Today we started the formal classroom part of our program. We are teaching our group Qigong and Tai Chi every day and they are experiencing various traditional Chinese medicine treatments. But this trip is special in that we are also teaching them the theory behind the practices. We started with a lecture on the five elements and its use in medical Qigong and TCM. Over the next few days we will provide daily, in depth lectures. When the trip is finished, our group will have learned all the material in our “Five Elements for Balance and Harmony: Foundations for Sustainable Holistic Healing” Qigong certification course and much more.
After class we visited the home of the Xi Zhou village elder. He gave us a tour of his house, including letting us go up in his attic. We saw antique implements and his private calligraphy collection, which he saved from the turmoil in the 1960s.
We enjoyed the hospitality of the center again for lunch. Afterwards, we toured an organic tea farm. The local tea master gave a lecture on how to prepare and drink tea. The group picked tea leaves which we saved for dinner.
One of the center’s local Chinese staff was a big fan of Bruce Lee. While the rest of group was relaxing and drinking tea, he asked me to teach him some Kung Fu. I taught him a few of the Jeet Kune Do methods, which he picked up pretty quickly. He was very happy.
After our tea break, we practiced Qigong on the roof of the tea house. We had the mountain to our back and the lake below. The Feng Shui was right and Qi of the area was very good.
That evening our group enjoyed dinner at a local vegetarian restaurant. The owner came from Taiwan to help spread Buddhism. Vegetarian restaurants have a hard time in the Dali area because the people are meat eaters. This restaurant specialized in preparing medicinal dishes. The tea master joined us for dinner and prepared a dish out of the tea leaves we had picked earlier. It was bitter, but quite good for the heart. After dinner our group generously supported the local economy with some power shopping.
[...] as a tourist attraction. But tonight the crowd was mostly Chinese. Prices are very high compared to Yunnan. It is no secret that no matter what you buy in China, you have to negotiate the price. However, [...]