“I’ve been taking Bredan’s Qi Gong for about 4 months now. The experience I’ve had is hard to put into words so I’ll just outline some of the benefits I’ve noticed.

1.) I can feel more fully what my body does and does not want. I am much more aware of how specific types of food, exercise, activities and mental/emotional states affect me. The Qigong has greatly amplified my natural feedback system so I am much more aware of my reaction to things.

2.) I do not have the urge to drink anymore. Before I began qigong I was a very heavy drinker. I am not sure if I was an alcoholic or not, but I drank the equivalent of a bottle or two of wine daily and would get antsy when I didn’t drink. After beginning to take Qigong with Brendan my desire to drink just sort of withered away. After starting my qigong practice I was left drinking out of pure habit and realized (since there were nights that I now wasn’t drinking) that I had basically spent the last ten years of my life either constantly (at least) mildly hung over or intoxicated. Since I started doing the classes the compulsion disappeared and I have realized the negatives outweigh the positives. I’ll still have a beer or glass of wine with dinner or while out and about, but it is no longer a defining part of my life, a crutch or an impediment.

3.) I realized that my body, or whatever it is that constitutes me as a person, is different from what I, as a scientifically educated, US born, biological materialist was led to believe. My body/mind/spirit/energy being is… not more complex necessarily, but different from how I’ve always thought it to be. Manipulating the Qi energy as I am learning in QiGong is like taking the reigns on parts of my life I’ve always struggled to control.

4.) I have always suffered from anxiety. Although I can’t say I’ve come close to curing it yet, I’ve started to be able to discern large complex sets of emotions/reactions/sensations that underlie my anxiety. I’ve awakened a deeper part of my mind from which has sprung an organic symbolic/visionary language of images and sensations I can use as tools for healing myself.

On top of the above mentioned benefits I can say that through Brendan’s Qigong classes I’ve begun to develop an experientially based spirituality. I am seeing the world in a much different, more full, and better way. I can’t help feeling like I’ve stumbled upon something truly amazing.”

Anonymous