Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong Workshop in the West
Dayan Qigong workshop led by Grand Master Eng Chor Khor was well attended by a big group of enthusiastic students and instructors from Keilor, Moonee Ponds, Werribee, Bundoora and Camberwell centres on Sunday 10 November 2019 at Maribyrnong Park Bowls.
GM Eng Chor started off the workshop with some warm up exercises followed by Lotus Qigong. He then went to explain the difference between Tai Chi and Qigong. In brief, Tai Chi represents exercises and movements of slow martial art while Qigong concentrates on breathing and movements derived from nature and animals. For example, Qigong exercises are like Shibashi 18 movements, such as ‘Cloud Hands’ and ‘Gazing at the Moon’ and Tao Yin Qigong such as ‘Tiger Crouching’ and ‘Elegant Crane Greets The Morning Sun'. One can go on a lot more discussing these differences.
Our workshop concentrated on ‘Dayan’ meaning ‘Wild Goose Qigong’. As the name implies, the movements of this Qigong set derived from the beautiful features of the extraordinary wild goose.
We learned the first few movements of the wild goose waking up to spreading its wings, folding its wings, drawing its wings to the back and thrusting its wings forward. Then the lesson continued to 64 movements, all representing the flight journey of the wild goose. So interesting!
GM Eng Chor also explained in details about how each movement benefits our body, for example, releasing stale energy/Qi and harnessing fresh Qi. He also stressed which movements involved meridian points throughout our body. We could clearly see all the health benefits of doing this Qigong set to improve the quality of our life.
At break time we enjoyed a lovely afternoon tea provided by Zenaida. Thank you to the Moonee Ponds team (Joy, Doreen and Wayne, student) for preparing the hall. I highly recommend to all students to attend future workshops like this one when opportunities arise. Also, we intend to practice the ‘Wild Goose Qigong’ during our summer park lessons. We are looking forward to more Qigong workshops in the West in 2020.
Spread Your Wings Like a Wild Goose!
Siew Ang
Assistant instructor, Keilor Centre
Here are some collective thoughts and feedback from our Keilor students who attended and enjoyed the workshop:
Learning Tai Chi & Qigong - a truly worthwhile decision
After 25 years away from the world of martial arts, this year I returned to the pursuit of physical and mental improvement and to learning how to slow down from my workaholic tempo in life.
I chose Tai Chi due to its long history of being both a calm martial art that provided self-defence techniques, but more importantly for its therapeutic health benefits.
In my younger years, I was very active in various physically demanding sports and generated many injuries which as a young person I neglected.
In the last 6 weeks I have felt a significant repair to my body, the ability to bend and flex more easily, and I have picked up more energy as well as the ability to learn to relax, something which I have been trying in many ways to learn for years.
On November 10, I had the opportunity to attend a Qigong class in Moonee Ponds and over the 2.5-hour session learned part one the “Wild Goose Qigong” form.
The session was very easy to follow and complete, giving me, a newcomer, some additional confidence.
At the end of the session, I felt highly energised and relaxed and realised that the choice made 6 weeks ago was a good one.
I recommend to anyone wishing to learn how to create balance in life as well as ensure a healthy physical and mental regime to consider both Tai Chi and Qigong as achievable exercises and meditation routines that will benefit them well into their later decades.
Micheal Kontogiorgis
Student, Keilor Centre
Reflections on the Wild Goose Qigong Master Class
On the afternoon of 10th November 2019, we met at the Maribyrnong Park bowls club where Grand Master Eng Chor Khor was to teach us some Wild Goose.
After the warm ups we did the Lotus and then White Crane greets the morning sun and a movement about a tiger. Then we began to learn QiGong Dayan or Wild Goose. As well as learning the movements, we were taught a lot about tapping and feeding the earth energy and the heaven energy.
After awhile we took a break to feed on afternoon tea. This food is also a type of energy, and it tastes good too. When our 20 or so minute break ended, we went back and learnt more of the routine.
Every so often, half the class did the routine so far while the other half watched, and then we swapped over. The last part that we learnt today was flying in a figure 8. Learning the Wild Goose from Eng Chor was fun and required much concentration. It is amazing to fly like a bird while keeping your feet on the ground.
When time was up we all received a certificate stating that we had ‘Successfully Completed’ the routine, even though we had ran out of time to learn the whole thing. Over all it was a wonderful afternoon of learning and soicalizing.
Jenny Whipp
Student, Moonee Ponds
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Updated: 16 November 2019
