Like breathing, opening/closing lies at the heart of all chi practices for making the body healthy, flexible and strong. Opening means to expand, closing to gather in and condense. Tai Chi masters say that without opening and closing there is no Tai Chi. The methods of opening and closing begin in the joints, then expand to the whole body including the muscles, ligaments and internal organs. You will learn how to use openings and closings to move chi through your body and use chi to:

• Smooth your emotions
• Remove tension and stress from your mind
• Generate physical power and apply it to your personal area of interest, whether it is meditation, Internal martial arts or Chi Gung Tui na.

Bruce will teach this course moving between two groups:

Group 1 will learn basic openings/closings and how to apply them to areas of personal interest, such as for martial forms, Fa jin, physical health, power generation or Chi gung tui na. In terms of Chi Gung Tui na training, those who first learn to do opening and closing within their own body, normally progress much faster than those who do not. This course will also complement the teachings of the previous week's meditation retreat by helping to develop your intuition.

Group 2 will be for those who wish to study and develop openings/closings within Ba Gua or tai chi as meditation. Major subjects Bruce hopes to address will be how to develop continuous awareness, the ability to change and stillness. Filling in gaps is essential in the internal Martial Arts as any gap of consciousness-whether physical, emotional, mental or spiritual-could weaken chi flow, rendering the fighter defenseless even if only for a second. Equally, gapping out in Chi gung tui na can significantly reduce your therapeutic effect.

Prerequisites:

Group 1-None, but knowledge of Nei gung would be very helpful;

Group 2-Knowledgeof Nei gung openings and closings, an Internal martial arts form-Ba Gua, tai chi or Hsing-I, and preferably Taoist meditation.

Directions to Menlo College

Directions: Campus directions are available on Menlo College's website: www.menlo.edu or by calling the college directly: 650.543.3727.

Transportation from/to airport: Ground transportation providers serving San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Jose International Airport (SJC) and Oakland International Airport (OAK) include public transit, Air porters, on-demand door-to-door vans, pre-arranged door-to-door vans, taxis, limousines and charter operators. Detailed information including service descriptions, schedules, sample fares and contacts is available by visiting:

• San Francisco Airport - www.flysfo.com (approx. 25 minutes from Menlo College)
• San Jose Airport - www.sjc.org (approx. 25 minutes from Menlo College)
• Oakland Airport - www.flyoakland.com (approx. 45 minutes from Menlo College)

Also, 511 is the Bay Area's free transportation hotline. For help getting to and from SFO, dial 511 from within the San Francisco Bay Area or (510) 817-1717 from outside the San Francisco Bay Area. Or, visit www.511.org to use 511's "Take Transit Trip Planner" to create a custom itinerary on public transportation.
For easy directions: www.google.com Click on the "maps" and enter Menlo College.

For Bay Area Travel Website (cal train, bart, local bus schedules, taxis , shuttles etc...)

If you plan on staying offsite click here for pdf of local hotels/motels.