Having recently had to update all sorts of coaching qualifications for orienteering, I was excited at the thought of a ‘refresher’ weekend with my ‘class of 2015’ and others from QigongTAUK. With Samye Ling being slow to reopen post covid and going through an organisational makeover, only a few of us had managed to stay in touch but the choice of Glasgow city centre was, hopefully, accessible for most people.
To make things trickier, our facebook group had disbanded with the death of its admin. I was keen to see who would turn up, who is still teaching, practising and even alive but it was hard to find out in advance.
As it turned out, only twenty four were able to make the date, and it was great to re-connect with members of my own class and to meet students from other years. As well as seeing old friends, (what an ordinary word for the bond that was forged through our training!) it was wonderful to see our teacher Bob so enthused about all the work he is undertaking to get QigongTAUK up there and recognised. There’s a grinding amount of admin, with all the coursework having to be approved by a C.P. D. company but that’s how it is these days.
Because each two year course learned different forms, the pre-course questions of which forms do you teach, which would you like to revise and which would you like to learn were enlightening but Bob narrowed down the weekend activities to the two basic 5 Elements and 5 Animals that we all learnt on our first weekend, plus the 5 Element Dance and Nei Yang Gong, both new to me.
The ‘work’ was, of course, inspiring and some of us were able to enjoy the city experience in the evening, with a visit to an exhibition followed by a meal (and even a glass of wine or beer – unheard of at Samye Ling!) Next time, we will be able to book a restaurant because another positive outcome was a new WhatsApp group to keep us in touch!
There is nothing to beat working with a group of supportive, like-minded people and I am immensely grateful to Bob and my fellow QigongTAUKers. I hope everyone has a similar group watching their backs.