Wishing you a healthy, peaceful and inspiring New Year! Tao Motion offers more weekly classes in Christchurch, starting 2 and 3 February. I found this beautiful venue in the City Centre in 163, Madras St - Spirit Talk. Behind the shop is a perfect room for Taijiquan, Tao Yoga and Qigong. The classes will start on 2 and 3 Feb - morning, lunch time and evenings. The Taijiquan class in Risingholme Community Centre, Opawa will also still take place on Thursdays, starting 27 January. I am looking forward to connect more and more with the people in Christchurch. In February I offer weekend events as well. A highlight is 20 Feb 10am-5pm - Qigong for Women in Opawa.You can download the flyers. Wishing you a nice holiday and I will be back in the office from 23 January. Cheers, Gabrielle

 

An email from a friend:

"I once went to a talk, an anthropologist was talking about evolution.
He asked the audience what was the number one characteristic of evolution.
We answered all the normal stuff; competition, natural selection, diversification, mutation, adaptation, survival of the fittest- all the stuff we had been taught at school. Hitler used this information to justify his reasoning- that experiment went very bad (thankfully)
The anthropologist said the number one characteristic of evolution was cooperation.
He went on to describe the human body and human cells.
He said that if any one body cell was only interested in its own survival it would be considered cancerous and the whole organism may die. Life flourished when it took the risk of cooperation.
 
Within a cell the power house of the cell is called the mitochondria.
At one point in the past the mitochondria organism came in contact with a single cell.
They were 2 different organisms (different DNA)
Normally one would consume the other.
Somehow these organisms took a risk and became a eukaryote cell.
This cooperative stance allowed life to happen.
It was through cooperation that life flourished.
 
Daily we are challenged by the need to survive.
Our first instinct is primal, to consume, greed and the self culture.
We can indulge that first impulse or we can hesitate and maybe take some risks.
We can see our primal instinct does not see the whole picture, is unclear..." (Mark)

I love this! The cancer cell is only interested in it's own survival, and we grow up in a society, which teaches us the same. When I am self centered and it's all about ME. I am actually disconnected. Let's work like a living organism to cooperate!

Cheers, Gabrielle

Still feeling the warmth and openness in my heart after coming home from the Teacher Training retreat in the Waitakere Ranges near Auckland.

It was a wonderful time of learning, sharing, meditating and practicing Qigong. There was also space for the "yin"-pactice: laughing, connecting, enjoying the native bush and the swimming hole, spa bath under fern trees and the sauna under the full moon. These five days created a wonderful transformation for everyone.

Now we have a few more qualified Universal Associate Teacher here in New Zealand, who start teaching the Tao Basic already. Check out if there is an ongoing class next to you!

The next workshops will be in August, when I am back from Europe. The Women's retreat 13-18 August has an EarlyBird special!

And only available online: EarlyBird for the Inner Alchemy Retreat 12-17 November.

Here is the overview  what's on in the next months in New Zealand.

A Sea of Qi,  Gabrielle