Qi Gong in Asheville’s Botanical Gardens

It’s Monday morning, 9am and I find myself in the chilly shade of a large tree in Asheville’s Botanical Gardens for a group session of Qi Gong.  

Having personally never taken a class like this before, I did not know what to expect. 

The Botanical Gardens in Asheville are centrally located, public, beautiful, peaceful, open and PERFECT.   Being outside seems pivotal in fully experiencing the exchange of Qi Gong with more than simply the people engaged in the class.  All of Nature was there exchanging Qi with us, too.

Alison explained the meaning of Qi Gong- a valuable piece of information for someone who’s not experienced in the Chinese Way.  “Qi” is the ephemeral substance permeating all things (think of mist- you cannot capture it, but you can gently guide it).  “Gong” means masterful, skillful study.

 I love the guidance Alison gives to the class.  Her instruction was led through example and by visualization.  All of us circled around our leader, and though Alison had the sunlight in her eyes, it highlighted her movements for all of us to see. 

We shook and bounced ourselves awake as Alison shook, bounced and spoke to us about getting the Qi flowing in our bodies.  She was very purposeful in explaining the body's relation with the yin and yang- important information for anyone who doesn't have any clue about Chinese medicine. Equally thorough were her movements guiding us all to keep in mind all the lines and spots of our body, and it helped that she talked about each place out loud as we hovered over, spiraled, patted, flicked, etc. different parts.

The tree union at the end was my very favorite.  We experienced a guided, focused exchange between ourselves and a tree in the botanical garden.  Like each breath that we inhale and exhale, we can also give and receive with the greater force to which we are all connected.

I was so happy to have attended, I reached out to my neighbor and invited her to come with me next week and she will be coming with me and bringing another friend of her own. For $25, you can attend 4 sessions.  It’s an easy choice for me to make to start off my Monday mornings.