"...Door County's first Yoga Studio located north of Jacksonport."

Author: Stephen Kastner

Tai Chi with Carol Hoehn at Junction Center Yoga Studio

Carol Hoehn returns lead students of Tai Chi in an ongoing series, sharing her knowledge of one the oldest forms of Chinese martial arts.

Often described as “meditation in motion,” Harvard Health Watch says, “Tai chi might as well be called medication in motion. There is growing evidence that this mind-body practice, which originated in China as a martial art, has value in treating or preventing many health problems. And you can get started even if you aren’t in top shape or the best of health.“

Carol Hoehn presents summer classes in tai chi chuan, meeting twice a week on Mondays and Wednesdays from 8 – 9:15 am at Junction Center Yoga Studio. Lifelong ballet dance instructor, Hoehn studies tai chi chuan under Chan Ming Shu and Chen Tzu Wei, two highly regarded masters. As practitioner, spending most of each year in China under their mentorship, she has entered and placed in the World Cup Tai Chi Chuan Championships in 2008 and 2010.

Her twice-weekly morning classes at Junction Center will be appropriate for students with no prior experience and will focus on the basic principles of breath and motion, including a basic form for daily practice. Loose-fitting clothing is encouraged and appropriate for the classes.

Tai chi chuan is at the root of all traditional martial arts and is practiced for both meditative and health benefits as well as for self-defense. It is also practiced by people of all ages. Carol’s classes also  include a study of Qigong, “breath work” or “energy work,” which consists of focusing on the action of breathing combined with movement.

“A growing body of carefully conducted research is building a compelling case for tai chi as an adjunct to standard medical treatment for the prevention and rehabilitation of many conditions commonly associated with age,” says Peter M. Wayne, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Tai Chi and Mind-Body Research Program at Harvard’s Osher Research Center.

Call 920.823.2763 for more information or to reserve a place.

Celebrate the Summer Solstice with Yoga Jams and Kirtan, June 22

Join us at Junction Center Yoga Studio on Saturday, June 22 from 7 – 9 pm, as Dennis Hawk and Amy Schneider lead a shared musical experience known as Kirtan, featuring Sanskrit mantras set to fresh melodies and sounds.

kirtan-poster

Kirtan is intended as a holistic healing experience designed to bring participants into a more organic form of meditation, either in stillness or in motion. One of the oldest of sacred sound traditions, Kirtan’s call-and-response chanting involves Satsang, an ancient Sanskrit term that describes the community that exists between an assembly of people who listen to, talk about, and assimilate their impressions of truthfulness.

On Solstice Saturday morning, Level I and Level II yoga classes at Junction Center will include Yoga Jams – live music to accompany your asanas.

Dennis Hawk, a Cherokee of Mesquaki descent, a pipe carrier and teacher of Native American spirituality, is also a well-known singer, songwriter and story-teller who plays guitar and Native American flute. He does a superb job of sharing his Kirtan insights and knowledge of Sanskrit chanting, its purpose and how it may affect you in order to deepen your own understanding and spiritual experience with Kirtan. There are no prerequisites or religious beliefs needed to participate in Kirtan, just bring an open heart and mind and join in by lifting your voice or just sit back and listen to how the music, vibration and meaning impacts you physically, mentally and spiritually.