mats or props needed, just bring yourself 🙂
Qigong is a practice that is helpful during these times of uncertainty; in a qigong practice we focus on movement, breath and awareness to sense, strengthen and direct energy through the body and mind, so that we are able to find balance, grounding and flow in our lives.
This week we will focus on grounding and immunity strengthening. In traditional chinese medicine, the immune system is connected to the lungs - and related to lymphatic and digestive systems - so we will do some purging, toning and circulating to get the energy moving through the lung meridien, and some movements to ground the body and strengthen our energetic immune systems.
No experience, or levels of fitness necessary! Come along if you are curious or are already a practitioner, everyone is welcome. Just bring yourself, wear easy-fitting, comfortable clothes, and a smile 🙂
Meet by the shipping container in Radley Park, 9 - 10am, Wednesday 16th March. Koha welcome.
28/02/2022
Come and join Koha-based Qigong down at Roimata Food Commons this Wednesday with Lotus Flow Qigong! Social distancing will be in place - we have a huge space to practice under the trees and the open sky. There are no physical adjustments in qigong, so you will be free to do your practice in a space that is comfortable for you. During the practice, we will be standing and doing easy, mindful movements together, no mats or props needed, just bring yourself :)
Qigong is a practice that is helpful during these times of uncertainty; in a qigong practice we focus on movement, breath and awareness to sense, strengthen and direct energy through the body and mind, so that we are able to find balance, grounding and flow in our lives.
This week we will focus on grounding and immunity strengthening. In traditional chinese medicine, the immune system is connected to the lungs - and related to lymphatic and digestive systems - so we will do some purging, toning and circulating to get the energy moving through the lung meridien, and some movements to ground the body and strengthen our energetic immune systems.
No experience, or levels of fitness necessary! Come along if you are curious or are already a practitioner, everyone is welcome. Just bring yourself, wear easy-fitting, comfortable clothes, and a smile :)
Meet by the shipping container in Radley Park, 9 - 10am, Wednesday 2nd March. Koha welcome.
14/02/2022
ROIMATA WELLNESS SESSIONS
Come and join Koha-based Qigong down at Roimata Food Commons this Wednesday with Lotus Flow Qigong!
QIGONG is an ancient energy movement training that can help us develop present-moment awareness, and lead to a greater sense of our interconnectedness with each other and the natural world around us.
In a qigong practice we focus on movement, breath and awareness to sense, strengthen and direct energy through the body and mind, so that we are able to find balance, grounding and flow in our lives.
Qigong strengthens and relaxes the whole body and optimizes body functions in order to maintain health and increase our wellbeing. It can also help to build resilience so that we are able to move through life challenges without becoming unbalanced and overwhelmed, and so we have more space to engage in supporting others.
During the practice, we will be standing and doing easy, mindful movements together. No mats or props needed.
And no experience necessary! Come along if you are curious or are already a practitioner, everyone is welcome. Just bring yourself, wear easy-fitting, comfortable clothes, and a smile 🙂 Meet by the shipping container in Radley Park.
09/02/2022
QIGONG with the EARTH: What makes Qigong unique as an energy practice is the continuous attention to grounding by connecting with the earth's energy. Any electrician will tell you the importance of the earth wire in electrical systems, and its exactly the same when dealing with energy within our bodies. If we don't constantly ground our energy, we are prone to energetic imbalance, and in serious cases, having external energies or entities enter into our space. In Qigong, grounding is as simple as sense feeling into your feet, allowing them to relax and sink into the earth, as if they were growing roots like a tree. Sinking through the hips and pelvis, and deep, slow breathing into the abdomen, also facilitates earth connection. Try and spend a few moments every day to reconnect with the earth, to ground and centre your energy so that you are rooted and stable, and able to stand strong with the flux and flow of life around you.
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Morning practice before the rain, Forest Creek, Te Kahui Kaupeka
30/01/2022
ROIMATA WELLNESS SESSIONS
Come and join Koha-based Qigong down at Roimata Food Commons this Wednesday with Lotus Flow Qigong!
QIGONG is an ancient energy movement training that can help us develop present-moment awareness, and lead to a greater sense of our interconnectedness with each other and the natural world around us.
In a qigong practice we focus on movement, breath and awareness to sense, strengthen and direct energy through the body and mind, so that we are able to find balance, grounding and flow in our lives.
Qigong strengthens and relaxes the whole body and optimizes body functions in order to maintain health and increase our wellbeing. It can also help to build resilience so that we are able to move through life challenges without becoming unbalanced and overwhelmed, and so we have more space to engage in supporting others.
During the practice, we will be standing and doing easy, mindful movements together. No mats or props needed.
And no experience necessary! Come along if you are curious or are already a practitioner, everyone is welcome. Just bring yourself, wear easy-fitting, comfortable clothes, and a smile :) Meet by the shipping container in Radley Park
08/05/2021
QIGONG in the COLD: When it's cold outside, it seems preferable to just practice inside in the warmth, but practicing in the cold weather is a great way to strengthen intention and awareness. You can warm the body - especially hands and feet - by purposefully placing your attention there. 'Where the mind goes, Qi flows', and qi is warm! Once you have warmed the limbs, flow practices are really enjoyable, allowing you to soak up the fresh and clear energy of winter.
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Morning sunrise practice, 1°C temp at Ben Ohau, Mackenzie Country, Aotearoa/NZ
16/01/2021
Practising Qigong was prescribed to help people in Wuhan manage mild cases of COVID-19. It's also been shown to improve a cancer patient's quality of life. For Tara and many others, the mental and physical benefits have been life-changing.
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Lotus Flow brings a diversity of self-cultivation practices that help to develop sustained present-moment awareness within the body, and lead to a greater sense of our inter-connectedness with each other and the world around us. Practices draw on classical wisdom traditions, and newer practices - chinese energy arts, buddhism, deep ecology, somatic movement, natural movement, applied drama and more.
Underlying these practices is a broader vision for any self cultivation to be a means to serve society, rather than for individual benefit. Through practices that bring ourselves into the present moment, and expand our awareness beyond the boundaries of physical bodies, we can begin to open to the vast energetic interconnection that is continuously flowing, and recognise
I have spent the past 12 years living in SE Asia, where I have had the opportunity to explore and deepen my own personal practice in the Theravadan Buddhist traditions from Thailand and Myanmar through many retreats, as well as be exposed to Mahayana practices from Thich Nhat Hanh tradition.
I have explored and certified in Hatha yoga and yogic pranayama practices, before focusing on Qi Gong (and Tai Chi) as my main cultivation practices. I have learnt from the Shaolin tradition (Iron Shirt and Tong Ling qigong), and am now in the process of Qi Gong certification through YOQI - Qigong Flow. I have completed the first stage of training that allows me to teach the basic practices and principles (see www.yoqi.com).
Living in SE Asia as part of an intentional eco-community, I have also had the opportunity to learn from pioneers at the forefront of envisioning sustainable and regenerative futures for our world. Practices of deep ecology, Vision Quest, meditation practices for transformation of consciousness, intuition development, compassionate communication, trauma healing, feldenkrais, mindful activism, 5 rhythms, etc. These practices have also allowed me to see the vast array of approaches to support self cultivation within a wider community, and how utilising sustained awareness can deepen those practices.
