For November and beyond…

by kathyyep

I am still healing from the brain injury. I am improving and I still have a ways to go. I am headed into teaching a partial load back at the Claremont Colleges for the spring semester. I am still doing the rehab for my brain to jump back into the pool of being a tenured professor. I still am limited in reading and writing. I am realizing that I will need more time to repair and replenish the brain as I have more cognitive demands.

So… starting in November I will move the online qi gong from three times a week to two times a week.

So for November, we will practice. Thursdays and Sundays at 8 a.m.

Thank you for your support this last year and 9 months and for your continued support. I am getting teary as I write this because the online community has and continues to be such as powerful group of collaborators and co-teachers and co-learners.

Oct. 24: Free in-person, UCLA, 11:30 a.m.

by kathyyep

Come join me! I will be offering a free in-person qi gong at the UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden at 11:30 a.m..

“For 20 years, UCLA has been a home for mindfulness education, research, and practice. Join us in celebrating this journey—from the founding of the Mindful Awareness Research Center (MARC) to the growth of UCLA Mindful and its reach across Los Angeles and around the world.

To commemorate this milestone, we invite you to participate in a Day of Mindfulness, co-sponsored by the UCLA Mathias Botanical Garden, on October 24 from 10:00 AM–5:00 PM.

This special anniversary celebration will bring together longtime members of the UCLA Mindful community, educators, practitioners, students, and friends for a day of meaningful practice, reflection, connection, and learning.”

FMI: https://www.uclahealth.org/programs/uclamindful/classes-events/20th-anniversary-celebration/20th-anniversary-day-mindfulness

Last day of summer… and online and in person practice

by kathyyep

I hope to practice qìgōng with you on the last day of summer – Tue Sep. 22.

  • Online: 8:00 a.m. PT
  • In person: 10:15 a.m. Lacy Park, San Marino

秋分 Qiufen (Autumn Equinox) on Wednesday 9/23/2026 is when day and night are equal. It is the midway point for the solstices. It is said there is balance with yin and yang.

The Liu Jie Zang Xiang Lun (Treatise on the Visceral Manifestations and the Six Terms of the Year, Su Wen Chapter 6) says, “those who do not know how the breakdown of the year contributes to health, how the qi abounds and becomes debilitated, and thus how vacuity and repletion arise – they cannot serve as a practitioner.”

During this time of year, the Huangdi Neijing — the Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor  suggested that we “nourish the Yin” by tuning to the Yin-contracting nature of Autumn. This might mean getting more sleep. As the days grow shorter, there night be less activity in our daily lives.

During this seasonal node one traditional recommendation is to protect the Lungs, and in particular the Lung Yin. Autumn is the season associated with the Metal Phase and therefore the Lung. Furthermore, Autumn is associated with environmental dryness so protecting the Yin fluids of the Lung is emphasized. Some of the foods that protect the Lung Yin are milk, peaches, pears, apples, soymilk, glutinous rice, sesame seeds, and honey.

Be well.