I’ve given Tree of Life a Facebook page (treeoflifenola), and have two events being publicized mainly through that medium: Community Acupuncture Wednesdays and Qi Gong Class Tuesdays.
Community Acupuncture day started last Wednesday, and the turnout was encouraging. We have high hopes for this week’s event! The conference room (normally the site for depositions and other larger meetings for the law offices the building also houses) converted well to a group treatment room. The afternoon light glowed through the shutters of the French doors, and three zero-gravity lawn recliners invited participants into a comforting zone of healing synergy.
When we sit in a room with other people with shared intention, our positive energy is magnified through the presence of others. Whole religions are built upon this idea—because it works, in fact, whatever your individual beliefs may be. Community Acupuncture is for many people their introduction to TCM, and many never get acupuncture any other way. Some choose this because of its affordability, others because the healing environment is a draw of its own.
The next planned Community Acupuncture days are Wednesday the 14th and 21st of August, between five and seven in the afternoon. No reservations required, it’s walk-in only. The fee is a sliding scale of $20-$40—pay what you can, no questions asked. We hope you can make it and try out this way of getting acupuncture.
Qi Gong Beginners Class has its first session today, August 13th, from five till seven in the afternoon. There are three consecutive Tuesday Qi Gong classes, the next two being on August the 20th and 27th; tuition is $15 for one class, $25 for two and $30 for all three. This financial incentive is not the only smart thing about taking all three, though—the movements one learns at the class, and the coordination of movement and breathing, will come much easier with supervised practice. It’s a commitment, but incredibly worthwhile.
The Qi Gong I’ll be teaching is a set of simple dance-like movements which help to generate one’s qi, or vital energy. The guidelines of how to do these moves also help us to feel healthy habits of movement, such as posture and limb/joint extension, and these habits will affect how you move in daily life the more you practice. In time, one practicing Qi Gong will experience less of the pain and discomfort that we experience from bad posture, occupational stress, and repetitive activities.
I hope you can come to participate in some of these activities, and once we know what the people of New Orleans need from Tree of Life Acupuncture, we will be sure to schedule more such events in the future.
