Hi folks,
We get a lot of comments that come into our office. Many send in their thanks for the work and for our instructors teaching tai chi and qigong. I wanted to share an email we received recently and to again thank my instructors for their commitment to teaching.
I would encourage those thinking about becoming instructors in qigong, tai chi or longevity breathing to go for it. Attending an instructor course can be one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself and to be of service to others. And for those who have certifications but are not yet teaching, just start a small class because even working with a few people can make a huge difference on those peoples lives (plus your own training will improve dramatically when you have to teach others).
Teaching tai chi and other Taoist energy arts provides people with the tools and practices to face the journey of life:
I would like to thank Bruce Frantzis and his senior instructors for dedicating their lives and talents to communities all over the world. I work as a full time volunteer with the Sisters of Charity in the city of Juarez, Mexico, the twin city of El Paso, Texas. Juarez is widely reported to be one of the most dangerous cities in the world due to an escalating drug war, with approximately 3000 people murdered in 2009.
In the wake of such violence schools have been shut down for weeks at a time and businesses have closed creating what many visitors call, “hell on earth”. Overwhelmed as I was with assisting in very basic services to some of the very poorest residents at a community center for families with severely handicapped children, It would have never occurred to me that these people needed a class in Taoist Energy Arts. Food, shelter and medical care seemed to be much more pressing needs. But I’m an outsider and my eyes don’t see the same way as people who live and raise their families in such a place.
One woman, Sofia, a widow and mother of five who lives near the center and does much work for the Sisters, expressed interest in learning Tai Chi to share with the ‘stress poisoned’ women of her community, and to our great good fortune an Energy Arts senior instructor, Steve Barowsky, is the only name I found when I looked up Tai Chi in the yellow pages. Sofia has been taking private classes with Steve for many months now (with me translating) and every week we are amazed at the depth of his knowledge and experience and with his ability to convey complex concepts simply and directly.
Sofia is learning Tai Chi, Qigong (Chi Gung), and many basic techniques for working with families and she is dedicated to helping other women find an interior peace that the outside chaos cannot rob them of (not to mention improving their health and well being). Her dream is to be certified to teach by Energy Arts someday and Steve says that she is an excellent student. It is clear to me that enabling Sofia to study with Steve is the most valuable and lasting service I can provide to this ravaged city, and it is a great pleasure to me to see the women learn ways to help themselves and thereby help their families.
Thank you again for this unfolding opportunity…
Many women as well as men suffer from extreme caustic stress. This would be true of the women in Juarez who are having the horrors of one of the most serious drug (shooting) wars that has ever existed. Just as, at this very moment the people in Haiti are incredibly stressed. Besides the physical needs of the body, when the mind, due to incredible external circumstances becomes mentally overwhelmed, very often the pain of those mental disturbances is worse or at least as bad as the lack of food and water etc.
Women in poorer countries very often do not have access to the type of social services and psychological services that we are fortunate to have in the west. Tai chi is something as was shown in China and was shown in your case in Mexico that can reduce those stresses and give women a new lease on life. Difficult situations have to be endured through, this said, if a person’s nervous system and energy and peace of mind become stronger through something like tai chi, it can make an amazing beneficial difference, and you are quite right, Steve is a wonderful teacher and Energy Arts is proud to have him as a member of the family.
Siba, keep up the good work, people who try to make a difference in this world above and beyond their own profit are prizes to be treasured.
Bruce Frantzis
P.S. At some point it one of my hopes is to start a scholarship program to assist people who may not have the funds but have the commitment to learn and teach energy arts…
HI Bruce,
One of the things I would so much like to do is teach qi Gong and tai chi to anyone who wishes to learn. Your system is so awesome. Just the longetivity breathing has made an amazing difference in my life. There are a lot of elderly people in my church who would participate in it if it were offered. I have a long way to go before I reach that point. One step at a time.
Peace,
Philip