Become certified as a qigong instructor!
Study and practice from home in your own time and your own space
Share the experience with classmates in a private online community
Be guided step-by-step as you go deep into Elemental Alchemy Qigong Practices
What is Elemental Alchemy Qigong?
Within nature energy moves all around us in cycles, constantly transforming and transitioning from one state to another to create dynamic harmony and balance. The practices within Elemental Alchemy Qigong help us to understand these phases of energy and work with them to find balance within our own lives, harmony with the environment around us and flow gracefully through the cycles of life.
The Sage’s Path
The Elemental Alchemy Qigong practices are also known as the Sage’s path because of the rich insight they give us into every aspect of our lives – far beyond just our qigong practice sessions. Through the qigong practices we gain an experiential understanding and skill with principles that permeate all of our activities, relationships, and experiences. As we work to harmonize the elements or phases of energy within our bodies through our qigong practice, the effect of this naturally flows out into other areas of our lives, helping us to gain the wisdom of the sage with a better understanding of the constant change we see around us, and greater ability to find harmony and peace within it.
The Practices
Within the Elemental Alchemy Qigong program we will work with practices that bring balance and harmony to each of the primary states of energy recognized within Chinese Philosophy. We will begin with Wuji (無極) or primordial practices, progress to Taiji(太極) or yin yang practices, before continuing on the work with Wuxing (五行) – the five elements or five phases which give rise to the 10,000 things (a figurative way to describe all the many things we experience in life).
Understanding and working with each of these three stages of our energy gives us powerful tools for bringing harmony to our lives.
Wuji Qigong
The Wuji state is the primordial state – without form, but full of vitality and potential. Entering this state allows us to release any patterns we may have accumulated within our energy which may not be beneficial for us. As a simple analogy you can think of it like wiping a chalk board clean – clearing away any mess or half finished scribblings so that we have fresh space to create what we want. Another more modern analogy could be turning a computer off and then back on again. This can break a dysfunctional pattern that has occurred in a program that was running, and allow us to restart things fresh to allow them to run smoothly.
The Wuji practices are deeply therapeutic and can be a tool for releasing and changing many deeply held patterns within us. They leave our energy fresh and vibrant, and free to flow into the stages of Taiji and Wuxing without obstruction.
Taiji Qigong
Taiji Qigong works with the polarity of yin and yang that naturally emerges from the Wuji state (we will explore the philosophical underpinnings of these transitions from one state to another more within the course). The practices work to develop the strength of this polarity and use it to create dynamic movement within our energy which brings vitality to the flow of our energy and then acts at the basis for healthy energy to support the transitions of the five elements.
It is important to note that the Taiji Qigong practices within the Elemental Alchemy Qigong program are purely focused on this dynamic circulation of energy from the polarity of yin and yang. They are not to be confused with Taiji Quan – which is a martial art that draws on principles of qigong within its practice.
Wuxing Qigong
As our energy begins to flow more dynamically, it naturally begins to take on richer, more nuanced characteristics as it transitions through different phases. The elements from nature of water, wood, fire, earth and metal are archetypes of the characteristics the energy takes on as it moves through these phases. Qigong practices based on the characteristics of each of these elements brings them into balance within us, allowing our energy to move smoothly with the natural flow of life. We find harmony within ourselves and also deepen our connection to the cycle of life and energy around us.
This includes greater harmony within our natural environment, our relationships, and the seasons.
Your commitment – developing ‘gong’:
Qigong means skill with energy, and this skill, or ‘gong’ comes from practice over time. When you practice consistently over a period of time – with good guidance, you can develop personal experience and understanding of your vital energy. This will enrich your life, and make your teaching more authentic and valuable when you embark on your new role as a qigong instructor on completion of your training.
To develop this gong, you should be prepared to practice qigong for approximately 1.5 hours per day over the 15 weeks duration of this course, in addition to around 3 hours of reading, reviewing videos, and otherwise working on your theoretical understanding of the practices. You can choose to divide this up in different ways. You could do a single 1.5 hour practice session each day, or you could divide it into two or more shorter practice sessions. The time you spend on theory can also be spread throughout the week, or done in a more concentrated block.
Different time zones and schedules can make it hard to attend live online sessions regularly for people in different parts of the world. We will do our best to schedule the Q&A sessions so that it is possible most people to attend them at least some of the time, but recognize that this may not be possible for all program participants for all sessions. For this reason, attendance at the Q&A sessions is highly recommended – but not compulsory. We will also record the Q&A sessions so that any discussion and demonstrations that occur there can be reviewed again later by all students as needed.
Sometimes life can get in the way of our best made plans, and you may need to pause your study and practice for one reason or another. This does not need to stand in the way of your completing this 200 hour qigong instructor certification program. While the program and the related Q&A’s will run over 15 weeks, you will have lifetime access to all of the course materials, including recordings of the Q&A’s. If during the program your training needs to be interrupted for any reason, you can pick it up again from where you left off using the recorded course materials – and you have up to one year to complete your certification tests.
At the end of the program, we do have a comprehensive testing process. The thought of doing a test can be daunting for some people, but this is done in a supportive way to ensure that your understanding and practice are sound, so you can share your new knowledge and skills with confidence as a qigong instructor.
We will have a two week break for the Christmas holidays. This will be a great opportunity to consolidate what you have learned by that time and continue with your study after Christmas and New Years.
The teaching platform is great, you get to go at your own pace and it is easy to review any of the sections when you need to. The 2 private sessions you get with instructors are invaluable and the final test with John is really a review and a fine tuning of what you have learnt as well as a chance to ask questions. I would highly recommend this course to anyone wanting to further and deepen their own practice or those who would like to teach.
– Sonja Chambers
Your Instructor
John Munro
John Munro is the founder of Long White Cloud Qigong, which currently has a network of almost 350 instructors around the world. He brings more than 20 years experience of Qigong, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Kung Fu to his teachings. His passion is to bring traditional practices to life so that they are understandable and relevant when applied to modern living. He has previously served in a number of key roles as Vice President, Secretary, and Registrar of the New Zealand Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine Association, and as Chair of Natural Health Practitioners of New Zealand.
John has written four popular books on qigong, and is active in teaching workshops and running retreats around the world. Recently he received an award from the World Academic Society of Medical Qigong for his work in promoting qigong.
The Investment:
Single Payment
$2197 USD
3 Monthly Payments
3 Payments of
$819 USD
per Month