Energy of the Natural World with Mimi Kuo-Deemer Qigong
This episode is a conversation with the wonderful Qigong teacher, Mimi Kuo-Deemer. We discuss this beautiful mindful movement and energy practice from China, and how it invites us to harmonize with the elements of the natural world.
Episode Details:
You’ll hear Mimi’s fascinating description of Qigong’s history, including her insights from analyzing the Chinese characters for Qi (energy) and Gong (work/skill). We also talk about her experiences living in the US and in China, and how she got started with Yoga and Qigong when she needed embodiment practices to remedy her burnout and health challenges.
This podcast episode covers:
- Overlaps and differences between Yoga and Qigong
- How the emphasis on roundness and spherical movements within Qigong can be a great complement to Yoga
- How embodiment practices support meditation
- Why the body is more like a garden than a machine
Lastly, I asked Mimi about working with the emotional energy of anger, given the intensity of current events. You’ll hear how Chinese Medicine defines “good anger” and what trees can teach us about growing through this natural (if challenging) emotion.
Enjoy this conversation!
Guest Bio:
Mimi Kuo-Deemer, MA, is the author of Qigong and the Tai Chi Axis: Nourishing Practices for Body, Mind and Spirit and Xiu Yang: The Ancient Chinese Art of Self-Cultivation. She teaches qigong, internal martial arts (6th generation lineage holder in Baguazhang) and meditation, and once travelled the world as a photojournalist. Born in the United States, she lived and worked in China for over 13 years before settling in the British countryside with her husband and their dog, three cats, 6 chickens and 60,000 bees. She champions the balance of playfulness and precision as the best way forward in life, and never underestimates how sitting, breathing, and conscious movement grant the clearest and most compassionate perspective on the joyful yet mysterious, messy, and unpredictable job of being human.
Resources & Links from this episode:
- Mimi’s popular 8 Brocades Qigong practice on YouTube
- Her books, video practices, courses, and tutorials
- Buddhist monk Ajahn Sucitto’s Qigong practice on YouTube (that we mentioned during the episode)
To connect further with Mimi, visit her website at mkdeemer.com, or follow her on Instagram at @mimikuodeemer.
To connect further with me (Addie), take a look at the Mindful Movement Teacher Training that I mentioned in this episode!
And, I’m on Instagram at @addie_movedtomeditate (for mindfulness, movement, yoga, and pictures of PNW nature and my adorable kitten, Mustache).