Private Lessons and Retreats
For millennia trees have been considered guides and teachers, sources of knowledge and life. Yggdrasill, the Cosmic Tree of Norse mythology, reaches with its roots and branches all the known worlds. The same happens according to the shamanic traditions of the whole globe, which depict the Tree of Life as a bridge between the realms of existence: that of human beings, that of spirit guides, that of the ascended masters and that of the dead.
So, I was inspired by trees to give a name to the proposed training programs: their peculiar characteristics can provide us with the tools to restore psychophysical balance, health, harmony and synergy with the nature around us,opening the doors of a lost world composed of subtle energies and ancestral wisdom..
Training programmes – Options available
(Click on the tree name for more details!)
- GINGKO – Traditional Kung Fu: a program entirely dedicated to physical training, to toughen up the body and acquire ancient Chinese martial techniques.
- EUCALYPTUS – Qi Gong, focused on the health aspects of the practice (breathing, joint mobility, heart coherence, psychophysical balance), to overcome stress, anxiety and negative emotions, and to improve your immune system.
- OAK – The program aimed at spirituality: meditation meets Zhan Zhuang (Chinese exercises of immobility) and breathing techniques from Qi Gong and Pranayama, to rediscover ourselves and regain control on our emotions.
- CHESTNUT – Study of Ba Duan Jin, a form of Qi Gong created to obtain tendons and muscles elastic and resistant, and to coordinate movement with breath.
- WILLOW – Everything about soft gymnastics and flexibility, according to the Eastern methods: Noguchi taiso, joint mobility, Daoyin.
- NEEM – Rediscover health by following Indian and Himalayan methodologies and traditions: from Yoga to Ayurvedic tips, from Pranayama to the Five Tibetan Exercises (Yoga and Ayurveda with Dr. Roberta Rachini).
- FIR TREE – A breathing methodology not far from that used in cryotherapy, which integrates Chinese Qi Gong, Japanese Goju Ryu Karate, yogic Nauli Kriya and Tibetan Tu Mo, all integrated to learn how to develop the “internal heat” and improve the immune system.
- FICUS – This type of training focuses on breathing, teaching how to regain health by adjusting your breathing rhythm according to the dictates of ancient practices from all over Asia.
- POPLAR – Watchword: Gyrokinesis®, an original method that reinvents movement to develop strength, flexibility and balance, while working on toning and mobility (lessons with Dr. Roberta Rachini).
- CYPRESS – Inspired by the incredible specimen of Montezuma Cypress called Árbol de Tule, located in Oaxaca, Mexico, with a basic circumference of 36.2 meters, this package “embraces” all the styles and practices present in the previous “trees types”, with the possibility to create a personalized training program according to the needs of each practitioner. For more details and specific requests contact me!
Gingko:
- Recommended age: 14 – 45
- Minimum number of lessons: 2
- Recommended time slot*: late morning – afternoon
Survived unaltered for about 270 million years, this ancient Chinese plant now lives around temples and monasteries throughout East Asia, where for 4,000 years the oldest known martial arts have been developed and cultivated. This long-lived and resistant tree proves to be the best representative for the training program focused on Traditional Kung Fu, aimed at strengthening the body and acquiring martial techniques of remote origin.
Details of “Gingko” training program:
Basic joint gymnastics;
Noguchi taiso: a Japanese technique to learn to exploit the force of gravity and convey it to the upper limbs, in order to develop what the Chinese call “fa jin”, the explosive elastic force;
Strength building and circuit training;
Zhan Zhuang, the stationary standing pole, to create a solid structure and to calm the mind;
Martial techniques from Shaolin Kung Fu, Wing Chun and Kenpo.
Eucalyptus:
- Recommended age: 18+
- Minimum number of lessons: 1
- Recommended time slot*: early morning
Capable of thriving on very poor soils, Eucalyptus is “dedicated to human beings” from every point of view: wood, shade, essential oils, but above all natural remedies. Similarly, the techniques of this package are dedicated to the health and well-being of the practitioner, starting from the tools that nature has made available to him.
Details of “Eucalyptus” training program:
Joint gymnastics;
Breathing on “heart coherence”;
Diaphragmatic breathing and work on posture and center of gravity;
Qi Gong, a bio-perception work on body, subtle energies and breathing (Tu-Na), of Chinese Daoist derivation;
Zhan Zhuang, the exercise of the standing pole, focused on its aspects of psychophysical well-being (“Yang Sheng Zhuan”, or “healthy postures”);
Pranayama, breathing and centering techniques of yogic origin.
Oak:
- Recommended age: 18+
- Minimum number of lessons: 1
- Recommended time slot*: early morning, evening
Sacred tree par excellence, widespread all over the world, the Oak represents the Great Mother, the ancestral wisdom and the bridge with the supersensitive dimensions. Revered by the ancients as a living sanctuary, this tree of long life and mighty roots is able to generate a real “sacred place” in the area embraced by its wide crown, whose main branches run from East to West to chase the light of the Sun. Sitting and meditating under the foliage reconnects our bond with the subtle energies that surround us, bringing us in contact with the invisible masters of nature and with the most intimate part of ourselves.
Details of “Oak” training program:
Joint gymnastics;
Diaphragmatic breathing and work on posture and center of gravity;
Qi Gong, a bio-perception work on body, subtle energies and breathing (Tu-Na), of Chinese Daoist derivation;
Zhan Zhuang, the exercise of the standing pole, addressed both from the point of view of health (“Yang Sheng Zhuan”, or “healthy postures”) and from that of “strengthening the roots and the structure” (“Ji Ji Zhuang”, or “fighting postures”);
Pranayama, breathing and centering techniques of yogic origin;
Meditation, in its most varied forms: from the search for the silence of the mind (Tibetan exercises of Sci-ne) to the discovery of its own “sacred garden” according to the shamanic tradition, from the bio-perception techniques of our “auric field” to the immersion in the inner lake of consciousness, from memory palaces to regression techniques...
Chestnut:
- Recommended age: 18+
- Minimum number of lessons: 4
- Recommended time slot*: morning
The chestnut is a very long-lived tree, which can even exceed 1,000 years of age, thanks also to the climate factors resistance of its wood, at the same time strong and light. Deducing inspiration from it, we transform our body, often rigid and contracted, into a flexible and powerful structure, with elastic tendons and muscles adaptable to any type of solicitation.
Details of “Chestnut” training program:
Joint gymnastics;
Diaphragmatic breathing and work on posture and center of gravity;
Ba Duan Jin: the “eight pieces of brocade”. It is a series of Qi Gong exercises belonging to the category “Wàidān” (“external elixir”), characterized by stretching movements of muscles and tendons, coordinated with a precise breathing rhythm and a harmonization of the kinetic chains of the body (“Noguchi taiso”): a beneficial work both for the nervous, circulatory and lymphatic systems, and for the functioning and balancing of energy channels (meridians).
Willow:
- Recommended age: 45+
- Minimum number of lessons: 1
- Recommended time slot*: any
Despite the rather fragile wood, the characteristic pendulous ramifications of the Weeping Willow allow its crown to swing in the wind without breaking, following the whims of the elements. Challenging the commonplace of the human body that weakens while aging, we approach a new “art of moving”, which follows both the characteristics of the individual and the external forces he is subjected to, starting with gravity. Basic rule: harmony and compliance rather than conflict and opposition.
Details of “Willow” training program:
Joint gymnastics according to the principles of Chinese Daoyin (“guiding and stretching”): a Qi Gong method that integrates bio-perception work on the body, the free circulation of subtle energies and coordination between movement and breathing (Tu-Na);
Diaphragmatic breathing and work on posture and center of gravity;
Noguchi taiso: or “Noguchi’s gymnastics”, name derived from professor Michizo Noguchi, who developed it in the second half of the last century, when, after the Second World War, he recovered psychophysical balance and inner peace relying on “reality” as an integral and integrated part of this planet’s nature. The human body no longer represents, therefore, an object alien to the environment, but a synergical being that moves like a sinuous wave between the adversities of life.
Neem:
- Recommended age: 18 – 65
- Minimum number of lessons: 3
- Recommended time slot*: morning
This tree is called “the village pharmacy” in India, considered its multiple healing properties. It lends itself to an incredible range of uses, including the pesticide one. Being a characteristic plant of the Indian subcontinent, this package incorporates all the techniques originating in the Southern Himalayas, ancient practices dedicated to the health and psychophysical well-being of the human being.
Details of “Neem” training program:
Basic joint gymnastics, diaphragmatic breathing and work on posture and center of gravity;
Pranayama: breathing techniques to be applied to specific Yoga positions (“asana”);
Yoga exercises (with Dr. Roberta Rachini) derived from the branches Hatha, Nidra, Ashtanga and Vinyasa;
Nauli Kriya: both breathing and physical exercise for the purification of the abdominal region;
The Five Tibetan Exercises: techniques halfway between Qi Gong and Yoga, designed to strengthen the body and increase the inflow of subtle energies within the seven main chakras.
Fir:
- Recommended age: 18 – 45
- Minimum number of lessons: 3
- Recommended time slot*: morning, early afternoon
Prince of conifers, imposing in height and age, the Fir tree is among the strongest in withstanding the freezing temperatures of mountain peaks. This characteristic stimulates us to recover the ancient techniques to develop the “internal heat”, which lies dormant within us. To reach this goal, we orient the mind, the will and the breath in order to awaken the alchemical fire of immortality.
Details of “Fir” training program:
Joint gymnastics, basic work on posture and centre of gravity;
Reverse diaphragmatic and diaphragmatic breathing;
Qi Gong, in the aspects of awakening and perception of internal heat;
Kata Sanchin: a martial sequence from Karate Goju Ryu, to “explode” and spread energy from the triple burner to the meridians and to the external auric field (electromagnetic toroid or bioelectric field);
Tu Mo, or Tummo, a Tibetan practice that combines work on one’s emotions, calmness of mind, breathing exercises and visualization techniques to develop an immense body heat. This “inner fire”, far from being imaginary, allowed the monks to sit naked on the ice until it melted, without causing injuries or diseases. A good test to prove the effectiveness of this practice is the Shinto purification ritual called Misogi (read “mísògi” – “í” as in if, “gi” as in “gift”).
Ficus:
- Recommended age: 18+
- Minimum number of lessons: 1
- •Recommended time slot*: early morning
“As long as there is breath in the body, there is life. When the breath departs, life also departs. Therefore you have to regulate the breath.” This quote from the Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā summarizes the essence of this type of training, focused on the breath and inspired by one of the most widespread tree families: the Ficus. These trees with large leaves, with powerful and sometimes aerial roots, are known for their ability to “cling to life”, even in the most adverse conditions. They are considered sacred by Buddhists: it is said that under a ficus religiosa, or Tree of Bodhi, Buddha meditated until he reached Nirvana.
Details of “Ficus” training program:
Basic joint gymnastics;
Diaphragmatic breathing and work on posture and center of gravity;
Dynamic Qi Gong exercise sequence: slow movements guided by a controlled and deep breath;
Exercises of the five elements: a semi-static Qi Gong, which combines arm movements with specific breathing rhythms and mental visualizations;
Exercises of Tu Na and Pranayama: breathing techniques from the Daoist and Yogic tradition;
Yang Sheng Zhuang: the “healthy postures” deriving from the martial exercise of the “Standing Pole”.
Poplar:
- Recommended age: 14+
- Minimum number of lessons: 1
- Recommended time slot*: morning or afternoon (to be defined with Dr Rachini*)
Poplar species support humanity in every part of the world, contributing to its needs in many ways: providing oxygen, planted to slow soil erosion, or arranged in intersecting rows to protect the orchards from the harsh winds (for example in Argentina). Wood can be used for matches, clogs, clothespins, packing cases and plywood. In short, a truly eclectic plant capable of improving the life of human beings in many ways, just like the discipline covered by this package: the Gyrokinesis®.
Details of “Poplar” training program:
Program focused on Gyrokinesis®, a technique developed by the Hungarian dancer Juliu Horvath. Inspired by Taiji, dance, swimming and Yoga, the athlete has developed a training method for everyone, useful for post-traumatic postural problems, scoliosis, muscle stiffness and in general for all athletes who want to differentiate their daily routine.
*For more information contact Dr Roberta Rachini using the following link.
*According to Traditional Chinese Medicine the flow of energy (Qi) in our body is in harmony with the energetic phases of night (Yin) and day (Yang).
At sunrise the vital energy in our body transits from the Yin phase to the Yang phase, and we recommend all those practices that increase this energy (as well as an abundant breakfast!): Qi Gong, Ba Duan Jin, Yang Sheng Zhuang (“healthy postures”), various forms of breathing, etc.
At the peak of Yang energy, between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm, the body is ready to express the best of its potential: this is the time to push to the maximum with the Traditional Kung Fu and Karate techniques training, with Ji Ji Zhuang (the “fighting postures”) and with the Five Tibetan Exercises, a rather tiring form of Qi Gong very similar to some practices of Ashtanga Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga.
On the contrary, before bedtime, it is advisable to encourage the transition from Yang energy to Yin energy, through gentle practices such as dynamic Qi Gong, Tu Na, or Pranayama (breathing exercises) and especially meditation.
Contact me for more informations:
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