Students

• Stefan M. Belgrade, Serbia. November 2015

  Brendan’s qigong training dramatically helped me to balance my health and energy system!!

  About four years ago I went through what is commonly referred to as a “Kundalini Awakening”. It transformed my life for the better, but also turned my health and world upside down. I began to commonly feel ungrounded, spaced out and easily exhausted. As every year passed my energies were gradually becoming more balanced, but I wanted to make some faster progress and learn energy exercises for managing, strengthening and balancing my personal energies! As a result, I looked at some qigong and yoga schools in the States. But after talking with Brendan I felt very confident in his knowledge, understanding and confidence with my situation.

  Brendan’s qigong training was very simple and powerful for me. I got much more out of it than I ever expected too. It allowed me to ground, strengthen and solidify my energies so I could begin to feel much healthier again! Brendan is a very good healer and qigong instructor. I would recommend him to anyone seeking energy work for improving their health and quality of life. I wish I could find an instructor like Brendan closer to my home of Serbia. One day I hope to be able to return to Seattle to further my studies with Brendan.

• Andrew’s Testimonial / Tai chi Qigong Seattle

  Seattle Tai Chi & Qigong Testimonial

  Andrew Forrayi 3/9/2011

  I have been studying Yi Ren Qigong with Brendan Thorson for 8-months now and it has been incredible.  I am currently a student pursuing an engineering degree, have many areas of interest in metaphysics, have taken roughly 7-years of yoga pursued with a devotion to connecting deeply to myself and my surroundings.  Yoga has definitely shifted myself and the dynamic relationship with the world both internally and externally.  At a certain point in my yoga training I ungrounded myself and it took me several years to find something that would be effective for me with where I was and allow me to take it further and deeper, once I was able to ground myself and could return to the homeostasis state.  I found the ability to not only ground myself in qigong but take the experience even further.  As with how yoga opened my eyes to how amazing life could become if your bliss is nurtured, so to with qigong although totally different, amazing in another way entirely.  I began to feel the energy pathways of my organs, certain chronic pains from joints and my back have for the most part healed themselves and I can feel them continuing to do so J.  I have found it to be absolutely incredible and will continue exploring it probably for many years.  It has the potential to be paradigm shifting and exponentially amazing.  The greatest impact has been to my overall sense of well-being, being grounded and tapping into and releasing the stored emotional baggage [Energy Blockages] with the strength from being grounded and the presence of mind to comfortably engage and set free these past issues putting that bounce back into my step and the wonderful feeling of feeling healthy and that it can keep getting better.

  Some of the benefits I’ve experienced:

  • A growing sense of well being as my deep internal energy levels have improved
  • Certain chronic ailments are no longer causing me trouble (my knees, and rotator cuff)
  • Increased retention in my studies
  • Starting to feel the internal energy from my organs and the meridians as they circulate within my body
  • I generally sleep less and feel much more rested with the less sleep (which has been awesome!)
  • Im becoming able to maintain my sense of the self I want to be even when under stressful situations and have the presence of mind during so to act as I would feel good about after 🙂 which can be developed with any meditation yet in Qigong it is definitely uniquely incredible.
  • Over all I am finding that with this meditation I am building and nurturing a metaphorical “ball rolling down a hill”, as my greater energy levels are increasing.  Its not particularly difficult but is definitely something to take seriously if you have interest in biological energy fields especially your own.

  I am deeply grateful for this opportunity I have been given to study with Brendan.

  –Andrew Forrayi

   

• Justin’s, Tai Chi / Qigong Testimonial

  The following testimonial is written by a grad student with some background in both martial arts and meditation.

  Seattle Tai Chi & Qigong student testimonial

  2/2011

  Level One

  “Several months before attending the level one class I was trying to learn various meditation methods to dissolve and let go of stress and tension. The profession I’m about to go into can be very stressful and I felt that finding a healthy way to let go of stress would be necessary so I wouldn’t have to carry it with me and let it build up. Eventually I started reading about qigong or chi gung and learned that it was a great starting place before trying deeper meditative practices, so I sought a class that talked about working with the body’s energy specifically.

  I learned a lot from just taking the 6 week level one class. From day one I learned to feel this connection between my hands and from this foundation slowly built up my awareness of this feeling throughout various points in my body. Towards the end of the class I could circulate this connection or energy around my body and even down into my feet, which was something I never thought I would personally experience for myself.

  I started practicing at least 40 minutes on most days of the week. This helped a lot to slowly build up this connection I was feeling with my body, and every week my practice got a little deeper. I noticed I felt more rested when I woke up in the morning, which was a problem I had in the past. A year ago no matter how much sleep I got I would never wake up feeling refreshed. I also became more conscious of how stress affected my body, and practicing was a great way to not only dissolve stress from the day but it made me more resistant to stress as well, which was my major motivation for seeking this practice.

  Brendan is a very patient and compassionate teacher & this qigong method is great in that it focuses on feeling and working with “chi.” I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to learn YiRen Qigong as it is something I will be able to carry with me for the rest of my life. I am currently taking the level two course & I will have a lot more to share in the near future…”

  -Justin