Become a Professional Qi Gong Teacher and Consultant
Additional 350 Hours
(over 2 – 3 years)
If you feel called to take your Qi Gong journey to the next level, there are a lot of choices.
Are you more interested in your Physical fitness, your ability to relax, directly healing your body, or improving your fertility and sexual energy?
Are you committed to living a long and vibrant life?
Are you interested in cultivating your abilities for Healing others?
Do you want to learn about ancient and modern Nutritional and Preventative Medicine strategies from around the world?
Are you curious about the experiences of a committed Meditation or Nei Gong practice?
A Professional Level Qi Gong Teacher can not only teach all of the Traditional Qi Gong skills from the 200 Hour Program, as well as also demonstrate, teach, lecture on, or offer individual consultations on some, if not all, of the following Qi Gong practices and Healing opportunities.
The word professional comes from, ‘To Profess to have the ability to solve a specific problem.’
A professor, ‘Professes the ability to teach another to solve a specific problem.’
After completing the Traditional Qi Gong Teacher Training, you can also learn:
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Joint Rehabilitation Qi Gong |
Tissue Repair Qi Gong |
|---|---|
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Qi Gong/Dao Yin Self-Massage |
Trauma Release Qi Gong |
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Internal Organ Healing Qi Gong |
Microcosmic Orbit Qi Gong |
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Qi Gong for Cultivating Qi Awareness and Sensitivity |
Dan Tian Opening Qi Gong |
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Energy Clearing Qi Gong |
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Nutrition |
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Strength Training Qi Gong |
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Longevity |
| Bone Density Qi Gong |
Shaolin and Daoist Meditation |
| Fertility Qi Gong |
Shaolin and Daoist Breathwork |
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Shamanic Reunion Qi Gong |
Shaolin and Daoist Spiritual Practice |
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Meridian Opening Qi Gong |
Five Element Qi Gong |
A Professional Level Qi Gong Teacher will be able to teach all of the above Traditional Qi Gong Teacher skills, and also demonstrate, teach, lecture on, or offer individual consultations on most of the above Gong practices and Healing opportunities.
The word professional also brings Professor to mind. Depending on your interests and what you feel like becoming skilled at next, you will help a lot more people with public speaking, webinars, seminars, weekend workshops, residential retreats, and maybe even writing a book one day.
Most of the Professional Qi Gong Teachers that I train, or meet in the world, also offer private consultations and Qi Gong lessons. A person may need support with a shoulder injury, a traumatic childhood, addiction, or a chronic illness. Or they may want to maximize their vitality and study the intricacies of more advanced Qi Gong practices with you one-on-one.
If you are looking for a career change, are comfortable with higher-level education, love to move, dance, breathe consciously, and be still, as well as love interacting with people, the world needs more Professional Level Qi Gong teachers.
Learning Qi Gong Online Requires a lot of Support
You will receive the same support as in the 200 Hour Traditional Qi Gong Instructor Program.
The first form of support will be weekly LIVE webinar events.
EVERY WEEK, or bi-weekly, we will focus on the most essential, foundational, and tangible principles of Qi Gong practice. Similar to an in-person class, we will practice together for part of the class, then I will teach a new exercise or skill, demonstrating the correct version and some common errors specifically for learning on a screen. I will do my best to exaggerate the subtler aspects so that nothing is missed. LEARN MORE…
We will also gather monthly as a group and learn together. For the first few months, I will be going deeper into the principles and theories of Qi Gong. Once the group has learned the essentials and is ready to begin sharing, you will have an opportunity to share an exercise or two, or lead the group through a 20 minute (mostly silent) Qi Gong experience, or enjoy learning from the offerings from your peers. LEARN MORE…
The third form of support is a Bi-Monthly LIVE and in-person, (or in e-person) connection will be your Private Review, Evaluation, and Guidance sessions. In these sessions, you will have a chance to demonstrate what you are learning, ask questions, share breakthroughs, and get some feedback on the subtle details of your practice. As you progress through the levels of the Soma Dao process, you and I will develop a familiarity with your good habits and specific challenges. This will help you develop the best personal practice for your present needs, as well as guide you in what you may want to focus on as a Qi Gong teacher. LEARN MORE…
Over the next few years of your training, we will be spending a lot of time together!
Another form of support will be follow-along audio files and written descriptions of every exercise, skill, theory, or traditional teaching. This part of the program is in development. The course manuals will be available ASAP. Keep in mind that Qi Gong is an embodied practice. You will learn much more from watching the instructional videos, watching others practice online, or from practicing with people in person.
Please read the Student Resources and Application Package for clarification of commitments and responsibilities, especially with respect to note-taking.
Each level of the 350 Hour Professional Teacher and Consultant Program
takes you deeper into the journey of Embodied Awareness,
Somatic Healing, Mindfulness, Vitality, and Daoist Inner Cultivation.
Level Four
Methods for Nourishing Vitality and a Long Life
Yang Sheng Fa
Most of the people I meet in the Qi Gong world who are also interested in studying human Health and Preventative Medicine, have experienced a personal health challenge and need healing, want to be more supportive of their friends and family, and/or are considering a career in Health Care.
If your Qi Gong journey has been inspired by a chronic personal health challenge, the ancient tradition of Yang Sheng Fa can help you support your health and healing in some very comprehensive ways. If you are interested in helping others, these tried-and-true methods of nourishing health, rooted in the oldest living system of medicine in the world, will help you have a good foundation in preventative medicine.
The Chinese characters for Yang Sheng Fa (養生法) describe feeding your leftovers to your goat, just in case you need to eat your goat to stay alive. Some aspects of Chinese philosophy are very pragmatic, but also respectful of the ebb and flow of one’s resources, one’s vitality, and one’s challenges. Yang Sheng Fa is a lifelong daily practice of self-care that involves all aspects of your life, even the humble and seemingly unimportant parts. This approach to living a conscious and healthy life is all about balance, seasonal rhythms, and living a very long, conscious, and healthy life.
Combining your Qi Gong practice (and teaching) with a Yang Sheng Fa practice has always been a successful marriage in the history of Daoist Cultivation. The principles and practices of Yang Sheng Fa are rooted in thousands of years of experience, of both healers and those who have needed healing. A principle of Daoism, called Zi Ran, reminds us all that life is always changing, and so is the understanding of how bodies work, what slows aging, and what is causing the most common illnesses of the day.
Although I am very invested in the ancient healing wisdom that I have learned, I am also very passionate about staying at the leading edge of Functional Medicine, lab testing, and nutraceutical protocols. If you like science and are interested in a systems-based approach to healing, Functional Medicine is essentially Chinese medicine with a Microscope.
Throughout this Ten Week Healing Journey, I will share a balance of the old and the new, what has gone wrong, what works,
and most importantly, why!
This 10 Week Journey will cover the following traditional aspects of Yang Sheng Fa.
- The Yang Sheng Tradition
- Chinese Medicine 101
- The Four Constitutions and The Five Taxations
- A Seasonal Diet
- Metabolic and Spiritual Fasting
- Balancing Tone and Pliability in all of Your Muscles and Membranes
- Detoxification and Healthy Fat Loss Protocols
- Fertility and Longevity protocols
- Finding Life, Work, Rest, Play Balance
- Seasonal Fitness strategies for young and old
- Sleep Hygiene
- Mental and Emotional Hygiene
- Conscious Parenting
- Sacred Intimacy
Level Five
Therapeutic Qi Gong – a Ten-Month Journey
Nei Yang Gong
Healing is a need for everyone – at some point.
Sometimes, we need support from others, and most of the time we need to find it within ourselves to commit to our own healing.
If you need support, seeing a Medical Qi Gong Therapist is a highly effective option. You can relax and go inward as your Qi field and internal energy systems are realigned, while you are guided into conscious breathwork, using awareness to resolve energetic or emotional wounds, as well as internal organ and meridian system realignment.
If you need to learn some gentle exercises, meditation techniques, personalized breathwork practices, and Self-Healing Qi Gong skills, then you will need to learn Therapeutic Qi Gong. Or, if you feel called to help others, become a certified Qi Gong Therapist.
This course is meant for those with some Qi Gong experience, especially clinicians, therapists, and other health care professionals.
After decades of experience and exploration of many different styles and lineages, Dr. Michael Smith is offering this ten-month program of discovery and refinement to the general public and online for the first time. Most of the practises taught in this course have been reserved for monasteries, Daoist lineages, martial arts lineages, and those taught in the oral traditions of Qi Gong and Traditional Chinese medicine for the last 2,000 years.
This program will take you on a ‘deep dive’ into the most potent and practical aspects of one of the oldest intact Healing Traditions on Earth.
In order to experience, learn, and heal as much as possible (in less than a year) this program has been designed to build on itself in layers or dimensions. It is much more enjoyable when your training and new practices are as easy to learn and remember as possible.
Most classes will be live and focus on learning, reviewing, and expanding on your personal (and professional) Qi Gong practice. Some classes are pre-recorded, depending on the season and the subject of the class.
This highly experiential (practice-orientated) ten-month process is divided into the Seven Dimensions of Therapeutic Qi Gong.
The Seven Dimensions of Therapeutic Qi Gong
One – Self Regulation and Down-Regulation
Two – The Healing Power of Qi
Three – State Shift and State Break
Four – Shapeshifting and Five Animal Qi Gong
Five – Healing your Internal Organs with Qi Gong
Six – Breathwork and the Six Healing Sounds
Seven – Clearing Ancestral Wounds from your Six Dan Tian
Level Six
Shaolin Strength and Longevity Qi Gong (Yi Jin Jing)
Core Tone, Strength, Fascial Tensegrity, Functional Flexibility
The Shaolin Monastery is the birthplace of modern Kung Fu (Gong Fu) and Chinese Buddhism. Before Buddhism came to China, the Shaolin tradition was one of Chan (Zen) meditation, higher university learning on many subjects, Qi Gong, and Martial Arts. Over time, and for many reasons, the Shaolin monks became some of the most effective warriors in the history of the world.
Today, Shaolin monks travel the world demonstrating incredible feats of human physical capacity and internal body control. No, I am not suggesting you need to learn to fight or try and do backflips. I am aware, however, that healthy lean muscle mass is the number one indicator of health in your elder years, rate of aging later in life, as well as actual lifespan. Although most Qi Gong exercises look very relaxed and effortless, they will keep you fit because they activate, stretch, and tone almost every muscle and membrane in your body.
Shaolin Warrior Qi Gong is a very effective and enjoyable way to strengthen your muscles, nerves, fascia, and bones, as well as ensure you do not lose your muscle mass as you age. If you think of your Qi and Meridians like electricity and the thickness of a wire, the more abundant your ‘wires’ are the stronger the Qi you can experience.
This is especially true if you are a Healer. Your meridians are made of and do many things. The vaster amount of what your meridians physically become and what limits their function is your muscles, tendons, blood vessels, and facial membranes and interstitial fascia. Lengthening and strengthening all of these tissues equally and simultaneously is one of the healthiest forms of Qi Gong for the health of the structural aspects of all of your meridians.
Level Six Includes:
Restore Your Core Qi Gong
Muscle Tendon Change (Yi Jin Jing)
Shaolin Warrior Strength Training (Tan Fu Zhi Wai Li Du Fa)
Daoist Heavy Hands Qi Gong
Bone Marrow Washing (Xi Sui Jing) will be introduced and combined with other forms and practices you already know.
Shaolin and Daoist Breathwork – is going to become the backbone of your deeper Dao Yina nd Nei Gong
49-Day Chan (Zen) Seated Practice.
Level Seven
Opening Your Meridians and Dan Tian (Nei Gong ~ One)
The journey of Nei Gong begins with learning about your meridians, subtle aspects of circulation, Energy Centers (Dan Tian), Energy Gates (Qiao), several Breathwork practices, and some deeper aspects of your nervous system.
With regular Nei Gong practice, you begin a journey to discovering the Aliveness (Ming) and Experiential Nature (Xing) of all of your Energy Systems (Organs and Meridians), Energy Centers (Dan Tian and Innate Minds), and Energy Gates (all of the above -plus certain Acupuncture points, trees, rocks, waterfalls, or other places in Nature that feel just right.
The Chinese Characters for your Meridians, in general, are Jing Luo 经络, which describes the tension and integrity of the warp and weft of a cloth, or perhaps the collagen matrix of your structures and membranes.
I often use the metaphor of wire and electricity to describe the importance of an abundance of Jin – contractile tissue and Jing – Inner Adaptive Capacity or Mojo in your Meridians. Physically, and clinically, a Meridian’s health includes the nutritional status, inflammatory status, circulatory capacity, vascular health, muscle tone, flexibility, fascial membrane integrity (on some very deep levels), and of course the cellular collagen matrix of every cell of every part of your body.
Each of your meridians expresses a core instinct, and is connected with instinctual gestures based on ancient animal reflexes, human body language, and the behaviour, expressions, and experiences of your Ancestors. These subtle, sensual, emotional, and instinctual, qualities of your Meridians also affect your posture, some physical characteristics, the health of the ‘wire’, and the free movement of Qi through your entire meridian system.
This training begins with the Daoist Willow Dance, one of the most fun ways to learn the Chinese Medicine Meridian system – inside your body. (see below)
It is at this level of interaction that the more ancient Dao Yin practices become essential. If you need to go deeper into Qi Gong Healing practices, you will need to learn about the embodiment and release of Trauma.
To be successful in your Nei Gong practice, you will also need to open your joints, connect tangibly with Qi, practice some traditional forms until they feel like home, and restore your Jing and Jin, all while opening and restoring all of your Meridians.
Daoist and Shaolin Inner Cultivation (Nei Gong)
Every embodied, meditative, contemplative, and energetic system of self-cultivation in the world agrees on the existence and importance of Energy Centers, or Dan Tian 丹田 or Chakras.
The Chinese character Dan means alchemic substance or practice; Tian means field of cultivation. The term Chakra means a spinning disk or sphere. There are many names, locations, and ‘properties’ to all of the various Energy Centers, but the way I was taught, the relationship is what matters.
Although each Dan Tian can be experienced as a location, it is important to experience the Aliveness (Ming) and Nature (Xing) of each Dan Tian every day. Ask about ‘location’ at every practice. Keep the relationship alive and become a student of learning the language of Jing, Qi and Shen.
Each Dan Tian is also a certain feeling tone of interaction with your physical body, your somatic memories, Ancestral traumas and gifts, a very unique and powerful level of your meridians, and a ‘structure’ made of the warp and weft of the fabric of Space-Time or Dao.
Each of your Dan Tian is the Universe coming together into a kernel of energy and consciousness that you can learn to resonate with, reawakening an entire internal world of wisdom, healing, and potential self-cultivation. It just takes some time to become Space-Time or dissolve into a reunion with Dao.
If you commit to an occasional ‘Rite of Passage’ with some advanced Dao Yin and Nei Gong practices, you can complete your journey of restoring all of your organs, Meridians, and Energy Centers to their optimal state of Being, Existence, Resourcefulness, Aliveness, and Function.
Over the six months of this training, you will reconnect to your |Inner Landscape (Nei Jing) through a committed practice of the following aspects of Qi Gong and Nei Gong practice.
Reviewing all your Joint Opening, traditional forms, Inner Refinement and healing practices with an awareness of your meridians.
The Willow Dance – a Meridian Activating and Harmonizing Qi Gong
Nei Gong and Your Microcosmic Orbit (Xiao Zhou Tian)
Begin Opening Your Narrow Passes (Guan)
Daoist and Shaolin Breathwork
Interacting with and as your Three Dan Tian and your Six Innate or Unborn Minds (Yuan Shen)
Nei Gong Induction Practices
Inner Reflection and Inner Dialoguing. Nei Guan 內觀
Qi Gong and Nei Gong for Women
As a graduate, you will also become a part of a community of people from around the world, dedicated to health, self-awareness, and a more conscious way of living.
Schedule a Phone or Video Interview with Dr. Michael Smith to make sure that this long-term learning opportunity is aligned with your present health status, personal needs, and long-term goals.