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Sunday 15th June
Grounded in the Body
Meditation and Qi Gong Workshop
with
Marisa Cranfill and Pandit Bhikkhu
Sorry – this workshop is now fully booked. We’ll be back at the same venue in the near future though…
Overview
Intensive mindful day on ‘body awareness’. Led by Phra Pandit and yoga/Qi Gong instructor Marisa Cranfil.
We’ll be bringing together raw mindfulness of body techniques with mindfulness yoga and Qi Gong – with the aim to bring attention firmly into the body. Of all the kinds of mindfulness the Buddha praised mindfulness of body the highest. It is the foundation of practise, that can be taken all the way through Jhana and to enlightenment (see the Kayakathasati Sutta). It is also the foundation of self healing, and of healing others. We’re aiming at the integration of Vipassana and yoga traditions to produce grounded and lasting body-based attention.
- you don’t need experience in Qi Gong or meditation – come try it out
- Sunday June 15th
- at Mai Kaidee Oasis
- 9:30am-4:15pm
- 600 baht including lunch
- booking is necessary
Mindfulness and Qigong
This day long mindfulness meditation retreat led by Ven. Pandit Bikkhu and Marisa Cranfill combines the concentration and mindfulness practice of Vipassana meditation with the flowing movements of gentle qigong.
Qi Gong is an ancient system of meditation in motion that is practiced to balance the life force energy of the body and mind, optimizing health and preparing the body for seated meditation. When practiced correctly you will be able to observe the flow of energy (qi) and sit in meditation with ease.
To keep your meditation practise alive and dynamic, its necessary to spend the occasional mindful day dedicated to meditating, preferably with other yogis. It’s also always a good idea to learn new tricks and angles of approach. This air-conditioned and quiet venue is great for it – plus the world famous food supplied by Mai!
Pandit Bhikkhu
Phra Pandit has lived in the Buddhist monasteries in the UK and Thailand since the age of 24. Now a shade off 45 (and middle age!) that makes 20 years. 17 of those years has been as an ordained Buddhist Bhikkhu, spent in Thailand. His favoured style of Buddhism is from the Early Buddhist Texts – the un-ostentatious and non-mystical direct teachings of Vipassana (insight meditation). Other influences are from psychology (BA degree), faerie tale, and practical experience.
Currently Pandit Bhikkhu resides in Bangkok.
Marisa Cranfill
Frequent trips to Thailand as a child led to Marisa’s early interest in Asia. These impressions motivated her to study to meditation and expression through academic and experiential learning for the past 15 years around the world. Her university major from LIU in Comparative Religion included the study of qi gong, mid-eastern dance and an undergraduate thesis on comparative meditation techniques of Buddhism in China, Taiwan and Thailand. Although first exposed to Hatha Yoga in India, Marisa was trained as an Ashtanga yoga instructor in Bangkok with the intention to integrate her experiences of meditation into movement. Over the last five years she has integrated qigong into her yoga practice and became certified to teach Yin Yoga and Qigong (from the Universal Tao School of Master Mantak Chia). Marisa also has experience with a range of meditation including S.N. Goenka, Chinese Cha’n, the Pureland and Zen methods. Over the years she has assisted meditation teacher Ajahn Helen Jandamit with retreats at the Young Buddhist’s Association of Thailand. She currently divides time between the two cities of angels, Los Angeles and Bangkok teaching YOQI (yoga+qigong) and writing a book about the Thai spirit house tradition.
May Kaidee’s Oasis
May is world famous for her vegetarian and vegan Thai cooking school – she even teaches in Russia, Czech Republic and New York! Her cooking books are big sellers too. We’ve had some great group lunches at one of her restaurants in the past. Now she has a new place, hidden away from all but the real locals. May Kaidee’s Oasis.
It is a bit tricky to get to, but that makes it all the more worthwhile. And we’ll be making this one of our regular venues, so it is worthwhile getting on your radar. Being hidden away there is no roaring traffic noise.
We will have the two storey Thai-style house to ourselves.
Schedule:
10:00-11:00 Introduction to Qigong and Vipassana Pandit and Marisa Cranfill
- The Buddhist view of the body: Pandit
- The traditional Chinese view of the body in Qigong/ a brief introduction to qigong and how it relates to Vipassana: Marisa
11:00-11:40 qigong warm ups and basic qigong flow- Marisa
11:40-12:00 Guided seated Vipassana Meditation- Pandit
1:15-4:00 (with breaks)
- 30 minutes Dhamma talk- Pandhit
- 30 minutes Standing Qigong with static standing postures- Marisa
- 30 minutes Seated Meditation- Marisa/no guidance
- 30 minutes Q&A/ discussion
4:00 Closing
Getting there:
To make it easy, we will meet up at the Mai Kaidee restaurant near Kao San Road, and then walk over to the Oasis as a group. If you are driving, see further down for the exact location.
Click the map to enlarge
Booking
If you’d like to book for this event please enter your details below – and do double check them as many people enter the wrong details and then wonder why no one got back to them with confirmation. As the Qi Gong takes a bit more space we will be limiting the number of spaces for this event.
Before booking please be very sure you are attending as we have to pay for all the food we order, including anyone who did not turn up.
If you would like to join but are short of funds, let us know, and we’ll arrange a free place for you.
After entering your details you will be returned to this page and someone will get back to you within a day or two. Your details won’t appear on the web page. Your phone number is just so we can call you if you get lost en route.
The Oasis Location
While we are keen to keep this Bangkok place secret, if you are driving, and looking to park your car near the venue, you can find it by the maps below. Here is a wide area view, and a closer view. Note the road does not go right up to the Oasis so you will want to park around Mahanop Road (I’ll work on the maps a bit more when time permits)
