6-Class Series: January 9, 16, 30, February 6, 13, & 20

• January 9, 2021 from 10:30am-11:45am (Eastern time)
• January 16, 2021 from 10:30am-11:45am (Eastern time)
• (January 23, no morning class, please register & join us for the special afternoon seminar with Dr. Roger Janke)
• January 30, 2021 from 10:30am-11:45am (Eastern time)
• February 6, 2021 from 10:30am-11:45am (Eastern time)
• February 13, 2021 from 10:30am-11:45am (Eastern time)
• February 20, 2021 from 10:30am-11:45am (Eastern time)

Are you looking for a safe, easy, fun and effective approach to cultivate, mobilize  and strengthen your vital power?  Would you like to have more energy, mental and sensory acuity and ease of movement as the years go by?

Then you’ll love BodyLearning! Life Energy Fitness classes with Michael J. Gelb.

Combining ancient wisdom with contemporary neuroscience, these classes bring together the best of East and West so you can experience more energy, joy and happiness in your daily life.  Drawing on more than 40 years study of the Alexander Technique, aikido, qigong, tai chi, and meditation, Michael teaches what he practices and practices what he teaches.

Class will meet, online, every Saturday from 10:30am-11:45am (Eastern time) via WebinarJam. (Link details provided upon registration).

BodyLearning! Life Energy Fitness classes are open to students of any age and fitness level who want a safe, easy, fun and effective approach to cultivate, mobilize and strengthen vital power. Complete beginners are welcome. No prior experience in Alexander Technique, qigong or tai chi is required; and advanced practitioners and teachers of these modalities will discover new dimensions of simplicity and insight to enliven their practice and teaching.

The Fall Series, “Mastering Creative Energy,” will focus on generating, storing and expressing Creative Energy. We will explore the DaVinci Qigong and complementary practices including 3 Treasures Standing Meditation, The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands and the 8 Treasures as taught by Dr Dean Y. Deng.

Benefits reported by Life Energy Fitness students include:

• More energy and optimism
• Improved memory and enhanced creativity
• Easier, more graceful movement
• Greater sense of peace, compassion and joy 

Class topics will include:

• Various forms of standing meditation and exploration of complementary breathwork
• Going deeper with the Ageless Power set (we will learn 2 additional moves to complement the 6 essentials)
• Learning the basic elements Wu Style Tai Chi Long Form
• Application of Alexander Technique to bring ease and poise to all practices and to life
• Enhancing mobility of body and mind with age

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.  — Naturalist and conservation pioneer John Burroughs (1837-1921) on the Qi of Winter

Michael began practicing meditation at age 19 while studying at Clark University.  After graduating with a double major in Psychology and Philosophy (1973) he spent ten months on a residential course with J. G. Bennett studying the practical application of the world’s great contemplative, spiritual traditions.  Then, while completing three years of full-time training as a teacher of the Alexander Technique, Michael studied aikido with Minoru Kanetsuka, and also became the first Master Teacher of Tony Buzan’s system of Mental Literacy. Michael also trained as a coach of Tim Gallwey’s Inner Game of Tennis with Sir John Whitmore and helped to fund his continuing education by working as a professional juggler, including performances with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.

Michael completed his Master of Arts in Psychophysical Re-education through Goddard College and his thesis became his first book, BodyLearning: An Introduction to the Alexander Technique published in 1981. Later that decade, Michael studied qigong with Dr. Dean Y. Deng and then with Shuren Ma. He also renewed his study of aikido with Harvey Koningsberg and Clyde Takeguchi ultimately attaining the rank of godan (fifth degree black belt).  In 2005 Michael began intensive study of Qigong and Wu style tai chi with Robert Tangora.  Michael helped to edit Tangora’s classic book The Internal Structure of Cloud Hands and wrote the Foreword.

2009 was a turning point in Michael’s creation of Life Energy Fitness, beginning with chronic hip pain that ultimately necessitated a total joint replacement,  followed by crippling knee pain that demanded a total knee replacement.  Michael responded with a vow to recover from these traumas by cultivating more energy, flexibility and psycho-physical freedom than ever before.  This resulted in the publication in 2012 of BrainPower: Improve Your Mind as You Age, an expression of the research-validated practices for preventing dementia and actually getting sharper as the years roll by.  At the same time, Michael focused on deepening his practice of Qigong, the Alexander Technique and related disciplines, exploring how to integrate and optimize these approaches for his own healing and to help others.  Over the next few years, Michael traveled the world taking intensive seminars and private lessons with many renowned masters.  This resulted in the creation of the acclaimed Super Qi Summits at the Omega Institute and a friendship and collaboration with many extraordinary masters, most notably Robert Peng and Ken Cohen.