My Bio
In 1971 I had an experience that changed my life… a local bully threatened me in a way I simply couldn’t ignore.
After extracting myself from that situation, I decided to start serious study of martial arts so that I could feel more confident if such a situation were ever to happen again.
My great good fortune was to begin my studies with Taoist Master Share K. Lew.
Sifu, as we called him, was short on words but long on teaching the real stuff. He was one of the last people to study in the old temple system in China before the Communist Revolution burned the temples down and imprisoned all the monks. Fortunately, he left China about 1 year prior to this.
In addition to the martial arts, Sifu taught qigong from the Tao Elixir School (Tao Tan Pai) and also a form of healing work he called chi sao. In the west, qi sao is called Medical Qigong, an advanced form of healing energy work.
This was so interesting to me that I dropped everything else and began studying with him 4 days a week. It was some of the best training I’ve ever had, largely because it forced me to step out of my logical mind and deal with life in a more direct, experiential way.
After my years of study with Sifu, I continued to learn as much as I could in whatever direction struck my fancy. I don’t necessarily recommend this approach since it is actually pretty unfocused. It did, however, give me the opportunity to be exposed to a wide variety of disciplines – Jungian psychology, I-Ching, NLP (which I studied with John Grinder), Hypnotherapy, Western mythology, Western herbal medicine, acupressure, etc.
One day, I had another Chinese teacher take my pulse. His comment to me was truly interesting; he said, “Have you heard the phrase, ‘Jack of all trades’?” Of course, the second part of that phrase is “Master of none.” He’d nailed me on my lack of focusing on one discipline just from reading my pulse! I was both impressed and sobered.
After a few weeks of thinking about this, I decided that it was time to focus on one thing – not that I wouldn’t continue to explore other interests, but that there would be one thing that was the core, central topic of my studies. I decided that qigong would be my focus.
For the next 15 years, I hardly missed one day of qigong practice.
Around this time I had a realization that described what this 15 years had taught me: Before, when I was studying so many things, I couldn’t study any one of them with any depth. By choosing one thing (qigong), I was able to drill down deeply into the essential nature of it. After 15 years, I realized that from this deeper level of understanding qigong, I could actually see much deeper into all the other disciplines that interested me!
Now, more than 38 years after my initial studies with Sifu, I’m continually amazed at the ways qigong affects my life. It is no longer simply a health discipline, or a meditative exercise, but rather a tool for exploring the very depths of my being. It is also an incredible aid in getting more done in the world and in a much more focused way.
In working with patients and students, their experience is very similar. Every person who practices qigong regularly reports huge improvements in their quality of life, energy level and awareness. You can see some student comments here.
Because everyone’s experience of qigong will be different, it isn’t possible to say with certainty how you might experience its effects. It is possible, however, to say that with regular practice, your life will improve.
Be well,
Dr. Bruce
