Program Host: Vicki Dello Joio
March 13, 2025
8:30 – 9:30 PM Eastern
Nature has a constant flux of ever-changing cycles. For each season, there is a unique interplay of yin and yang energy that determines its characteristics: hot-cold,active-passive, stormy-calm, growth-decline, etc. We are part of nature, and because of that, when the energy changes in nature, it changes within us as well.
The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine has a famous line: “Health and well-being can only be achieved by...maintaining a constant flow of qi and blood and adapting to the seasonal influences.” This key passage tells us that the constant flow of qi through the seasons has a primary influence on our health.
In this talk, Dr. Ron Davis will explain how this cyclical change of energy affects our bodies and minds. The source of this wisdom is Wu Xing, the Five Phases of life. This is a paradigm from classical Chinese Medicine that presents Organ Networks as the basis of healthy living.
You will learn why the Liver Network is vitally important in spring, the Wood Phase. The aspects to consider in spring are the liver organ, the emotion of anger, the virtue of kindness, interpersonal relationships, the large muscles of the body, the detoxification of the blood, and the sour taste. How to cultivate these factors is the purpose of the Spring Qigong practice.
Qigong is a method that uses body movements, regulated breathing, and mental intention to gather and circulate your vital energy. These three ingredients are used in different proportions at different times of year. Spring is known as the “Rising Yang Qi”time of year. It’s a very active season. Therefore, body movements will be emphasized in qigong exercises. The meditations for spring are Rising Yang Qi,a beautiful guided journey along the Taiji axis of your body, and Inner Nourishing, a profoundly simple mantra for calming the mind.
Dr. Ron will also talk about the three primary energy centers of the body and the pathway that connects them, the basic directive of the Three Treasures, a good diet for spring, and why cultivating personal relationships is important at this time of year.
Join us for this interesting discussion of qigong through the seasons.
Dr. Ronald Davis studied chiropractic and acupuncture at Northwestern Health Sciences University, graduating in 1984. While attending university, Ron studied Chinese medicine and saw the similarities between the nervous system and the acupuncture channel system. He was so impressed by the wisdom of this ancient medicine and its correlation to modern science that he wanted to commit his career to combining chiropractic and acupuncture into an effective treatment program for his patients.
In 1985, he became a licensed Doctor of Chiropractic and a licensed acupuncturist.After additional study and examinations, Dr. Davis received a Diplomate of Acupuncture status from the NCCAOM in 1986 and was in active clinical practice in Bozeman, Montana, until 2016.
He was introduced to qigong in the mid-'80s by Dr. Roger Jahnke and Professor Ken Cohen. Realizing that this healing modality was part of classical Chinese Medicine, he made it an important part of his lifestyle and his professional services. In the ‘90s, he met Master Liang Shouyu and eventually became certified to teach his qigong empowerment program in 1997. He made his first trip to China in 1991 to study acupuncture and qigong at Beijing’s Olympic Training Center.
Dr. Ron has studied the foundational texts of Chinese Medicine for many years with several teachers, most notably Ken Cohen. The teachings in The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, the Su Wen, and the Dao De Jing all emphasize the importance of being in harmony with nature in body and mind. He knew from his lifestyle of living in the Rocky Mountains that nature has regular and sometimes dramatic cycles of ever changing energy. The classic texts repeatedly say that humans are part of nature and that to be naturally healthy, we should adjust our activities, our diet, and our thinking to stay in balance with the seasons. This wisdom was further emphasized during a qigong retreat on Wudang mountain in China in 2007.
Dr.Davis has combined the wisdom of Chinese Medicine with the practices of Daoism and Buddhism into a unique program called Qigong Through The Seasons.These classes use qigong exercises, dietary suggestions, and Daoist meditations to create a self-care program for staying naturally healthy throughout the energy changes of each season.
