Soma Dao Qi Gong Courses – 2024

Learning Online – The “Make Fun of Me” Story.

49 Days of Embodied Spiritual Practice

Begins March 18, 2024

(Open Webinar March 11)

If you are new to Conscious Embodiment practices, welcome home to your birthright of awareness, acceptance, and a nearly endless resource of learning, Healing, and Play!

We all have some good habits and not-so-good habits. It seems obvious to say, but habits are just things we do often. A 49 Day Rite of Passage is a chance to choose some new habits by cultivating new approaches and skills every day.

Why 49 Days?

Many ancient traditions, including Buddhism, Daoism, Judaism, and others all use either 100 days or 49 days for specific rites, rituals, or as ways to navigate certain times of the year. It is said that the Buddha became enlightened after sitting in meditation for 49 days non-stop, and in Tibetan Buddhism, it is understood that the soul takes 49 days after death to complete the journey of a human life.

A 49-day commitment to practice can be seen as a Rite of Passage or an Initiation. Depending on the traditions and practices you may follow, the specifics of the process, and the next stage of your life you are initiating yourself (or being initiated) into, will be unique.

Regardless of the specifics, something that is common to us all is the need for growth and change. Anyone can get stuck being the person they remember themselves to be. Until something new and redefining happens, there are no new memories or experiences to show us that we have grown.

Beginning Your Qi Gong Journey 

10 Weeks – Begins March 26, 2024

Qì Gōng is a lot like Dancing.

Imagine learning a simple dance move to some fun and meaningful music that you love.

Imagine, somehow, that you give yourself permission to feel your body, to play with momentum, to be shy, and to be a rock star – all at the same time.

That is what Qì Gōng feels like. Coming home to your body, your sensual experience, feeling all of the good stuff, feeling where you hold any distress and trauma, feeling into your deepest places, while becoming centered, grounded, patient, and a conscious witness to whatever arises.

Ancient healing traditions and modern science agree, that stress can be held in the body, like you are flinching imperceptibly in all of your nerves and muscles – all of the time. This ‘chronic flinch’ not only creates physical tension, but it also manifests as changes in qualities of your Aliveness, or your Qì. Sometimes this physical and energetic stiffness creates a lot of stagnation or constraint, and sometimes it creates a feeling of collapse.

There are many different forms and styles of Qì Gōng. Each one has a specific focus and benefit, or a specific dance to move your in just the right way.

Tai Chi Shibashi Qi Gong

10 Weeks – Begins March 26, 2024

This is a form of gentle Qigong exercises, that are practiced in a soft, fluid, and continuous manner.

The Shibashi practice was originally a template of exercises that were suggested for traditional Tai Chi (taijiquan) teachers to help those recovering from chronic poor health.

These gentle, beautiful, and flowing Qigong exercises are very relaxing at first. As you progress into the more advanced practices, you will explore different footwork and breathwork, as well as more dynamic gestures.

I initially learned this pattern of exercises as a warm-up with the renowned Xu Gong Wei.

A few years later, I was asked to collaborate with a Qi Gong teacher who did not study Tai Chi. They had asked about breathwork options, martial applications, and more advanced footwork. And thus was born the version I now teach.

In this version of Shibashi, there are three Passes, or levels to each of the classic eighteen gestures. This approach allows people to progress safely and consistently into more advanced expressions of this beautiful series of almost hypnotic Tai Chi like exercises.

200-Hour Traditional Qi Gong Teacher Training

1 – 2 Years 

Begins April 8 2024

(1 – 2 Years)

This course is for those who want to go in-depth into the Foundations of Qi Gong and want to become a Traditional Qi Gong Instructor.

If you are looking to train for a new career, learning to teach Qi Gong is a great choice. Qi Gong focuses on connecting with your Qi, or your ‘sensations of Aliveness’, entering deep states of meditation, instinctual readiness, emotional acceptance, and Spiritual reunion. Skills that almost everyone needs more of today.

Here is your homework…

Practice Awareness, Adaptability, Flow, Resiliance, Release, and Stillness.

It is an instinct to live a long, fit, and fun life.

If you have always wanted to commit to a Rite of Passage, take this chance to commit your willingness to some discernment, discipline, Self-Love, and Self-Care.

Discover the freedom of redefining what is a yes or a no.

Boost Your Vitality, 

Reset Your Metabolism,

While Cleansing and Rejuvenating Your Whole Body.

Reawaken Your Authentic Self,

while Learning the Essentials of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Functional Medicine.

If you want to get in better shape while learning the most efficient forms of exercise, fat loss, and stretching, then jump on board. Jumping is great exercise!

If you are suffering from a chronic illness, this course will guide you through a gradual and consistent process that you can follow anytime you have a flare-up.

Let’s find out what 8 weeks of healthy habits feels like, together!

Tuesdays @ 6:00 – 8:00 pm.
March 26 – May 14

Shaolin Strength and Longevity 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.

Although most Qi Gong exercises look very relaxed and effortless, they can still improve your fitness because they activate, stretch, and tone almost every muscle and membrane in your body. 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.

Rearranging and restoring the structure and function of all of your connective tissues and circulation, and all of your meridians is like building a city. From the ground up. These practices are demanding, very high level, and are only taught when people are ready for this degree of Mind, Body, Meridian, Jing, Connective Tissue (Jin), and Breathwork transformation.

Here is a series of Articles on Yi Jin Jing Theory and Practice 

Article One – The Meaning and Process of the Yi Jin Jing Practice

Article Two – Cultivating Strength and Longevity – the Yi Jin Jing Process

The Yi Jin Jing and Bone Marrow Washing – Part Three

Healing is a need for everyone – at some point, in some way.

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 would like to learn some gentle exercises, meditation techniques, personalized breathwork practices, and Self-Healing Qi Gong skills, then you will need to learn some 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.

There are thousands of forms of Qi Gong, all focusing on Vitality, Healing, Fertility, and Longevity.

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 practices 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.

Enhancing Your Qi Gong Healing Abilities

8 Months – – Begins May 28, 2024

The primary focus at this level of Qi Gong training is to strengthen your Mind’s and your Body’s innate abilities to conduct and maintain a connection with increased Qi activity for hours at a time.

The content of this course has always been reserved for Monks, Martial Artists, and Healers. At this level of training, a certain part of your capacity resides in an awareness of Qi, but most of your capacity resides in your deeper energy systems and structures that ‘hold’ and express all of that energy throughout the day – especially a long day of treating patients.

This level of practice primarily exists to prepare people for a career as a Medical Qi Gong Therapist, a Monastic, an Ascetic, and/or as a professional Martial Artist. Many people also learn these practices for personal Healing and Longevity, as well as the unique opportunity to experience the Shaman/Doctor/Healer/Scholar level of Qi Gong, Dao Yin, Nei Yang Gong, Dian Gong, and Nei Gong practice.

It is always an honor to guide Qi Gong adventurers who want to see how far down the ‘rabbit hole’ this ancient practice goes.

More Courses Coming Soon

I am interested in learning more about becoming a Qi Gong Teacher and/or a Medical Qi Gong Therapist and would like to receive your MONTHLY newsletter.

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2024 Courses with Dr. Michael Smith

Beginning April 8, 2024

Learn the skills, practices, and principles necessary to safely and successfully guide others through several kinds of Qi Gong Classes.

The 200 Hour program includes three levels:

One- Embodied Awareness

Two – Traditional Forms and Applied Principles

Three – Inner Refinement

Welcome to the 200-Hour Qi Gong Teacher Training Program

  • Qing Zhi Bing Course - Professional Certification
  • Qing Zhi Bing Course - Non-Professional
  • Shaolin Strength and Longevity Qi Gong (Yi Jin Jing) – Year One - Study Group
  • Shaolin Strength and Longevity Qi Gong (Yi Jin Jing) – Year One - Study Group
  • Sale!

    Tai Chi Qi Gong – SPECIAL OFFER – Save $100

    Original price was: $247.00.Current price is: $147.00.
    If you are looking for an easy to learn, soft, and meditative approach to combining Tai Chi (Taijiquan) gestures and Qi Gong principles, this form is easy to learn, effective and very enjoyable.

    It is a lot like dancing.

    This course will take you on a 9-week gradual and progressive journey into where Tai Chi and Qi Gong meet – in the most beautiful way. Over the nine weeks, we will explore each of the 18 movements of the form through three Passes or stages of precision and coordination. Each Pass has specific breathwork, foot placement, joint opening, and interactive principles to explore. We will also learn some warmup exercises to help you tangibly experience the most essential principles, while also becoming familiar with some specific aspects of structure, movement, and momentum.

    If you are just beginning your Qi Gong journey, this is a great place to start.

    If you are a Qi Gong teacher, or plan to get certified soon, this form is becoming very popular and can be taught over 2 – 3 months as a way to introduce yourself as a Qi Gong teacher.

    This online course starts Tuesday, May 14th at 11:30 am – PST.

    Next week, we will practice at 11:00 am on Mondays for the remaining 8 weeks. If you have just discovered this opportunity, you can still join the course until May 27th, 2024.
  • Shaolin Strength and Longevity Qi Gong – Year Two - Plus Shibashi
  • Shaolin Strength and Longevity Qi Gong – Year Two
  • Tues March 26, 2024 at 6:00 PM For Eight Weeks There will be a time for Q&A at the end of each class. A PDF copy of the Ancestral Diet Cookbook, the Abunbdanbt Health Plan book, the Individual Questionnaires PDF and a Zoom link will be sent to your email on March 26.
  • What to Expect…?

    Every morning, for 49 Dayswe will meet live online… Each week, we will focus on a specific aspect of Embodied Spiritual Practice. The first few minutes will be a recap of the practices we are learning, then there will be a guided Meditation practice. The intention is to learn several ways to practice meditation and many ways to appreciate and apply conscious attention and interaction. This will be followed by a Conscious Breathwork Session, and then a Wisdom Teaching from around the World. With coherent minds and Intentional Embodiment, we will learn the foundations of both Daoist and Shaolin Breathwork. Each week, we will explore and experience a primary building block of advanced Breathwork. Breathing is like surfing in the ocean – the ride depends on the waves. How you breathe – right now, can change the flow of your day, and even your life!
  • Tues March 26, 2024 3rd at 6:00 PM For Eight Weeks There will be a time for Q&A at the end of each class. A PDF copy of the Ancestral Diet Cookbook, the Abunbdanbt Health Plan book, the Individual Questionnaires PDF and a Zoom link will be sent to your email on March 26.
  • What to Expect…?

    Every morning, for 49 Dayswe will meet live online… Each week, we will focus on a specific aspect of Embodied Spiritual Practice. The first few minutes will be a recap of the practices we are learning, then there will be a guided Meditation practice. The intention is to learn several ways to practice meditation and many ways to appreciate and apply conscious attention and interaction. This will be followed by a Conscious Breathwork Session, and then a Wisdom Teaching from around the World. With coherent minds and Intentional Embodiment, we will learn the foundations of both Daoist and Shaolin Breathwork. Each week, we will explore and experience a primary building block of advanced Breathwork. Breathing is like surfing in the ocean – the ride depends on the waves. How you breathe – right now, can change the flow of your day, and even your life!
  • What to Expect…?

    Every morning, for 49 Dayswe will meet live online… Each week, we will focus on a specific aspect of Embodied Spiritual Practice. The first few minutes will be a recap of the practices we are learning, then there will be a guided Meditation practice. The intention is to learn several ways to practice meditation and many ways to appreciate and apply conscious attention and interaction. This will be followed by a Conscious Breathwork Session, and then a Wisdom Teaching from around the World. With coherent minds and Intentional Embodiment, we will learn the foundations of both Daoist and Shaolin Breathwork. Each week, we will explore and experience a primary building block of advanced Breathwork. Breathing is like surfing in the ocean – the ride depends on the waves. How you breathe – right now, can change the flow of your day, and even your life!
  • What to Expect…?

    Every morning, for 49 Dayswe will meet live online… Each week, we will focus on a specific aspect of Embodied Spiritual Practice. The first few minutes will be a recap of the practices we are learning, then there will be a guided Meditation practice. The intention is to learn several ways to practice meditation and many ways to appreciate and apply conscious attention and interaction. This will be followed by a Conscious Breathwork Session, and then a Wisdom Teaching from around the World. With coherent minds and Intentional Embodiment, we will learn the foundations of both Daoist and Shaolin Breathwork. Each week, we will explore and experience a primary building block of advanced Breathwork. Breathing is like surfing in the ocean – the ride depends on the waves. How you breathe – right now, can change the flow of your day, and even your life!
  • What to Expect…?

    Every morning, for 49 Dayswe will meet live online… Each week, we will focus on a specific aspect of Embodied Spiritual Practice. The first few minutes will be a recap of the practices we are learning, then there will be a guided Meditation practice. The intention is to learn several ways to practice meditation and many ways to appreciate and apply conscious attention and interaction. This will be followed by a Conscious Breathwork Session, and then a Wisdom Teaching from around the World. With coherent minds and Intentional Embodiment, we will learn the foundations of both Daoist and Shaolin Breathwork. Each week, we will explore and experience a primary building block of advanced Breathwork. Breathing is like surfing in the ocean – the ride depends on the waves. How you breathe – right now, can change the flow of your day, and even your life!
  • What to Expect…?

    Every morning, for 49 Dayswe will meet live online… Each week, we will focus on a specific aspect of Embodied Spiritual Practice. The first few minutes will be a recap of the practices we are learning, then there will be a guided Meditation practice. The intention is to learn several ways to practice meditation and many ways to appreciate and apply conscious attention and interaction. This will be followed by a Conscious Breathwork Session, and then a Wisdom Teaching from around the World. With coherent minds and Intentional Embodiment, we will learn the foundations of both Daoist and Shaolin Breathwork. Each week, we will explore and experience a primary building block of advanced Breathwork. Breathing is like surfing in the ocean – the ride depends on the waves. How you breathe – right now, can change the flow of your day, and even your life!
  • What to Expect…?

    Every morning, for 49 Dayswe will meet live online… Each week, we will focus on a specific aspect of Embodied Spiritual Practice. The first few minutes will be a recap of the practices we are learning, then there will be a guided Meditation practice. The intention is to learn several ways to practice meditation and many ways to appreciate and apply conscious attention and interaction. This will be followed by a Conscious Breathwork Session, and then a Wisdom Teaching from around the World. With coherent minds and Intentional Embodiment, we will learn the foundations of both Daoist and Shaolin Breathwork. Each week, we will explore and experience a primary building block of advanced Breathwork. Breathing is like surfing in the ocean – the ride depends on the waves. How you breathe – right now, can change the flow of your day, and even your life!
  • What to Expect…?

    Every morning, for 49 Dayswe will meet live online… Each week, we will focus on a specific aspect of Embodied Spiritual Practice. The first few minutes will be a recap of the practices we are learning, then there will be a guided Meditation practice. The intention is to learn several ways to practice meditation and many ways to appreciate and apply conscious attention and interaction. This will be followed by a Conscious Breathwork Session, and then a Wisdom Teaching from around the World. With coherent minds and Intentional Embodiment, we will learn the foundations of both Daoist and Shaolin Breathwork. Each week, we will explore and experience a primary building block of advanced Breathwork. Breathing is like surfing in the ocean – the ride depends on the waves. How you breathe – right now, can change the flow of your day, and even your life!
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