Hou Hee (Frank) Chan
In the 1990s, Chan Laoshi and his brother Luke Chan were among the first teachers to officially introduce Zhineng Qigong , a medical qigong famous in China for healing thousands with “incurable” diseases, to students in the United States. They named their organization Chilel (meaning Qi Therapy) Qigong with the approval of Dr. Pang Ming, founder and grandmaster of Zhineng Qigong.
Drawing from over 40 years of training and practice in Taiji and Qigong and his background as an engineer, the hallmark of Chan Laoshi’s teaching is his ability to explain to his students HOW and WHY a movement is performed in terms that they are able to understand. One longtime student ,who has studied with Chan Laoshi since the first Chilel Qigong retreat in Indiana in the 1990s, had these comments: “Of exceptional value, however, is Frank’s superb insights into the practice which means he is able to do form corrections and adjustments which allow me to deepen my personal practice and understanding of what I am doing. Whenever I think I understand what I am doing, he makes an adjustment- often seemingly subtle- but which profoundly affects my practice. Only a master teacher can perform this level of personal guidance and instruction for a student!” BJI, Bloomington, Indiana.
Chan Laoshi’s philosophy is that Qigong is not something that is mysterious. He defines qigong as “physical therapy or exercise with mindfulness”. Qigong is what we practice once we become aware of our body and aware of how we move our body. In 2002, Chan Laoshi recorded some of his insights into practicing the 2nd level of Zhening Qigong in the book Chilel Qigong: Body and Mind Method. His students value the work as an important guide to what is the correct way to perform a movement as well as common mistakes to avoid.
To complement the physical forms of Zhineng Qigong, he teamed up with Eva Lew, M.D. who provides insights into the mental and emotional parts of Qigong practice as well as the relationship of Qigong to Western Medicine. Their collaboration resulted in the release of “Medicine Begins with Me: a Holistic Approach to Healthcare”. This program is designed to train healthcare providers as well as the general public in effective, easy to learn qigong techniques. ”Wellness with Qigong” is their second program.
Chan Laoshi and Dr. Lew have taught many workshops and retreats in the United States for over 10 years, offering both introductory and in-depth study of Qigong techniques. They have also taught their program in the Netherlands since 2009. For the last 10 years, they have led personally escorted cultural tours to China with an option to study with high level Taiji and Qigong teachers in China
Eva Lew, M.D.
Dr. Lew is a physician practicing in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine for almost 20 years. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry from University of California in Davis followed by an M.D. from the School of Medicine at UCD. She completed a residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of California in Davis Medical Center where she currently works as an attending physician in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. She is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, and Pulmonary Medicine.
Early in her career in allopathic medicine, she began to experience symptoms of burn out. Her search for a modality to help her deal with the symptoms led her to a complementary medicine conference where she learned Chilel™ Qigong from Luke Chan in a pre-conference workshop. She realized that the one of the effective medical qigong techniques that she was learning was so simple that her patient with end-stage COPD on maximum Western medical therapy could do it. She collaborated with Luke Chan to do a clinical study using qigong as adjunct treatment to end-stage COPD along with standard Western medicine. 6-Direction La Qi was the result of that collaboration. Although the study did not enroll enough subjects to show clinical significance, many of the participants reported improvements in their quality of life.
Dr. Lew continued her study in Chilel Qigong, eventually becoming a certified instructor. Over the years, she realized that Western Medicine offers much in diagnosis and treatment of severe and life threatening illnesses, but little to support the healthy parts of the body. Qigong practice is one modality that can fill that void. Since 2001, Dr. Lew has returned to China annually to study with Traditional Chinese Medicine doctors, Tui Na (Chinese Medical Massage) teachers, and Qigong and Taiji teachers to further understand how various Chinese healing arts including the practice of Qigong enhance and support the health of the body.
Since early 2000, she has joined Hou Hee (Frank) Chan in workshops and retreats in the United States and the Netherlands to share her unique insights into how Qigong practice can complement Western Medicine to enhance the health of the body. Her own Qigong practice also gives her insights into how science and Qigong is actually similar in describing the world that we live in and demystify notions about what Qi is. She also offers techniques into how to incorporate qigong practice into daily life.
From her experience practicing in a teaching hospital, Dr. Lew realized that teaching caregivers and healthcare providers simple, effective Qigong techniques is essential to enhancing the quality of life in patients. She and Hou Hee Chan designed the “Medicine Begins with Me” program to educate caregivers and healthcare providers. Their program is accredited for Continuing Education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and California Acupuncture Board.Her vision is to see Qigong practice used as a complement to Western Medicine to enhance the function of the healthy parts of the body.
Why study Qigong with Us?
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Focus on incorporating effective practices from Qigong and Taiji to promote health and self healing.
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Empower yourself to take charge of your health by putting the “me” back into medicine.
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Learn how Qi Theory from the East relates to modern scientific and medical knowledge of the West.
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Receive easy to understand instructions using proven methods from Taiji and Qigong.
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Enjoy techniques to relax the mind as part of Mind practice.
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Appreciate a well organized and structured workshop or retreat using Power Point presentations and audio-visual materials.
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Practice with extensive audio-visual materials to support Qigong practice at home.
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Choose from in-depth Qigong study in the United States, Netherlands and China.
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Be awarded Continuting Education hours for professionals.
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Study with exceptional instructors with extensive international teaching experience.A Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine physician trained in University of California, Davis, School of Medicine with over 15 years of Qigong and Chinese healing arts experience.A classical trained Qigong teacher with more than 40 years of practice in Taiji and Qigong who uses his engineering background to demystify Qigong and offer insights into the practice for over 25 years.
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Travel on escorted cultural tours to China with options to study with high level Taiji and Qigong teachers.
Simply we are- the standard of excellence in Qigong.